“How was school?”
“Good. We’re learning how to measure things in inches and in centimeters. It was kind of hard at first, but now that I get it, the problems are easy. This weekend I’m supposed to measure three rooms in the house.”
“Sounds like fun. I enjoy any assignment that lets me use a tape measure.”
He grinned at her as he climbed into the booster seat in her car. “You’re a grown-up, Ryleigh. You don’t have homework.”
“And yet I find myself doing work at home to prep for my classes. What would you call that?”
He frowned. “Huh. I don’t know. It’s at home and it’s work. So adult homework?”
“I’ll take that one.”
They talked all the way to his house. Ryleigh parked in the driveway, then used her key to let them both inside. Noah took the mailbox key from the hook by the door and they both walked out to collect that day’s delivery. Once they’d placed everything on Alex’s desk in his small home office, they went into the family room to play games until it was time to wash up for dinner and set the table.
Noah perused the collection of board games before settling on checkers. They set up the board, then started to play.
He chattered through the game, telling her about his friends in school and what he wanted to do over the summer. His happy voice was a pleasure to hear, she thought, remembering how quiet he’d been after he’d been told his mom had cancer.
At first Alex and Kim had wanted to keep the diagnosis from him, but when she hadn’t responded to treatment as everyone had hoped, they’d been forced to let him know what was going on. Overnight he’d turned from an outgoing, friendly kid to one who was withdrawn and uncommunicative. The situation had gotten worse as his mom had gotten sicker. They’d started him in therapy, but there weren’t any words or skills that could take away a six-year-old’s pain of knowing his mom was dying. Ryleigh had stepped in as best she could, but she was only a friend.
To see him back to himself now was gratifying and a relief, she thought, watching the clock. At a quarter to five, she and Noah washed their hands before starting to set the table.
“What’s Dad bringing home for dinner?” he asked.
“I have no idea.”
He grinned at her. “Then how do we know what to put out? Do we need bowls or plates? Knives or spoons?”
She leaned close. “What if we need straws?”
He giggled. “There’s no dinner that needs a straw.”
“What about soup?”
“We’d use a spoon.”
“What about very thin soup?” She made a slurping sound. “That could be fun.”
“We’re not going to need straws.”
But in the end, he put them out, along with bowls and plates, knives, forks and spoons. Ryleigh set out the glasses they would use but waited to pour their drinks. She saw the Granny Smith apples on the counter and guessed there was a pork tenderloinin the refrigerator. Ingredients for Kim’s special pork and apple bake. Her heart tightened a little as she wondered if Alex had been planning to make it that night but had decided, at the last minute, he couldn’t face putting together his late wife’s favorite recipe.
She didn’t say anything to Noah and kept him laughing until they heard the garage door open a little after five. He took off running to meet his dad.
The next few minutes were loud and happy as Alex greeted his son, then gave her a quick side-arm hug before heading upstairs to change his clothes. She opened the white bags and was happy to find chicken from that place they all liked. There were plenty of their favorite sides, along with a decadent-looking Bundt cake. She got everything on the table and had Noah in his seat as Alex entered the kitchen. Although he looked debonair in his lawyer uniform of a suit and tie, she preferred this more casual version with jeans, a World’s Greatest Dad T-shirt and his hair a little mussed.
“We’re starving,” his son told him. “We could smell all the food, and my stomach started growling.”
“Then we need to take care of that,” his dad told him, taking his seat and holding out his hands to Noah and Ryleigh so they could say grace before eating.
Over the next half hour or so, she found herself listening more than talking. Alex and Noah had grown closer after losing Kim. They’d both been in pain but had turned to each other. Ryleigh knew it wasn’t like that with every family that faced tragedy. Sometimes the pain ripped them apart.
She’d wanted... had hoped for that kind of closeness with Dustin. A love that got stronger when life got painful and difficult. She thought they’d had a better-than-even chance at being one of those couples that could make it for fifty or sixty years. Now she was wondering if she’d been wrong about everything.
“You okay?” Alex asked quietly as they started to clear the plates.
“Sure. I’m good. Why?”
