Page 20 of Heart of a Hero

The two sat silently for a moment as Mark allowed his dad’s words to penetrate. Finally, his dad said, “I’m going to head to bed now.”

“Good night, Dad.”

Richard nodded and smiled, then started down the hall. He stopped and looked at one of the family pictures hanging on the wall. Turning back, he said, “Remember, Mark. Part of being a good parent to Benji is taking care of yourself. Find what makes you happy, and Benji will remember and emulate that as he grows into a man. Many of the greatest lessons he’ll ever learnfrom you won’t be the words you speak, but the actions you take.”

With that, he lumbered down the hall. Mark stood, his lungs filling with air before letting out a long breath. Smiling, he pulled out his phone.

9

Karen climbed into bed, glad for the early night. The girls were also tired and got ready for bed after dinner and homework. She grinned at their bedtime routines, thinking how alike and different the two girls were. Laura would take a long shower, including extra time conditioning her hair. Olivia preferred a quick shower to wash her hair, and then she filled the tub with hot water and scented bubbles.“It’s like a spa!”she’d declare. Of course, Olivia had never been to a spa, but Karen was sure her youngest’s imagination created the perfect spa in her mind.

She had spent time reading over a few files of upcoming patients and then set them on her nightstand, picking up her e-reader instead. Barely into the story, her phone buzzed. Glancing at the caller ID and seeing Mark’s name, she pressed her lips together to stifle the grin that threatened to erupt.

“Hello.” She opted for a casual tone but had a sneaky suspicion that her one-word greeting sounded like she was out of breath.

“Karen,” Mark greeted, “is this a bad time?”

“Not at all. The girls went to bed early tonight—long school day, practice, and then homework.”

“Good. I said I’d call, and we could decide on an evening to go out to dinner… or rather, I didn’t mention dinner, but that’s what I was thinking.” He paused, but before she could speak, he rushed, “It doesn’t have to be dinner if you’d rather do something else.” He sighed. “Jesus, I sound ridiculous.”

Still smiling, she said, “Dinner is fine. And for the record, I think you sound fine.” She winced at repeating the wordfine.

“How can I be almost forty and feel like I’m sixteen and asking out the prom queen?”

“Prom queen? I assure you that was never me, even when I was sixteen.” She laughed.

“What group did you belong to in high school?”

“Oh my, that was many years ago. Let’s see… I played the piano, so I'm a bit of a music nerd. I was part of a community service organization and ran food drives and fundraisers for the local animal shelter. Sports? Nope. Cheerleader? Nope. Prom queen? Nope.” She was now filled with curiosity and asked, “What about you?”

“I ran long-distance… cross country and track. Music was just whatever was popular that I listened to on my headphones so that my parents didn’t have to yell at me to turn down the volume. I liked languages… I took Spanish, French, and German in high school. That worked well when I was stationed in Germany with the Army.”

“Oh, that was good. I picked up the basics I needed, but it would have helped if I had known more languages.”

“What about your girls? Are they interested in the same things?”

“They’re such a fabulous mixture of Jeffrey and me, both in looks and personalities. Laura is quieter, loves running, and loves community service projects. Olivia is bubbly, also loves running, and swears that she wants to be a veterinarian.”

“I’m always glad when I look at Benji and see that he has both Sue and me in him.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Karen agreed. “Our spouses may have passed, but we were fortunate enough to have them live on through our children.”

He sighed, then cleared his throat. “You know, I called to ask you out and arrange a date, and instead, I suppose I haven’t made the conversation just about us, have I?”

Karen replied softly, “You’re a single dad, and I’m a single mom. Our children and our former spouses will always be a part of who we are. But I would love to set a time for a date with you.”

“I have Saturday off,” he began. “You?”

“That’s one of the reasons I chose my job. I work Monday through Friday and always have weekends off. That way, I have the same schedule as the girls.”

“Will it be a problem for someone to watch the girls on Saturday—oh, wait. If Laura is fourteen, you probably don’t have to have a babysitter, do you?”

“No, I don’t. Laura and Olivia will be fine.”

“I always have my dad to watch Benji. I have running practice on Saturday morning and was thinking about dinner on Saturday evening?”

“You’ll meet my girls on Saturday. I contacted Ginny MacFarlane, and she sent me the paperwork.”

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