“You like?” Harlow asked as she twirled around.
“Like doesn’t even cover it,” Nick said in a low voice as he checked her out. The costume hid absolutely nothing about her shape. She had curves for days.
“You look awesome, Doc Harlow. I think that’s what he’s trying to say,” Miles said, shaking his head at Nick as if he was pitiful.Maybe he was, Nick thought, chuckling.
“Holy Batman and Robin. You two look fantastic,” Harlow said as Nick waved her inside. Miles had dressed up as Batman while Nick was playing the sidekick role of Robin.
“Thanks,” Miles said. “I think Batman is definitely underrated in the superhero universe. And Robin always had his back.”
“Well, I think you two look dope,” Harlow said. “I’m no expert on superheroes, but I know what looks on point. If there was a best costume contest, the two of you would win it, hands down.” Harlow flashed him a thumbs-up sign. Miles smiled shyly up at her. He wasn’t used to hanging out with Nick’s female friends, so this was all new to him.
“Your home is beautiful,” Harlow said, looking around his foyer. Nick was happy with his humble abode. For him, the most important part of it was making it cozy and warm for his son. And filled with love.
“Thanks. We’ve been really happy here. Right Miles?” he asked, clapping his arm around his son.
“Yep,” Miles said with a nod. “I’m going to finish my vocabulary words before we head out. I told some friends we would meet up with them over by Maple Street,” Miles said before dashing upstairs with Zeus at his heels.
Maple Street? Friends?Trick-or-treating had always been the two of them, with Stella and Tess occasionally coming along with them. Even when Kara had been alive she’d stayed back at the house giving out the candy. Luke had been overseas doing Navy SEAL heroics for most of the Halloweens in Miles’s life.
“He’s all about the friends these days. I guess I’m chopped liver,” Nick said. His son was growing way too fast for his liking. Pretty soon he was going to be heading out to meet up with friends on his own. No more park meetups or playdates orchestrated by the adults in their lives. Unexpectedly, Nick found himself battling feelings of loss.
“Come on, Nick. Surely you remember being his age. Friends were everything. But deep in our hearts, we loved our families to the moon and back.” She locked eyes with Nick. “I’m sure that’s how Miles feels about you. I can see it written all over his sweet face.”
“Just for making me feel better, how about a glass of wine while we wait for Miles?” Nick led her down the hall toward his kitchen. He pulled out a bottle of wine from his wine fridge, then took down two goblets from the cupboard. Harlow sat down at his kitchen counter and he slid a glass toward her before taking a seat.
This was nice, he realized. Life had gotten so busy he’d forgotten about chill moments like this one. Nick wanted more of this. More adult conversation. More relaxation. More Harlow.
“Hey, I didn’t want to say anything in front of Miles,” Harlow said, placing her goblet down on the counter, “but the biopsy results came back.”
His heart sank. Zeus was Miles’s bestie. The dog was even beginning to grow on Nick. When he wasn’t acting like a maniac, the pup was pretty good company. Zeus had learned to track Nick down in the house at dinnertime. He had to admit it was pretty adorable.
“Uh-oh. I don’t like the look on your face. Should I be worried?” Nick asked. He was dreading the answer. Bad news was something he’d learned to fear.
“It turns out that it’s liposarcoma.”
“Which means what? I’ve never heard of that.”
“It is cancerous,” Harlow said in a calm voice, “but I believe we can successfully remove it. Most liposarcomas don’t spread to other parts of the body, which is good.”
Nick ran a shaky hand over his face. “Wow. I wasn’t expecting you to say that.”
“I know,” she said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. “No owner anticipates hearing bad news about their pet, but in Zeus’s case this isn’t a dire prognosis. Thanks to Miles, by the way, for speaking up. By saying something he may have saved Zeus’s life.”
“What do I tell him?” Nick asked. “I don’t want him to freak out or be scared.”
“Let him know what a good job he did by pointing out the tumor. It was diagnosed at an early stage, which is promising. I’m confident we can remove it with clean margins.”
Nick ran a hand over his face. “My kid has had his fair share of loss. One of the things I’ve been trying to instill in him is that his world is a safe place.”
“I know, Nick,” Harlow said, her voice oozing sympathy. “Just reassure him that Zeus is strong. I really think he’s going to be fine, but he’s going to need some tests and surgery. You can’t sugarcoat that aspect, but you can tell him that this isn’t the end for Zeus. He’s going to be around for a very long time. If you want, I can be there when you tell him.”
Nick’s heart lurched. “That’s a sweet offer, which I’m going to gratefully accept. Miles will have a million questions that I can’t answer.”
“I’m more than happy to be there for both of you,” Harlow murmured, reaching out and touching his arm.
Nick hadn’t realized how much hearing those words would affect him. To have Harlow offer her support to him and Miles was touching. Having Harlow in his world was opening him up to all the empty places in his life—spaces she was rapidly filling up. There were voids in his life he tended to ignore, because they reminded him of all he’d lost. But maybe now he was finding something new.
“Thank you, Harlow,” Nick said. “You explained everything in a way that gives us hope. Believe it or not, I can’t imagine our household without Zeus.” His throat felt thick with emotion. “I appreciate you saying you’ll be there for us. It means a lot to me.”
