Page 3 of Evan

Molly ruffles his hair. "Tell you what, buddy. If you sit quietly and do your homework while I finish my shift, we'll stop for ice cream on the way home. Deal?"

"Deal," Chad agrees, and then he's off like a shot, sliding into the booth across from me.

"Hi, mister," he says, sticking out his hand. "I'm Chad. What's your name?"

I can't help but grin at the kid's enthusiasm. "I'm Evan," I say, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Chad."

Molly comes over, looking apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Evan. Chad, honey, let's not bother Mr. Lawson, okay?"

"He's not bothering me," I assure her. "Really, it's fine."

Chad looks up at Molly with those big, pleading eyes. "Can I sit with Mr. Evan, Mom? Please? I'll be good, I promise!"

Molly hesitates, but I give her a reassuring nod. "It's okay, Molly. I could use the company."

She smiles then, and it's like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. "If you're sure," she says. "Chad, you listen to Mr. Lawson and do your homework, okay?"

Chad nods solemnly. "I will, Mom."

As Molly goes to put in my order, Chad turns to me, his eyes wide with curiosity. "So, Mr. Evan, what do you do? Are you a cowboy?"

I chuckle at that. "No, buddy, I'm not a cowboy. I own the Christmas tree farm on the edge of town."

"Whoa!" Chad exclaims. "That's so cool! Do you have reindeer? Can I come see the trees sometime?"

I'm about to answer when Molly comes back with my meatloaf. She sets it down in front of me, and the smell alone is enough to make my mouth water.

"This looks amazing, as always."

“I’ll pass the compliment on to the kitchen.” Molly smiles.

"Mom's the best cook in the entire world," Chad declares proudly. “Better than Chef Billy.”

Molly laughs, tweaking Chad's nose. "You're biased, kiddo. Now, let Mr. Evan eat his dinner in peace, okay?"

I wave off her concern. "Really, Molly, he's fine. In fact, I was just telling Chad he's welcome to come visit the farm sometime. If that's okay with you, of course."

Molly blinks, surprised. "Oh, that's... that's very kind of you, Evan. Are you sure it's not too much trouble?"

"Not at all," I assure her. "I could use a little holiday cheer around the place. And I bet Chad would love to see the trees, wouldn't you, buddy?"

Chad nods so hard I'm afraid he might strain something. "Yeah! Can we go tomorrow, Mom? Please?"

Molly hesitates, but there's a warmth in her eyes when she looks at me. "If you're sure it's no trouble, then okay. We can stop by after school tomorrow."

Chad lets out a whoop of joy, and I feel a grin spreading across my face. It's been a long time since I've had something to look forward to, something to make me feel like maybe, just maybe, there's more to life than just going through the motions.

As I dig into my meatloaf, listening to Chad chatter away about his day, I can't stop myself from stealing glances at Molly as she moves around the diner. There's a grace to her, a quiet strength that draws me in like a moth to a flame.

And when she catches me looking and gives me a shy smile, I feel something flutter in my chest, something I haven't felt in longer than I can remember.

Anticipation.

For the first time in a long time, I’m not dreading tomorrow. And as I finish my meal and say goodnight to Molly and Chad, I can't help but smile to myself.

Perhaps being stuck with the tree farm isn’t all bad.

Three

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