Page 10 of Sycamore Circle

“I don’t know.” Sounding frustrated, he continued. “I’m pretty sure it had something to do with the substitute dance teacher not liking her posture or... something.” He lowered his voice. “I can’t really get it out of her. You know how Chloe gets when she’s pissed off. She shuts down and hardly talks.”

“Oh, gosh. Yeah, I know it well. Miss Diamanté is on a cruise this week. The substitute is pretty old school.”

“She is definitely old.”

Joy couldn’t help but chuckle. “Usually I’d tell you that isn’t very nice, but you’re right.”

“Right?” He paused. “Anyway, Chloe looked like she needed a little pick-me-up.”

“So you took her to the mall? Tony.”

“Don’t freak out. I’m not going to get her anything too crazy. Just something to make her smile. I’ll have her home by nine.”

Tony might irritate her, but Joy couldn’t deny that his doting on Chloe was sweet. He was being a dad. “All right. Fine.”

“Great. See you in a while.”

“Thanks for letting me know what you’re doing.”

“Anytime.”

Glancing at the clock, she realized she now had another two hours before Chloe was going to get home. She decided to heat up a frozen pizza and get some painting done. She had been commissioned by a new client from Columbus.

She changed into her yoga pants, old T-shirt, and tennis shoes, then walked to her spare room. It used to be Tony’s office but now was where the computer was kept, Chloe did her schoolwork, and where she painted. When she was pregnant she’d painted a mural on Chloe’s bedroom wall. She’d taken a picture of it to show one of the nurses at the pediatrician, which led to the doctor asking if she’d paint the examining rooms.

Soon, some of the patients’ parents asked if she’d paint smaller paintings of the whimsical animals. Now, thanks to word of mouth, she had a good little business. She’d never get rich off her paintings, but they did allow her to take care of her family—and to regularly add to her savings.

Two hours later, she’d eaten three pieces of pizza and was just about finished with a scene featuring a lion wearing a crown when the phone rang. Seeing it was an unfamiliar number again, she picked up with a frown. “Tony?”

“Ah, no. This is Bo.”

“Bo? Oh my gosh. Hi.” Of course, the second the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could take them back. What grown woman said things like that?

He chuckled. “Joy, you sure are a constant source of surprises. Did I call at a bad time?”

“Not at all,” she said quickly. Appalled by her almost breathless-sounding voice, she took a breath. “I mean, I’m surprised to hear from you.”

“Really? Because you wrote your number on my hand. Or, were you expecting someone else?”

“No.”

“Any chance you want to tell me who Tony is?”

Though she felt like he was being a little pushy, she forced herself to imagine how she’d feel if he answered the phone saying another woman’s name. “Tony is my ex-husband. He called earlier from an unfamiliar number. When I didn’t recognize your number, I thought he might be borrowing another phone.”

“Ah. Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” She sat down. “Well, I think it is. Chloe got upset at her dance class today, so Tony was taking her to the mall for some retail therapy. Hopefully when she comes home tonight, she won’t have half the mall with her.”

He chuckled. “You think that’s a possibility?”

“Have you ever been around a sixteen-year-old girl?”

“Not lately.”

She chuckled. “Well, for future reference, yes, it is a possibility. Chloe can shop for anything, anytime, anywhere. And her dad? Well, she’s got him wrapped around her little finger.”

“Whew. You have your hands full.”

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