Page 7

Seven

Henry

“Daddy?” Bodhi walks into my bathroom completely dressed, with his backpack already on. “I’m ready.”

“Good morning.” I mumble around my toothbrush.

How does my six-year-old have a better morning routine than I do?

Maybe because ever since Saturday night, I’ve only had Jade on my mind, and I’ve been barely getting enough sleep because I’ve been trying to think of some funny text to send to her to open the conversation between us again. These are the days I wish I was more like Tweetie.

“I made you pancakes.” I’m trying to buy myself some time.

“Yep. Ate ’em already. I don’t want to be late again , Daddy.”

I have no idea when I became the “late parent.” I should probably delegate this job to Bodhi’s manny, Mack, but in season, it’s hard enough for me to find time with Bodhi. I want to be the one to take him to school when I can.

I run the toothbrush over my teeth, hoping that not brushing them for the prescribed two minutes won’t give me a cavity like my grandma preached to me all my life. Spitting out my mouth full of toothpaste, I cup some water and rinse, then finally wipe my mouth on the towel.

“Okay, I’m ready.” I leave the bathroom, grab a jacket, my wallet, and my keys.

Bodhi waits at the door, staring me down. Sure enough, the pancakes are eaten, and the empty dish is in the sink. He’s way too responsible for his age, and I can’t help but worry that it’s because I’m a single dad. He doesn’t have a mom to nurture and spend time with him. Does he feel like he has to pick up the slack because it’s just me?

“Go ahead,” I say.

He opens the door to our condo, and a whirl of cooler air whooshes inside. Pretty soon it’ll be bone-chilling outside. I follow him out the door, locking it behind us.

“Hold up, I’m joining the fun bus today.” Conor jogs down the stairs toward us.

“Conor!” As always, Bodhi’s excited to see one of the guys. Even though Conor was just traded at the start of the season, he’s sparked up a friendship with Bodhi just like Rowan and Tweetie.

“What’s up, big man?” Conor holds up his hand for a high five.

“Why are you coming with us?” I arch an eyebrow at him.

“Daddy!” Bodhi whines, his entire body going limp as if he’ll melt into a puddle if we don’t start walking down the stairs.

“Whatever, let’s just go.” I follow Bodhi down the steps, and I’m thankful that I took Reed’s advice and got a specific driver to always be outside the condo ready to take us to school.

“Mack!” Bodhi runs across the sidewalk to him.

“Your driver is your manny?” Conor asks.

“It’s my way of keeping him around. I need someone consistent in Bodhi’s life day-to-day, and no one is going to sign up for the job now that he’s in school all day.”

“Just pay him a full-time salary,” Conor says, opening the passenger door and climbing in. “What’s up, Mack?”

I get into the back seat of Mack’s small sedan, and my knees hit the back of the front seat when Conor slides his seat all the way back.

“Thanks for that,” I mumble.

“Let’s stop for some coffee. Bodhi, do you want a frap?” Conor asks.

“Yeah!”

There goes his need to be on time.

“No, he doesn’t,” I say and look at Bodhi next to me. “You don’t want to be late, right?”

“All the kids would be jealous if I had a frap.”

“No.” I shake my head.

Bodhi’s eyes go to the rearview mirror, and I catch Mack looking back at him. I roll my eyes and stare out the window, knowing Mack will get him one after school. Some battles aren’t worth fighting.

“This isn’t as much fun as I thought it was gonna be.” Conor cracks his neck side to side.

“You could get your own Uber and go get coffee,” I offer.

“I could.” Conor turns to Mack. “Tell me how you got this gig.”

Mack tells Conor how he kind of fell into the role of being a manny with another family, who was the same one that referred him to me. He’s talking about one of Reed’s friends. I tried the nanny thing many times, but it never worked out. The women were more interested in becoming Bodhi’s mom and my wife or girlfriend than just being a female figure in Bodhi’s life. So, when Reed told me about Mack searching for a job because the family had decided to move, I jumped at the chance.

Once we hit the street that St. Patrick’s is on, my gaze strays to Jade’s childhood home. I find myself searching for her on the front steps or in the window, but she was always a late sleeper. The entire house still looks dark, although I’m sure the twins are at school already.

“Reed and Victoria’s!” Bodhi points at the house as we pass it.

Conor follows the direction Bodhi’s finger is pointing, now thrust in front of my face. “Who?”

“It’s my Big Brother and his wife’s place,” I say.

Conor whips his head around. “You have a brother? How did I not know this?”

“It’s not his real big brother, he’s like a dad to him,” Bodhi says.

“The Big Brother/Big Sister program? He was my Big Brother.”

Conor still looks a little confused. Then again, I don’t wear a pin that says, “My name is Henry, and I’m an orphan.”

“The school bell is about to ring. Better get in there,” Mack says, pulling along the curb.

I step out of the car, and Bodhi slides out of my door. It’s amazing how much has changed and how much hasn’t. The building’s been renovated and doesn’t look anything like the school I attended, but there are still the moms and dads milling around and sipping their coffees, gossiping about all the other parents. Since Bodhi is the only kid walking to the door, I figure they’re talking about me. Probably about me being late… again.

A car door shuts behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to see Conor striding up after us. What is he doing?

“Henry, the team looked good last night,” a dad whose name I can’t remember says.

“We’re doing all right,” I say, my hand on Bodhi’s back to keep him moving. “Thanks for the support.”

“Good? We looked fantastic,” Conor says and steps over to the guy. “Hey, Conor Nilson, this guy’s pseudo uncle.”

“I love your goalie warm-ups,” one of the moms says.

Conor leans in until she lifts her coffee mug, and her wedding ring sparkles in the sun. He mumbles a thanks and comes back over to us.

I chuckle. “Have a great day, bud. Mack will pick you up, and we’ll do something fun tonight. Pick a place to eat.”

His teacher, Mrs. McConnell, stands in the doorway, her swollen belly barely contained by her light sweater. “Mr. Hensley, I just wanted to remind you about the concert on Friday night.”

“All in the calendar, and thank you for planning it when I don’t have a game.”

Teachers like her, who will work with me a little on my schedule, is why I changed schools this year. Yeah, I’m pulling favors by offering her husband my family tickets for two games this year, and I get that other parents don’t have the same luxury, but I’m taking what I can to be there for my son.

“Happy to help. Once this little one comes out, my husband will probably be begging to go to a game.” She smiles and rubs her stomach.

Bodhi hugs me goodbye and high-fives Conor before his hand slides into hers. “Can I touch your belly?”

“Bodhi,” I say.

“It’s okay. If it’s okay with your dad.”

I nod, and she lifts their joined hands and places his hand to her stomach.

His eyes widen, and his mouth opens. “I want a baby brother.”

My stomach sinks, and Conor blows out a breath next to me. I barely have time for him, let alone another kid.

“Let’s get to class. Everyone is already waiting for us,” Mrs. McConnell says.

I mouth sorry, and she waves me off, taking Bodhi by the hand again and walking into the building. Conor and I walk down the sidewalk to Mack’s car.

“That kid is dying for a mom,” Conor says.

He’s not lying. A few months ago, Bodhi asked Rowan to share Kyleigh with me. But there’s no one in my life, and I can’t even imagine bringing in someone who would understand my schedule and fit into our life.

“Shit, man, the moms around here don’t look like the moms when I was younger,” Conor whispers. Well, kind of whispers. “They’re all married?”

“Most are.”

“There has to be one for you, or are you holding out for the hot brunette from Saturday night?”

I stop and stare at him for a moment. The thing about Conor is that he isn’t very good at keeping secrets. He actually kind of sucks at it.

“Why are you here again?” My gut says Conor came with us today for something more than a ride to the rink for a workout.

“Coffee?”

I shake my head.

“I wanted to see Mack?”

“I don’t think so.” I place my hand on the car door handle.

Conor cringes. “Okay, I lost at darts, so I was nominated to see how you’re handling it all.”

“What do you know?” I ask, thankful to have friends who care. Especially Conor, who’s newer to the group but feels like we’ve known him forever. At the same time, I don’t share a lot about Jade because it’s hard to explain to someone who wasn’t there for it all.

“Just what I saw on Saturday.”

“And what’s that?” I open the door and slide into the car.

He joins me in the back seat, his knee pressing into the back of the passenger seat. Now he knows how it feels since he slid it all the way back.

He studies me with genuine concern. “That she’s really important to you.”

Understatement of the fucking year.