“You have a certain look about you, as if you asked a pretty girl out and she said yes.” She handed me a manila folder. She had no idea how on target her suspicions were.
“What’s this?”
“The Jacksons countered, but they’re willing to increase the offer by five thousand if the sellers include the appliances.”
I opened the folder and forced my attention to the words on the paper instead of thinking about Julia and our plans for Saturday. I wanted to impress her and had a few ideas of places to take her.
“Thanks. I’ll let the seller know.” I rounded the desk and sat in my chair.
“By the way, whatever you have going on, I’m happy for you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I figured you’d be upset you have all this extra work to do.”
“To be honest, I like the extra work. It’s good experience because one of these days I want to do what you do. Besides, you seem happier. I guess things are going well with theniñito?”
I suddenly realized that I had a whole village of people who cared about me and Noah and wanted what was best for us. Just this morning, including Lupe, I talked to three people who had shown interest in our welfare.
“Much better. He’s thriving.”
As she walked away, I felt as if my life was turning a corner. Business was good with Lupe and my other assistants holding down the fort. I was going to get involved with the Single Dad Society, which would expand my village and could provehelpful in the next few months as I worked with Noah. Because I wasn’t going to let him go to Tennessee and have his therapy sessions disrupted. Zenobia would have to deal.
Then there was Julia, another bright spot in my life.
Saturday couldn’t come fast enough.
Chapter 12
Marcus
It was late afternoon when Noah and I walked toward McDonald’s. We had gone tie shopping at the mall and visited several stores before we found what he liked at Macy’s. I can’t believe how picky a seven-year-old was, but he had good taste. He wanted us to match, so of the three ties I purchased for him, I bought two in the same color for me. I’ll never forget how he held onto the bag with both hands as we walked out of the store, as if the plastic contained an object more precious than gold.
Now it was time for dinner. We were both hungry, and McDonald’s was on the way home. Noah ordered a Happy Meal with chicken nuggets, and I ordered a Big Mac combo. We sat in a booth near the window and dug into our meals.
“How was school today?”
I had waited to ask him this question so I could closely watch his expression. Though he was doing much better, the therapist had said he wasn’t completely out of the woods yet, so I wanted to catch any flicker of trouble since he might not express anyissues out loud.
He told me about his day, the Reading Corner, and how he had read a funny book calledThe Cat in the Hat. His conversation was normal and animated, which allayed my fears.
“Hey, buddy, I wanted to talk to you about this coming weekend. On Saturday night, I’m going out. I’m going to take you to see Mrs. Patterson. You haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Okay.” Noah ate a few fries. “Are you going on a date?”
I wasn’t sure how much to tell him. He was only seven, after all. Should I tell him I was seeing Julia? Probably not. At least not yet, until we figured out where our relationship was going. “Yes, I’m going on a date.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“Not long. A couple of hours, and then I’ll be back to get you.”
I had called Mrs. Patterson earlier to make sure she was available. Thankfully, she was, and I’d scored a reservation at a high-end restaurant, too, so my plans were coming together for the night out with Julia.
Noah and I ate in silence for a few minutes, and then he pushed aside his box, leaving behind half his nuggets and half his fries.
“You finished already? You still have a lot more to eat.”
“I’m full.”
“Are you sure?” He had told me he was hungry in the car.
