Page 14 of The Manny

“He was her boyfriend,” Mia said softly.

“Oh.”

“He… he went to heaven too. With Mommy.”

I gritted my teeth. “I see.” So her mom and boyfriend had both died in the same car accident. Jesus, this poor kid.

“Toby was nice to me.”

“I’m glad.” She stopped walking and her hand slipped from mine. I stopped too and met her worried gaze. “Are you okay, Mia?”

Wrinkling her brow, she asked, “Do you know where my daddy is?”

Surprised at the question, I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know why he didn’t come to get me.” She hugged herself, her bottom lip quivering ominously.

“Did you know your daddy?” Jack had said Mia was the result of a one-night stand. Had he got that wrong?

“No. But when a mommy dies, I thought the daddy always came.”

“Um… I don’t think so. Uncle Jack is going to take care of you, remember?”

“But shouldn’t my daddy come?”

I hesitated. “Your mommy wanted Uncle Jack to be your guardian.”

“Oh.” She looked confused. “But why not daddy?”

I winced inwardly. “Sometimes daddies aren’t around.”

“Can’t we find him?”

This poor confused kid.

“I don’t think that’s possible right now, Mia.”

“No?”

“I’m sorry. I know this is all very confusing for you. But I want you to know that me and Uncle Jack will be really good to you. No one will hurt you. We’ll protect you and keep you safe.”

“But...”

I glanced across the street to where the park was. Trying to distract her, I said, “Look, there are ducks on the pond today. How about we feed them?”

She brightened at the mention of the waterfowl. “Ducks?” She looked in the direction of the park. “Ooh, there are so many of them!”

Relief went through me that I’d been successful in distracting her. I needed to figure out what exactly Jack wanted me to say to her if she brought up her dad again. It was natural for her to have questions, but I wanted to handle it however Jack preferred.

I squeezed her hand. “Come on. Let’s see if there are those little machines with duck food available to us. I have some quarters in my pocket.”

“Okay.” She sounded breathless. “I never fed a duck before.”

My heart squeezed at the feel of her little hand in mine. I loved working with children and especially felt good to be able to help children like Mia. She needed affection and stability in her life right now. I hoped to help Jack give her that. He wanted to do what was right by her, but he needed to understand she’d need emotional support from him too.

We were able to find a feed dispenser, and Mia was thrilled as we approached the pond. There were tons of brown and white mallards rooting through the shallow waters, and white domestic ducks as well. Many of them headed toward us the minute they spied us. Mia squealed as they approached, and for the first time I got to see her smiling.

“Hold out your hand and keep your palm nice and flat.” I manipulated her hand gently. “That’s perfect.”

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