I pick it up. Turn it over. Check the price tag.
This is a bad idea. Buying gifts for a kid who’s not mine. Showing up at Rachel’s house with presents like I’m trying to win points. Crossing lines, I specifically told myself I wouldn’t cross.
I take it to the counter anyway.
The woman rings it up, chatting about how her grandson has the same truck and loves it. I nod in the right places, pay cash, and walk out with a bag I have no business carrying.
Rachel answers the door in workout clothes. Leggings and an oversized sweatshirt that keeps sliding off one shoulder. Her hair’s up in a ponytail, and there’s a smudge of what looks like marker on her cheek.
“Cole.” She blinks. “Hi. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Jake asked me to drop off his wrench.” I hold it up like evidence. “He said he needs it this weekend.”
“Right. Yeah. Come in.” She steps back, and I follow her inside.
The living room looks like a tornado hit it. Toys scattered everywhere, blankets draped over chairs creating some fort structure, crayons and paper covering the coffee table.
“Sorry about the mess.” Rachel kicks a stuffed dinosaur out of the way. “We’re having an art day. Well, Tommy’s having an art day. I’m mostly just trying to keep him from drawing on the furniture.”
“Where is he?”
“Kitchen. Snack break.” She calls out, “Tommy! Cole’s here!”
Tommy appears in the doorway with a juice box and a cookie, his face lighting up when he sees me.
“Cole! Did you come to see my fort?”
“I came to return your uncle’s wrench. But yeah, I’d love to see the fort.”
Tommy launches into an elaborate explanation of the fort’s architecture. Apparently, it has multiple rooms and a secret entrance that only he knows about. I nod thoughtfully, like we’re discussing actual construction plans.
“That’s really impressive engineering,” I tell him.
“I know!” He beams. “Mama says I’m gonna be an architect when I grow up.”
“Or a firefighter,” Rachel adds from the doorway. “He changes his career plans every other day.”
“Both are good options.” I set the wrench down on the side table. “Actually, Tommy, I saw something today and thought of you.”
His eyes go wide. “What?”
I pull out the toy fire truck. “This.”
Tommy’s jaw drops. He looks at the truck, then at me, then back at the truck like he’s trying to decide if it’s real.
“For me?”
“If you want it.”
He grabs it with both hands, immediately making siren noises and running it across the coffee table. “This is the coolest thing ever! Look, Mama, it has real lights!”
Rachel’s watching me with this expression I can’t quite read. “Cole, you didn’t have to do that.”
“I know. I wanted to.”
“That’s really sweet.” Her voice is soft. “Say thank you, Tommy.”
“Thank you, Cole!” Tommy crashes the fire truck into his dinosaur fort. “Now Rex can get rescued from the fire.”
