“You’re the new guy Gossip Granny has been gushing about to the entire neighborhood,” she announces. Even my daughter knew about him. How did I miss that memo? “She says you can repair anything.”
“Penny, right? Nice to meet you.” Josh crouches down to her level, and something about that simple gesture—the way he doesn’t talk down to her, literally or figuratively—makes their interaction easier to witness but also harder to bear. “And I can repair most things, but noteverything.”
Penny looks disappointed, but only for a second. “That’s still impressive,” she declares. “How did you learn?”
“My dad taught me,” Josh answers simply.
Penny’s face grows serious. “I don’t have a dad, he died.” Her voice is matter-of-fact in that devastating way only children can manage. “Will you teach me?”
I can hear every heart in the room break. Mine has broken and cracked so many times it’s already dust, and all it can do is take another blow and scatter. I watch Josh’s face, waiting for the awkward pity, the fumbling response that adults give when Penny drops her dad’s death into casual conversation.
But Josh absorbs it, steady as ever. He stays at eye level with her and asks, “What would you like to learn how to fix?”
“My bike is broken,” Penny says, and I inwardly groan because that’s another thing that slipped through the cracks of my life. The chain came off and got stuck last month, and I haven’t had time to deal with it.
You could’ve fixed it this weekendinstead of gallivanting around town with the hot neighbor, a mean voice hisses in my head. I tell it to cut me a break.
“I have the day off tomorrow,” Josh offers. “Why don’t you stop by my place after school, and we’ll see what we can do, I’m in?—”
“Apartment 1F, Agatha told everyone,” Penny finishes for him. “Yeah, I can come.”
Josh frowns, looking like he isn’t sure if he should’ve offered. “If your mom is okay with that.”
He looks up at me, and our eyes meet across the room for the first time since he got swept into the family circus. “Hey.” The word is softspoken, but it finds me anyway, with a note in it meant only for me:are you okay? Is this okay?
“Hey,” I reply, my pulse speeding up for no reason. “Yeah, that’s okay.” I answer all three questions in one.
All eyes turn on me, especially Josie’s, and I know I’ll be in for a thorough interrogation the moment Josh leaves. My sister can read me like a neon sign, and right now I’m flashing “COMPLICATED FEELINGS” in bright pink letters.
Josh nods. “If you’re busy, I can come back later.”
I clear my throat. “No, I just have to put Penny to bed, but I can change your dressing first.”
“No, Mom. Can they tuck me in?” Penny turns to Josie and Dorian. “I like when you alternate voices for the characters in my bedtime stories.”
“Of course, princess.” Josie smiles at Penny and shoots me a look that promises we’ll be talking later. “Let’s go pick a book.”
I lead Josh to the bathroom, leaving the door open because—well, because it seems like the proper thing to do when my daughter and family are home, even if I’m just changing a bandage. I grab my kit from the cabinet above the sink, avoiding Josh’s eyes as Penny’s excited chatter fades down the hallway.
“Why do I feel like you’re hiding me?” Josh asks as I unwrap the old gauze.
“You survived the gauntlet.” I don’t answer him.
“Did I pass?” He says it as a joke, but a fracture of vulnerability marks his tone. “I’m pretty sure your sister was about to demand my references and to check an ID.”
“You did great,” I tell him. “Especially the celebrity encounter.”
“Took a hundred points off my coolness reserves, minimum. And hey, you’ve got an awesome kid.”
I smile full of pride. “She is. Too smart sometimes.”
“Is it okay that I offered to fix her bike?” he asks. “I should have checked with you first.”
“It’s fine,” I assure him, focusing on applying the antibiotic cream. “Bicycle maintenance is another thing I’m failing at, so thank you.”
“You’re not failing,” he says, his voice gentle. “You’re doing an amazing job.”
My body temperature surges at the compliment, so I brush it aside with a “Best that I can anyway,” and change the subject. “How did it go with your moving boxes?”
