Page 125 of The Single Dad

“Hello?” I call. “Anyone home?”

Archie appears in the foyer, followed closely by Cole. To my surprise, there are wide grins on both of their faces, not just Archie’s. I glance up at Cole.

“Welcome back,” he says. “How was your class?”

“It was good,” I say warily. “What’s going on here?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Something’s definitely up.” I gesture to him, my eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You’ve got this look on your face.” I point down at Archie. “And so do you!”

Archie laughs again, unable to keep a straight face. “It’s nothing!”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing.” I size both of them up, trying to figure out what could possibly be going through their heads. “It’s not my birthday, or I’d think you guys planned me a surprise party.”

“No idea why you would think that,” Cole says, clearly feigning nonchalance. “Nothing’s out of the ordinary. Come sit down in the living room.”

“Okay.” I take a guarded step forward. “But if a clown jumps out from behind the couch, I’m gonna punch him, no questions asked.”

Cole chuckles. “Got it. No clowns. I promise.”

I follow Cole and Archie into the living room, and immediately, I notice what’s up. It’s hard to miss, hanging on the formerly bare wall opposite the couch.

“Oh!” My mouth drops open, and my hand rises to cover it.

The painting is every bit as gorgeous as it was when I first saw it at the silent auction. It draws the eye, and to my surprise, the blues and whites match the upholstery in Cole’s living room.

I look up at Cole, flabbergasted. “You bought that painting? Are you serious?”

“Well, you told me you liked it.”

“But—but it went to someone else on the night of the auction,” I protest, still in disbelief. “How on earth did you get it?”

“I tracked down the original buyer,” Cole explains. “I made him a good offer, and he accepted.” He shrugs. “Apparently, private sales like this are decently common in the art world.”

“I can’t believe it.” I feel as though all of the air has left the room. I think of how much the painting went for originally at the auction, and my stomach dips. Cole spent a lot of money on this piece. I clear my throat, then say, “I… wow. It’s gorgeous. And it really suits the room. You made a good choice.”

“I didn’t buy it for the house.” Cole smiles down at me. “I bought it for you.”

My heart skips a beat. “For… for me?”

“Yes.”

“It’s your favorite painting,” Archie says happily. “Right?”

“Yeah, buddy.” I reach down to ruffle his hair, unable to take my eyes off of the painting. “It sure is.”

“Why?”

“Well…” I drop down on one knee next to Archie, seeing the painting from his eye level. I point up at the canvas, and his eyes follow. “Do you see how bright this blue is? And how the lines are very smooth at the top?”

He nods, wide-eyed.

“But when they get down to the bottom, they start to blur together,” I say. “There are a lot of things that the artist might have meant when they painted this. Paintings can say a lot. You ever heard the saying, ‘a picture’s worth a thousand words?’”

Archie shakes his head, still staring at the painting.

“Well, you have now,” I say with a laugh. If I felt giddy before, it was nothing compared to this.

---