“Yeah, man, it’s the weirdest thing.” I watch as Ryan packs up the saddlebags on his Harley. “I have no idea how to get a hold of her besides Tinder, and her profile has just disappeared. I had the best night with an amazing woman and now I lost her somehow.” I tug her ring out of my pocket and admire it in my palm. “Just like she lost this.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that before.” Ryan cinches down the straps on his bag and double-checks to make sure they’re adjusted properly before he swings his leg over and settles in on the seat. “I don’t know what to tell ya. That’s strange,” he agrees.

“Don’t go yet,” Chloe yells frantically from the front step, waving a sheet of paper in her hand.

Mom walks down the steps with her and leads her over to where Ryan is all set to go on his bike in the driveway.

My daughter skips over to my side, flapping her sheet in her hand like a flag, then thrusts it out toward Ryan. “Take it,” she demands.

“What’s this?” He plucks the paper free from her grasp and smiles down at it. “Oh, you painted me a picture?”

“Uh-huh.” She beams proudly. “I painted it all by myself and even used my sparkly paint,” she announces. “What do you think it is?” She looks at him expectantly and his eyebrows shoot up comically as his lips twist to the side and he studies the black blobs with tiny streaks of orange on the tops.

“Ummm.” Ryan looks over at me for help, but I don’t have the first clue.

“It’s the blackbirds!” She jumps up and claps her hands together gleefully. “One named Peter and one named Paul,” she explains.

“Oh, of course they are. You did a great job painting them. Wow!” Ryan nods solemnly, looking over the crinkly page like he’s studying a fine art exhibit.

“I know.” Chloe randomly twirls in a circle and then stares straight at Ryan. “I got some paint on my hands, though.” She drops her voice, like she’s confiding a secret. “But that’s okay. Nana said artists get messy and I am an artist,” she proclaims proudly, puffing out her chest as her big blue eyes sparkle.

“Yes, you are,” Ryan agrees. “I’ll keep this with me right here.” He folds the sheet and places it inside his leather jacket. “Because it’s just so special, okay?”

“Uh, okay.” Chloe looks up at the sky, already much less interested in this conversation than she was a minute ago. Something else has already caught her attention.

“All right, I’m heading out. It was great meeting you, Marie.” Ryan smiles at my mother and she stands up a bit taller. Wait, is she wearing makeup? Mom never wears makeup.

“The pleasure was all mine.” She titters like some kind of shy school girl, not like my silver-haired mother. Red flushes her cheeks and I glare over at my friend with suspicion.

Ryan shrugs and revs up his motorcycle as I push ideas of my mother having some kind of inappropriate crush on my old SEAL buddy out of my mind. I won’t even let myself think of anything more inappropriate than that going on here. I’d have to bleach my brain.

Mom gives a little wave and then walks over to where Chloe has begun picking the last of the wildflowers and dandelions from the side of the driveway.

“I’m gonna pick you some flowers, Nana! Aren’t they soooo pretty?”

“They are,” Mom agrees, smiling at her with the pure joy that comes with being a grandparent.

“Hey, man, thanks for this. I had a great time,” Ryan talks loudly over the roar of his Harley engine. “About the girl, the only thing I can think of is that when you lose something, they always say to retrace your steps. Maybe she lives around the fairgrounds and she’ll be searching around there too? I dunno. It’s worth a shot maybe.” He shrugs and flips the visor on his helmet down before backing out of the driveway.

“Buh-bye!” Chloe yells and waves both of her hands wildly over her head, hopping around the front yard at the same time.

As I watch Ryan drive away his words echo in my mind. Retrace your steps. That is the advice they always give when you lose something. And... Ella lost her ring! I jam my hand into my pocket and pull out the band. I wonder if she’ll retrace her steps to try to find it. The idea floats up inside me like a red helium balloon into a sunny autumn sky. The sheer joy it brings me is enough to let me know what my plans are for tonight.

Retrace my steps. That’s exactly what I’ll do.