Page 21 of Second Chances

“Mommy colored this part.” Simona motioned to the small dog, which was colored brown, instead of the bright colors the rest of the child’s menu was covered in.

“I like this part the best.” He ran a finger over the purple house. “Is this your house?”

“No, our house is yellow.” She giggled.

He smiled. “My house is boring gray.”

“Want to come eat with us?” She pointed across the room. His eyes locked with Olivia’s, and he understood immediately that it was okay with her, since she nodded. “We ordered and everything.”

Todd chuckled and stood up, holding Simona in his arms and his iced tea in his free hand. When he walked by the waitress, he told her he was moving tables.

“Hi,” Olivia said when he sat down, letting Simona sit next to him in the booth.

“Hi. This is a nice surprise,” he admitted.

“You looked like you could use it.” She shifted her head slightly. “Bad day?”

He sighed. “A pipe burst in the house and cut my shower short. I’m heading to the hardware store after lunch for what I need to fix it.”

“Oh.” She winced. “Sorry to hear that.” She smiled. “I thought I smelled something.”

He chuckled and for the first time since seeing the water rushing from the wall, he relaxed. “How have you two been?” He glanced down at Simona. “Now that you’re a first-grade graduate, I bet you have all sorts of job offers.”

Simona laughed and shook her head quickly side to side. “I’m only six.” She rolled her eyes before she started coloring again, this time on his place mat.

“Is there a lot of work to do around your home?” Olivia asked.

“Not really. I mean, it’s livable. Just not… updated. I’m actually thinking about doing some upgrades while I’m at it.” He shrugged. “The kitchen could stand to be brought into this century.”

“When we moved into our place, I had to update the bathrooms. I learned how to install tile myself.”

He thought about the bathrooms and realized he wanted to remodel them as well.

“Okay, I might be calling you for help when I start work in the bathrooms.” He thought about all the other things he wanted to update in the home. He was looking forward to starting some of the work since he enjoyed working with his hands. “The place has good bones; it’s just been neglected for years and is seriously outdated.”

“Are you going to do all the work yourself?” she asked.

“Whatever I can do.” He nodded. “A lot of it isn’t hard, just tedious.”

“Like plumbing?” she asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I have the name of a plumber, if you need,” she offered.

He figured it was a perfect time to ask for her cell number. But just then, their food arrived, and they shifted discussion to her and Simona’s summer plans.

They were halfway through the meal when he noticed that every single time the diner door opened, she glanced over with a worried look on her face.

“Expecting someone?” he asked casually as he glanced over his shoulder to watch a young couple walk in.

“No.” She shook her head and averted her eyes from his. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, a sure sign of worry.

Glancing down at Simona, who was busy eating the pancakes he’d helped her cut into small bites, he lowered his voice.

“If I’ve interrupted your day…”

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Olivia sighed and glanced towards Simona, and he instantly got the hint that, whatever she was worried about, she didn’t want her daughter to know about it.