Page 77 of Pity Parade

“I have a proposal for you,” he says. “What do you say I buy it from you so I can build a smaller structure and create the community my daughter wants.”

“What?” Aimee is totally taken off guard. “Are you playing games with me right now?”

Jeremiah shakes his head. “I don’t know what you think I do with all my money, but I do a lot of good in this world.”

“You write checks.” That seems to be the extent of the charity she’ll concede to.

“My check writing has helped a lot of people, young lady.” She shrugs noncommittally, so he continues, “But I’m reaching the point of retirement and I think it might be time to invest more than money.”

“Are you kidding, Dad?” Aimee suddenly seems so overwhelmed that she looks like she’s about to cry. I can’t help but appreciate how nice a moment this is to witness—a father and his child coming together in something truly meaningful.

I interrupt. “I’d have to talk to Shelby about this, but as far as I’m concerned, I think it’s a great idea.” I tell them, “I don’t plan on spending much time in the city in the next few years, so the less I have tying me here, the better.”

“Where are you headed?” Jeremiah asks. “New York? London?”

“Elk Lake, Wisconsin,” I tell him. “I just bought a hundred and fifty acres that I’m thinking of building a lodge on.” An idea pops into my mind which causes me to address Aimee. “I haven’t started planning yet, but we should keep in touch. Maybe once your houseless are ready to reenter the workforce again, we could talk about training them to work at my lodge.”

Aimee appears so excited, she looks like she’s about to pop out of her skin. “This is not what I was expecting to happen today.”

“What were you expecting?” her dad asks.

“I thought I’d be fighting you both tooth and nail trying to talk you out of wasting a stupid amount of money putting up another building that wouldn’t help anyone.”

“Turns out you don’t know me as well as you thought,” Jeremiah says. “I was meeting with Heath to pull out of the project. He just beat me to it.”

Aimee looks like she’s about to fall over from shock.

“This was a good meeting,” I announce. “What do you say we celebrate with hot dogs? I’m buying.”

As we walk the remaining distance to Windy City Wieners, Aimee says, “If the two of you are serious, we could really make a difference in this world.”

“We sure can, honey,” her dad says.

“Changing the world sounds like a good plan to me,” I add.

I don’t bother to mention this is only part of how my world is about to change. I can’t wait to get back to Elk Lake to make the other changes.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

TRINA

“I feel like I’ve missed everything,” Faith says over lunch at the diner. “I’ve just been so tired, all I want to do is sleep.”

“Have you asked your doctor about that?” Missy asks nervously.

Faith nods her head. “She suggested we schedule another ultrasound. The last one was at twelve weeks.”

“I’m sure you’re fine,” Paige says, “but it’s always good to be sure.”

“Other than being tired, are you feeling okay?” My mind is on Heath’s wife and what happened to her during her pregnancy.

Faith nods her head. “I feel good. I eat enough for six people, and I’ve already gained fourteen pounds, so I’m guessing the weight gain might be the cause of my exhaustion. I have no excuse for all the farting.”

Paige giggles at the last bit before saying, “You need to gain weight.”

“The doctor says the baby is only the size of an avocado,” Faith announces. “It clearly doesn’t need as much food as I’ve been giving it.” She adds, “According to Anna, if I gain more than I should, it’s a nightmare to take off.”

I wipe ketchup off my mouth before pushing my plate away. Then I announce, “I read an article online that babies who are born to women with above average body fat tend to be smarter than the kids of skinny moms. It has something to do with the fetus’s developing brain getting enough fat to grow properly.”

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