Page 57 of Mountain Daddy

I should ask Nikolai to leave. Should tell him we're closing soon.

Instead, I start cleaning the espresso machine. Anything to keep my hands busy.

“Mama!” Chleo calls from the back. “Can you come look at this?”

I find him bent over a piece of paper, tongue poking out in concentration. He's drawing something with crayons, completely absorbed.

“What are you working on?”

“A picture for the nice man. For fixing our chair.”

My stomach drops. “Chleo, you don't have to?—”

“But I want to.” He holds up the paper proudly.

It's a drawing of three stick figures holding hands. A tall one with dark scribbles for hair. A medium one with brown hair in a ponytail. A small one in the middle.

It looks like a family.

“It's beautiful, baby, but?—”

“Can I give it to him now? Please?”

How do I explain that the nice man isn't family? That he can't be family? That family means running in the middle of the night?

I can't.

So I nod.

Chleo races out to the main bakery, clutching his drawing. I follow, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Nikolai is wiping down tables. He looks up when Chleo approaches.

“I made this for you,” Chleo announces, holding out the paper. “For fixing our chair and being nice.”

Nikolai takes the drawing carefully, like it's made of gold leaf. He stares at it for a long moment.

The big stick figures. The little stick figure.

When Nikolai looks up, his eyes are bright with something that might be tears.

“This is...” His voice cracks slightly. “This is the most beautiful thing anyone's ever given me.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Nikolai kneels down so he's at Chleo's eye level. “Thank you. I'll treasure it forever.”

Chleo beams. “Maybe tomorrow you can help fix other things. The bell on the door is loose too.”

“Maybe I can.”

Nikolai stands slowly. He's still holding the drawing, still staring at it like he can't quite believe it's real.

When he looks at me, there's something broken in his expression. A single tear tracks down his cheek.

The drawing flutters slightly in Nikolai's hands as he folds it carefully, reverently, and slips it into his jacket pocket.

Right over his heart.

---