Page 23

I needed coffee to chase his train of thought. “I do a lot of math.” Did I tell him I used a calculator? Wait until he got to multiplication tables. That’d shake his reality. “What are?—”

“I got our spelling list, too.” Oh, I guess Lucas had more to share. “I have to write sentences. I don’t like writing. I never get gold stars.”

“If you don’t write, how are you going to make comics?”

His eyes grew wide. The possibilities flashed across his face. The long pause in his sharing meant he had never thought about it before. Mrs. Chessa always appreciated how I encouraged the kiddos to read and write.

“Maybe we can work on one together.”

He gasped. “Really? Can it be about superheroes? Can Valiant be in it?”

I dropped into a squat so we could see eye-to-eye. “What if it was about an eight-year-old who moved to a new town?”

He shook his head. “That’s boring.”

“But what if he’s secretly a superhero?”

“Can Valiant still be in it?”

I appreciated his singular focus. “I bet he can come help the kid fight crime.”

“Good.”

I gave his hair a ruffle. Lucas growled and shot out of reach. “No touching. Dad says you have to ask. I have to give permission.”

Lucas had put me in my place. “I apologize. Your dad’s a smart man.” Other than being a literal wedge between us on date night, I knew little about the kid. The next time I asked Simon out, I might take a chance and invite Lucas as well. There’d be no Simon if I didn’t get to know his kid.

“Can I walk home with you?” I could handle a kid for three blocks. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever have kids of my own, much to my mom’s dismay. If a handsome man came with forty pounds of baggage, I might be able to handle that. Mom would spoil Lucas rotten.

He mulled over the idea. “I suppose.”

We started our walk through the crowd of kids. “How do you like Firefly?”

He shrugged. That seemed out of character for a kid who had no filter.

“Making lots of friends?”

“Just Josh. But he’s weird. He likes to eat glue.”

There was always a glue-loving kid. Some things never changed. “Is he the one who had the sleepover?”

Lucas shook his head. “Eric had the sleepover. I don’t think I like him. He picks on Josh.”

“That doesn’t sound very nice.”

The sound of the elementary school faded into the background as we reached the crosswalk.

Without asking, Lucas reached up, holding one of my fingers.

I assumed his dad had taught him to hold his hand whenever they crossed a street in Boston.

The crossing guard gave us a nod, letting us move ahead.

Firefly didn’t have enough cars to warrant crossing guards, but here we were.

“I don’t want to go to Eric’s house again.”

“I bet your dad would understand. Maybe you can hang out with Josh instead?”

“I dunno.” Who knew it’d be this hard to plan the social calendar of an eight-year-old? When I was his age, I’d be somewhere in the woods behind the house playing make-believe.

“When I was eight, I used to play in the woods and stop dragons from attacking Firefly.”

He stopped and stared. His judgement was palpable. Lucas debated if I was telling the truth. “There aren’t dragons in Firefly.”

I spun about, arms held out. “Of course not! I stopped them. It was serious work when I was a kid.” Firefly sat nestled in the valley before the Appalachian Mountains.

Most of our backyards gave us direct access to the surrounding forest. It served as our playground growing up.

“It’s been a long time. I bet there’s a few hiding out there now. ”

“Really?”

“You can only see them if you believe.”

The thought of dragons must have caught his attention.

We walked the next block in silence. I’m sure I’d get flak from Simon for putting the idea in the kid’s head.

What’s the worst that could happen? I take him on walks in the woods, and we go hunting for dragons?

I could stand to get a little more exercise.

“Are you excited about the comic convention?”

He nodded quickly. “Dad says we’re going. I can’t wait. I want to dress up. Dad too. But I don’t know.”

“I’ll be dressed up. I’ll have a cape and everything.”

“Mom made all my costumes. This one time, she made me a spider outfit. When I lifted my arms, all the arms moved. It was cool.”

I hadn’t expected to talk about Lucy. I didn’t want to pry into Simon’s personal life. This was his story to tell. If he wanted to share details about his past, I’d leave it up to him.

“That sounds cool.”

“Dad can’t make costumes. He makes food. It’s really good food.” He grew quiet. The separation must be tough on the little fella. I couldn’t fathom what I would have done as a kid if my parents split up.

“I’ll ask her if she can make us costumes.”

“What does your mom do for work?” Innocent enough, right? I already knew the answer. Technically, it wasn’t prying.

“Mom is helping people in Africa. She saves sick people. When they’re broken, she fixes them. It’s her superpower.”

He said the words as if they were fact. I doubted Lucas exaggerated.

The way Simon spoke about his ex-wife, she deserved a cape and cowl.

It made me happy that Lucas thought highly of his mom, especially when she wasn’t around.

I wonder if Simon and he had talked out those big feelings before coming to Firefly?

“She sounds amazing.”

“Mom?”

“Yeah. Your mom?—”

“Mom!”

Lucas dashed up the sidewalk. He didn’t wait for me as he turned onto the path to his front door.

When she stood, there was no mistaking his mother.

The blonde hair and legs for miles, Lucy was even more beautiful in person.

Her jeans were tight enough that they could have been painted, but her turtleneck was the perfect attire for an early fall.

She dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around Lucas.

He bounced up and down, barely able to contain his excitement. I stood in the driveway, unsure how to proceed. The ex-wife had abandoned Africa and showed up in Firefly. Hearing Simon and Lucas talk, I never thought I’d have to deal with this awkward encounter.

Had she come by for a visit? To stay? To reconcile?

All at once, the possibilities came rushing in, and I experienced my own big feelings.

I wanted to be the better person and give her a hearty welcome to the town.

There was no rational way to say I was Simon’s friend.

Oh, and your ex-husband is deep-dicking a guy.

I wouldn’t call it a coward’s exit. I didn’t want to intrude. Lucy looked over her shoulder to see me. I gave a slight wave and shoved my hands in my pocket. Turning around, I headed back to the school to pick up my truck. It’d give me time to process these feelings, these big feelings.

Just like that, a simple romance turned complicated.