Page 64 of Mail Order Surprise (Hawthorne Billionaire 3)

A quick call to the nurse station confirmed what Mom had already said. Sophie was doing well and playing.

“Okay, where to?” Chloe asked looking around. “I don’t see a park.”

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. Follow me, ma’am.” I crooked my elbow for her to take hold of. “We just have to walk a few blocks and you’ll have your park.”

“Central Park?” Chloe went on without waiting on an answer. “I heard the nurses talking about Central Park, and it sounds amazing.”

“Not Central Park, but a nice park all the same,” I smiled down at Chloe. “I’ll take you to Central Park when Sophie gets better.”

“I’d love that, but we’ll be heading back home pretty soon,” Chloe frowned. “Unfortunately, Sophie has been sick a lot of this trip, but maybe next time.”

We walked in silence for a few minutes. She seemed to be in deep thought.

“Tell me about home, what you do there,” I prompted, “if you don’t mind my asking.”

“Oh no, I don’t have any secrets or anything,” Chloe said. “I haven’t worked in nine months, ever since Sophie got sick and my job allowed me to take a leave of absence.”

“That seems fair. Some jobs would have just fired you,” I said. “What was your job?”

“I worked at the local zoo. I was in charge of the kangaroos, mostly,” Chloe laughed. “They can be a major handful. They have quite the attitude sometimes.”

“Kangaroos? That sounds like an amazing job to have. I thought you were going to say something like a school teacher.”

“School teacher? What made you think that?” Chloe stopped our walk to turn and look at me. “Do I look like some stuffy school teacher?”

“Well, no, you don’t, but I didn’t know what to guess and you’re so good with Sophie when she asks questions,” I explained. “She asks a lot of questions, too.”

We both enjoyed a fit of laughter thinking about how much Sophie talks. Then, without another word, we started our walk again. As promised, we turned a corner and came upon a cute little park with huge trees.

“This is so nice and so weird, too.” Chloe spun around looking up at all the skyscrapers surrounding the park.

“Let’s get a coffee and sit on one of those benches.” I motioned to the little building in the corner of the park. “I really want to hear more about kangaroos.”

“Is that a movie screen in the park?” Chloe asked. “That is nice, people are just sitting on blankets to watch a movie surrounded by all these buildings. Can we go see the movie for a bit?”

“Sure, do you want to sit inside on the grass or outside on a bench?” I asked.

“We can’t stay so we better stay on the outside,” Chloe decided. “Let’s take that bench over there.”

We sat talking about Australia and kangaroos, then about New York City, until Chloe realized we’d been talking for thirty minutes.

“We gotta go. It’s dark and I promised Sophie I would be right back.” Chloe jumped up to go back. “How far is Macca’s from here?”

“Chloe, it’s okay. I texted Betty and Sophie is doing fine.” I stood to leave. “And, I might add, my mother is having the time of her life taking care of her.”

Chapter 46

Chloe

It was eight o’clock when we made our way back into the dimly lit hospital room. Victoria was holding Sophie on her lap as they gazed out the window, looking at all the city lights.

“Hello there, you two. Did you have a nice time?” Victoria leaned back in her chair. “She is the sweetest little girl. Nothing like my Murphy at this age.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without her.” I crossed the room with my arms out for Sophie. “Hey baby, look what I brought for you.”

“You membered my Macca’s. I had pudding, but I really wanted French fries.” Sophie hugged my neck. “Did you bring Miss Victoria some too?”

“Yes, of course, we brought her some too,” I said.

---