Page 8 of Beanful Wishes

I hold up a hand. “Let’s give the man a minute to process. And decide if this is what he wants to do.”

Michael shoots me a grateful look. “The aquarium sounds like a good idea. Do you have a date in mind?”

“They are usually closed on Tuesdays. Would any of these dates work for you?” I slide a list I made during my call with Brenda, his way.

“I could take next Tuesday off, and I’m sure Lily’s teacher wouldn’t mind if she played hooky.”

Sophie slides the paper toward herself and circles the date in red ink. “I can make next Tuesday work. Jake?”

I nod and take a sip of my iced tea. “There’s one more thing we should discuss. Sophia?”

She clears her throat and forces a smile to her face. For the first time in the few days I’ve known her, she doesn’t look completely confident in what she’s doing. “I would like to have a small crew film your day with Lily. In a very unobtrusive way, of course.”

“Why?” Michael looks confused. His gaze travels from her to me and back.

“I work for WILM-TV.”

“I thought you looked familiar.” Recognition washes over his face.

“It might be nice to have something to look back on in a few years,” I say, trying and failing to judge how he feels about this. I’m impressed with everything Sophia has gotten accomplished so far, and her attention to detail is impressive. But this is asking a lot.

“And wouldn’t it be nice to give back?” Sophia asks. “Help Jake get the word out about this Wishing Wall. It could do a lot of good.”

“And I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt business, either.” Michael leans back in his chair.

“I assure you, our main focus is to give you and your daughter the special day you both deserve. I will personally make sure nothing will get in the way of that.” Sophia sounds sincere, and I believe her.

“I get that you need something out of this,” Michael says, sounding tired.

Before I can respond, Sophia speaks up. “That’s not what this is about, and it’s not why I’m involved. Yes, I think it would make for a good story, but I don’t want you to agree to it out of a feeling of obligation.”

“It could inspire other fathers to take their daughters out on a special date,” I say.

“That’s something to think about,” Michael admits. “Can I think about it?”

“How about this?” Sophie asks. “We film it, discreetly, but I won’t do anything with the footage, unless I get your okay. And you get to keep a copy of it, regardless.”

“Give me right of refusal after I see the finished segment in addition to that and you have yourself a deal,” Michael says. “And no interviewing my daughter.”

“Can I ask her a few questions about how she liked the day?” Sophia asks.

“Off camera.” He crosses his arms.

“Deal. But you are fair game?” Sophia asks. When Michael nods, she holds out her hand. “In that case, we have a deal. I’ll get it put into writing.”

Michael shakes her hand and glances down at his phone. “If that’s everything, I should head back to the office. Lily has noallergies, and I am fine with any arrangements you want to make for lunch at the park. I’m sure she’ll love anything the two of you come up with.”

“One more thing,” Sophie flips through her notes. “With your permission, I would like to reach out to a local children’s book author.”

“Why?” This time I’m the one looking surprised.

“I thought it would be nice to have a personalized book about their special day created. I did something similar for my nieces for Christmas, and they love their books.” Sophia flips to a printed page. “This gives you an idea of what it would look like.”

Michael takes a look and I try to get a peek, stunned at how involved Sophia is getting and how invested she is to make this day as memorable as possible for Lily.

“I think it’s a great idea.” Michael thanks both of us and heads out, leaving the two of us to finish lunch.

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this,” I say after he’s gone.

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