Page 70 of Love Lessons

Finley slid off of my lap. “What kind of activity?”

“It’s a surprise,” Dr. Lyons answered with a wink.

I stood up, taking Finley by the hand. “Thank you for everything. This has been more helpful than you know.” Dr. Lyons smiled with her eyes like she did know, though, as we shook hands and said goodbye.

When we got outside, I scooped Finley up in my arms and held her on the sidewalk, separated from the busy street by a row of trees with yellowing leaves. Dr. Lyons’ office was connected to the hospital on the north side of downtown Indianapolis, and the city was bustling with activity on that late Friday afternoon. “Did you like talking to Dr. Janelle?” I asked.

“Yeah. But I really liked playing with the toys.”

I laughed. “I hope you picked up that room when you were done in there.”

Finley bit her bottom lip. “Umm…”

I kissed her on the temple. “What do you say we find something fun to do in Indy before we head home?”

**

Finley somehow convinced me to navigate to the nearest McDonald’s, despite my begging her to try something new—or literally anything else. After we ate, we headed to her favorite bookstore, clear on the other side of the city on Mass Avenue. She loved it because the children’s section was enclosed in a playhouse at the back of the store, and I liked it because the used books were often marked down to a dollar. The kid could leave with an armload of books and think I’d won the lottery or something.

“You can pick out ten books this time,” I told her as she made her way to the back of the store when we arrived. “I’ll be wandering around up here.”

As I sipped my McDonald’s Coke and meandered through the limited selection of new releases, I stopped in my tracks when I saw the last project I’d completed at my old job—the Flipping Fabulous book. I’d completely missed its release date.

I sat my drink down on the shelf and picked up the book, flipping to the copyright page to find my name. It felt like so long ago that I’d worked on that project. I inhaled through my nose, thinking about how different my life was before I became a full-time dad—when I still lived and worked in the city.

That felt like a completely different lifetime.

I put the book back on the shelf—only to pick it right back up and tuck it under my armpit, remembering Kendall was a fan of the show. I might not be allowed to touch her anymore, but I could still give her a gift. As a friend, or whatever.

When I grabbed my Coke and turned around, I saw Owen’s STEM for the Win book on display beneath a chalkboard that said SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR! We already had two copies of this book at my parents’ house, but admittedly, I hadn’t thumbed through it since the summer when Finley and I conducted one of Owen’s science experiments.

After making sure Finley was still content at the other side of the store, I grabbed the book and casually flipped through the pages. It was a self-published book, and Owen prided himself on doing a lot of the work himself. The page layouts were sleek and modern, but they seemed a bit too straightforward—too basic—for the lively and sometimes whimsical tone of Owen's writing.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to me.

I should get Owen to hire me.

And not just for a single project. If I played my cards right, I could persuade him to bring me on as a full-time employee. He was probably planning his budget for the upcoming fiscal year, and if he was going to bring in a new member for his team, the time was now. I could get away from doing meaningless, tedious work for people I’d never met and work for my cousin instead, giving all of his projects the creative flair they were missing.

No more sitting around, waiting for an opportunity to come knocking. It was time for me to seize control and create one for myself.

Finley emerged from the playhouse at the back of the store, struggling to carry a stack of what looked like a bit more than ten books. “Daddy, I really, really need all of these books.”

“Okay.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Really?”

I placed the Flipping Fabulous book atop Finley’s bookstack and chuckled at the way she grunted under the weight. Then, lifting the whole stack from her arms, I said, “Yes, really. Under one condition.”

“What?”

“Next time we come up here for an appointment, I choose where we eat.”.

chapter twenty-eight

kendall

I probably should have specified that students only needed to bring one item for Show and Tell. Because it was Letter B week, and Finley Reed unloaded seventeen books from her backpack at the center of the rug.

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