She nods. “Right to it, huh?”
She shrugs off one strap of her backpack and swings it around to her front so she can grab the drink sitting in one of the side cupholders.
It’s a white cup with a straw.
Grey comes barging out of the house.
“Greer! You’re here.”
“Hey!”
He runs up and hugs her and then points at her cup. “What’s that?”
“A chocolate peanut butter and banana protein shake.”
“Oh! Can I have one after camp today?”
Greer looks at me. “I don’t know. Is that part of the routine?”
“Routine?” Grey laughs. “My dad had to hire you because we don’t have one.”
“Grey.”
One thing’s for sure. When Greer is around, my son and I both have a habit of saying a little too much. I’ll need to talk to him about that.
“What?”
“We have a routine,” I remind him.
“Okay, Dad.”
“We do.”
“Go get your stuff,” I say, and he does as he’s told. Once he’s inside, I say to Greer, “Don’t feel obligated to make him shakes or anything.”
“I can if he’s allowed to have them. Maybe once a week.”
I nod. “We should talk about how much I’m going to pay you.”
“Or you cannot, and this is just a friend helping a friend.”
I watch her for a moment.
“I’m going to pay you.”
“I don’t want your money, Simon.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because you need help, and I have the time.”
I shake my head.
“No, I’m paying you.”
“Well, you’ll just have a stack of uncashed checks.”
“I’ll give you cash.”
