Page 91 of The Calendar of New Beginnings
“But you kiss her sometimes, and Bobby says that means she’s your girlfriend,” Danny said, blowing his mind yet again.
What in the hell was he supposed to say to that? Sometimes he felt totally unprepared for conversations with his kid. “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend.” Man, that sounded weird. He was thirty-six. Too old for that term.
“I love Lucy,” he told Danny, deciding to be honest. “She makes me happy. Like you do.”
“Like Mom did?” his son asked. “I heard Aunt Moiratell Aunt Natalie she hasn’t seen you this happy since Mommy died.”
His throat thickened. “I loved your mom. So much. And I wish she was here instead of being an angel, but God needed her more.”
Danny nodded like that made sense to him. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“When Lucy came back to Dare Valley after being goneforever,”he said, using Danny’s favorite concept of time, “I just couldn’t help it. I fell in love with her. And yes, I kiss her sometimes.” He should have been more careful. Danny must have snuck out of bed and seen them on the couch or something.
“She’s kinda pretty,” Danny said, putting his finger to his cheek. “And she’s so funny. She put those straws up her nose when we had sodas at Hairy’s.”
Yeah, that had been pretty funny.
“I’m glad you like her, Dad. I think she likes me too. Otherwise, she wouldn’t give me photos or play Wii with me.”
Simple gestures of love were the truest ones—a lesson he was proud to have taught his son. “She likes you a lot,” he said.
He just wasn’t sure if she loved Danny enough to join herself to their family. Lucy had said she’d adjust her schedule to have a family, but he didn’t yet know if that was something she wanted with him.
“So, are you going to get married, Dad?” Danny asked again. “Bobby said when adults have sleepovers they get married.”
Andy wanted to curse Bobby and his older siblings. Surely that’s where Danny’s friend had gotten his ideas. “I haven’t askedMiss Lucy.”
He realized he was scared to. If she said no, he didn’t know where they’d go from there. Besides, she was dealing with enough pressure from her injury. And now her mother. He hadn’t wanted to add to it. But he realized his son was asking the kind of questions that would make an impact on his young mind. Andy needed to remember his responsibility as a parent. Being Lucy’s boyfriend couldn’t trump that.
“What would you say if I asked Miss Lucy to marry me and come live with us?” he asked, deciding to go all out. His son was already thinking about it.
“She’s fun,” Danny said, the highest compliment his son could pay anyone. “And she makes you laugh. Mom likes seeing you laugh.”
Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. “Mom?”
His son nodded. “She visits me sometimes,” he said, smiling brightly. “She wants us to laugh more. That’s why I tickle you so much. She tells me to.”
His heartbeat pounded in his ears. “Danny. Listen to me. When did you talk to your mom?”
“After you tuck me in sometimes. She sits by my bed and talks to me until I go to sleep. She told me she’s always liked Lucy, and she’s glad she’s back in Dare Valley.”
Could his son have actually talked to Kim? It seemed crazy, but Andy had been a doctor long enough to wonder. “What did your mom look like?”
Danny snorted. “She looked like Mom, but she glowed like the blonde lady inPinocchio.”
The fairy godmother in luminous blue? It could be a figment of his son’s imagination. And yet the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. “What did your mother say?”
His son’s face seemed to be lit from within, and Andyclutched his heart. “She said she’s happy to see you so happy, and that you know what to do. Mom said to always follow your heart.”
Tears gathered in his eyes. His logical mind was hesitant to believe in things like spirits, but his heart did. “She’s right,” he said in a hoarse voice. “You should always follow your heart.”
Pulling Danny onto his lap, he held his little body to him, filled with that huge, crazy love he had for his son.
“It’s going to be okay,” Danny told him. “Go have fun with Miss Lucy. Tell her hi for me.”
Andy pulled himself together and kissed his son’s soft brown hair. “I will.” Rising from the floor, he shifted a few steps, off balance. “Have fun with Grandma.”
Danny was restacking his books. “Okay.”
