Page 14 of Single Dad Dilemma
“Do you?”
Maggie was in one of her best dresses, a pleasant smile fixed on her face, but her eyes looked a little manic. “Won’t you please take a seat, Father?”
“‘Father’?” I repeated under my breath. “What do you two want?” Just before the screen flickered to life, I sighed. “Maggie, if this is about getting a dog again, you know we are not in a position to have something that requires that much responsibility. Someday—”
“It’s not,” she rushed to interrupt. “It’s not about a pet, I promise.”
I glanced at Bryce, and he beamed. It did nothing to quell my suspicion. I took a seat on the couch and gestured for them to continue. “Let’s hear it.”
They stood together at the front of the room, whispering something I couldn’t hear. Bryce showed her something on his note cards, and she nodded.
Maggie pressed the button on the remote and the TV flared to life. The title made me raise my eyebrows.
TheFoolproofpost-school plan to make Dad’s life as easy as possible!
by Bryce and Maggie King
(we are listed in alphabetical order even though I, Maggie, did most of the work)
“Foolproof, huh?” I asked.
Bryce nodded, then cleared his throat. “It’s estimated that as many as fifteen million kids in America are left unsupervised in the hours between when school lets out and when their parents return home fromwork,” he read, voice a touch robotic. “The gap in after-school care is a m-major crisis, as most programs focus on elementary-age kids and have strict ele-eligibility requirements.”
I covered my mouth with one hand, hiding the beginnings of a smile, while Maggie mouthed the words along with him as he read.
She took the stack of cards. “According to a research study at Princeton, the key to successful after-school care for middle school–age kids”—she gestured between herself and her brother—“is strong interpersonal relationships”—her eyes flicked up to mine—“a focus on the kids’ individual interests, and excellent group management by supportive, friendly adults.”
Sitting back against the couch cushions, I let my hand drop, and the sight of my begrudging smile bolstered both of them. Bryce took the cards from his sister and told her to flip to the next slide. But before she did, they both gave me a breathless, questioning look.
“I’m listening,” I said gently. Knowing Maggie, she’d have a program outlined for the front office at work, along with a preliminary budget and a place at the team facilities where this program would be taking place. She’d probably try to rope the players into being group leaders or something, under the guise that it would help them on the field too.
The first slide included their school pictures, and underneath, a bullet-point list of what they were most interested in.
Maggie rattled off her list in a rushed exhale. “I like dogs, kittens, music, drawing, and nice, friendly people who let me do crafts and could maybe teach me how to bake.”
My left eyebrow quirked at the specificity.
Bryce stepped forward. “I like dogs, playing soccer, watching sports, and nice, friendly people who also like dogs and are super fun to play with and don’t yell at us for talking.”
My brows flattened.
Maggie gave me a nervous look. “In light of our interests, we’ve done extensive research on our proposal.” Briefly, she rolled her lips between her teeth, then pressed the button to go to the next slide.
Lily’s picture was right in the center. Her hair was down around her shoulders—somuch hair—and she stared straight into the camera with a tiny smile playing around her lips, which was an expression I’d definitely not seen on her the other day.
That woman would only smile at me if I were on fire.
“Absolutely not,” I said.
“Dad,” they both said.
“You said you’d listen,” Maggie continued.
“Yeah, you promised,” Bryce said.
I folded my hands in my lap and prayed for patience. “Where did you get that picture?”
Maggie and Bryce shared a look. “The internet?” Bryce answered.
