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“I’ll see you. I’ll find you if I don’t see you.”
Meg’s eyes pop, and she suppresses a smile.
I’ll find you if I don’t see you?
I went from being the uncool single dad to the creepy stalker. All I need is a knife to complete the look.
Crap.
I do have a knife—apocket knife.
Why am I suddenly stumbling over every word? It’s not like Ilikeher. Miss Johnson is just like any other woman I talk to every day.
Except that I don’t talk to other women every day.
“That came out wrong.” I lift the tip of my hat and fit it over my head again. “I promise I’m not trying to recreate the movieTaken, especially since we already established that your dad wouldn’t be able to find you.”
She gives me a courtesy laugh.
Acourtesylaugh.
It’s time to go before I say something else equally stupid. Although, I’m not sure anything can topI’ll find you if I don’t see you.“It was nice meeting you…officially.”
“You too.”
“Wait!” Krew picks up a flyer off of a desk by the door and shoves it into my face. “Dad, there’s a carnival!”
My head kicks back as my eyes try to focus on the paper one inch from my nose.
“Yes, the fall carnival is next week after school. It’s a big fundraiser.” Meg lifts her shoulder as she talks. “You should come.”
Becauseshewants me there, or because my son goes to the school?
“Sounds fun.” My eyes lock with hers. “I’ll be there.”
Krew grabs my fingers. “What about me?”
“We!” I say a little too aggressively. “Wewill be there. Next week. It’s a date.” Her expression drops, and I immediately correct myself. “Not adatedate. Just an appointment.” I nudge Krew forward. I can’t get out of here fast enough. I’m a bumbling idiot. “See you then.”
I stop by the front office on our way out of the school. Krew runs ahead and makes himself at home. He fiddles with a prize machine, trying to rig it so that a bouncy ball drops down.
“I don’t think you should play with that. It’s not a toy,” I say, more for the other parents around us than for Krew. Yes, my parenting these days is all about just doing enough so that other parents don’t judge me. I wasn’t always like this. When Kristen was alive, I didn’t care what anybody else thought about our parenting. We had a plantogether. But now that I’m doing this alone, I’m constantly trying to minimize the judgmental looks coming my direction. Kristen was the one that was good with this kind of stuff. I’m completely inadequate.
“Hi, Mr. Dixon,” the woman behind the desk says. She’s the secretary here at the school, but I can’t remember her name, even though I’ve met her a dozen times. She’s in her late twenties with a cute face and nice eyes, but nothing else is memorable about her,including her name. She smiles at Krew, and I steal a quick glance down at her name plate.
Melinda Dunway.
“Hey, Melinda,” I say. “How’s it goin’?”
“So good.” Her entire face brightens, and she leans forward. For some reason, I wish Meg Johnson was this excited to talk to me.
“Tyler,” Diane calls from inside her office, waving me in.
“The principal wants to see me,” I say with a grimace, and just like I knew she would, Melinda erupts in laughter.
It wasn’t even a funny joke.
“Krew, are you okay out here?”
