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Chapter Thirty-Two

JACK

“ D addy, what do you think?” Holly held up her drawing of a horse. The kid had art talent, that was for sure.

“Wow, Peanut, that is amazing. Did Mom ever sign you up for the after-school art lessons?”

“She did. I start in two weeks. That’s fourteen days, right?”

“Yep.”

Holly was a highly skilled pouter. She got that from her mom. “Fourteen days is so long. I want to start tomorrow.”

I set down a grilled cheese sandwich. “It’ll be here before you know it. Tell you what—I’ve got a pad of plain white paper. You can make a countdown calendar and draw something special on each day. Then you rip the page off at the end of each day, and the fourteenth one will say ‘art school.’”

Her pout vanished, and her button nose crinkled from the giant smile underneath. “That’s a great idea, Dad.” She tilted her head sweetly. “You can be a pretty great dad, you know that?”

She had no idea how big an impact her words had on me. My chest tightened, and it took me a second to respond. “That’s only because I have the most amazing daughter a dad could ask for.”

She laughed. “Oh, dad. When is Mommy coming?”

“You bored of ole Dad already? She’ll be here in a few hours.”

“Is she with her friend Nate?”

“Uh, don’t know. Who is Nate?” I never asked Gwen about her social life mostly because I didn’t care. Up until now she hadn’t dated anyone, at least not that I knew of, but having another man in her life was going to upset the balance we’d created with Holly. Stupidly, the thought of there being another dad figure in Holly’s life had never crossed my mind.

“He’s this guy that sometimes comes over.” Holly scrunched up her nose. “He wears too much cologne. It makes me sneeze.”

I didn’t want to bombard her with questions, even though I had a million. Holly had great intuition when it came to her parents’ strained and broken relationship, and I didn’t want to wave a red flag her way.

“Does he come over a lot?”

Holly picked at her sandwich. “Not a lot. Maybe every few days.”

“Oh, well, that’s—that’s fine. Do you like him? Is he nice to you?”

She shrugged her little shoulders again. “He’s all right. He tries to be funny, but he’s not. Not like you, Daddy.” She picked up half of the sandwich and took a bite. The smile disappeared and she seemed less than enthusiastic about the sandwich. Grilled cheese was usually her favorite.

“Do you want something else? I could make you peanut butter and jelly. I’ve also got those pizza bites in the freezer. The ones that are shaped like dinosaurs.”

Holly put the sandwich down and fumbled her hands nervously in her lap. “I’m not hungry, Daddy.”

“No?” I pulled up the chair next to her and pressed my hand against her forehead. She was warm.

“Peanut, are you not feeling well?”

“My tummy hurts.” She looked up at me. Her eyes were glassy, a sure sign that she had a fever. “And my head.”

“Ah, Peanut, I’m sorry. Your mom is picking you up in a few hours. How about in the meantime I make a nice, comfy bed for you on the couch, and you can watch your favorite movie.”

“ Sleeping Beauty ?”

“Oh, I thought it was Moana .”

“No, that was before.”

“Right. Sleeping Beauty . I’ll get you some juice. I’ve got to give your mom a call.” I poured her a glass of cold apple juice, though she didn’t look too enthusiastic about it either. I called Gwen as I collected Holly’s favorite penguin blanket and pillows from her room and carried them out to the couch.

“I’m at lunch with Rhonda and Ginny. I’ve still got a few hours.”

“I know, but I think Holly has a fever.”

“Did you take her temperature?”

“I don’t have a thermometer.”

A huff of disgust came through the phone. “Fine. Do you have some chewable acetaminophen?”

“Yeah, I’ve got some from when she had a cold.”

“It’s probably just a little virus she picked up at school.” At least she wasn’t blaming me for Holly getting sick. “Give her the medicine, and I’ll leave straight from lunch to pick her up.”

“You don’t have to come early. I can handle this, Gwen.”

“I don’t know about that. You don’t even have a thermometer.”

“Right. Well, I’m getting her set up on the couch. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

The medicine seemed to do the trick. Holly fell fast asleep, and she felt cooler to the touch. Gwen knocked at the door. I’d taken a small apartment near campus, and Gwen and Holly stayed in our house. I couldn’t help but grind my teeth a bit at the thought of Nate being in our house, too. I’d debated whether or not to ask Gwen about him. I’d landed on leaving it alone … for now. Holly wasn’t feeling well, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

I opened the door, and Gwen pushed right past me.

“Hello to you, too.” I swung shut the door.

Gwen was already on the edge of the couch, pressing her hand to Holly’s forehead. “She’s still warm.”

“She’s cooler than she was before the medication.”

“Yes, a very scientific speculation.” She rummaged through her purse and pulled out a box with a new thermometer. “I don’t know why you don’t have one.”

“I had one. I left it behind … in my house.”

She placed the thermometer on the table.

“Mommy?” Holly asked groggily. “It’s fourteen days until art school, right?”

“That’s right, sweetie. Mommy’s going to take you home and tuck you in bed.”

Holly sat up. “No, I’m going to make a countdown calendar. Daddy said I could.” She said it with conviction and then seemed to rethink the idea. “Mommy, my head hurts.”

“I know. Let’s get you home.”

I walked over and lifted Holly into my arms. I carried her out to Gwen’s car.

“Keep me posted,” I said.

Gwen nodded, climbed into the car and drove off. How the two of us ever became a couple was beyond me.