“Thanks for holding me when I was sick, Mommy.”

“Of course, sweet girl. I always hold you when you’re sick.”

“I know,” London said.

I took a sip of coffee, waiting for Vivian to say that I’d helped out as well.

But she didn’t.

Kids are resilient. I know this because my mom and dad have used that expression for as long as I can remember, especially when describing their own parenting philosophy to Marge and me. Why, why, why did you do such things to us? we would ask. Ah, no worries. Kids are resilient.

In all fairness, there was some truth to their words. When London came downstairs on Sunday morning, she seemed to have forgotten completely about her tantrum from the night before. She was in a chatty mood and was even happier when I let her have Lucky Charms while I went upstairs to clean her hamster cage. I filled half a plastic bag with soiled shavings – it was disgusting – and tossed it into the garbage can. In the far corner, I saw London’s bicycle and, though it was already getting hot outside, I knew what she and I could do this morning.

“Hey,” I said to London when I got back inside. “Do you want to do something fun this morning?

“What?” she asked.

“Why don’t we go bike riding again? Maybe without the training wheels.”

“I’ll fall,” she said.

“I promise that you won’t fall. I’ll be right beside you and I’ll hold on to the seat.”

“I haven’t ridden a bike in a long time.”

And never without training wheels, I thought. “That’s okay. If you don’t like it or you get scared, we can stop.”

“I’m not scared,” she said. “But Mommy won’t like it if I’m all sweaty.”

“If you get sweaty, you’ll just wash up. No big deal. Do you want to give it a try?”

She thought about it. “Maybe for a little while,” she hedged. “When’s Mommy coming home?”

As if my wife heard our daughter from miles away, my cell phone rang. Vivian’s name popped up on the screen. “Well, let’s find out. It’s your mom,” I said, reaching for it. “She must have been thinking about you.” I connected the call and hit the speaker. “Hey, babe. How are you? How did it go? I’ve got you on speaker and London is here.”

“Hey, baby girl!” Vivian said. “How are you! I’m so sorry I didn’t call you yesterday. I’ve been running around like crazy since I’ve been here. How are you? How was yesterday?”

“It was so much fun,” London answered. “I went to Nana’s and then Daddy and me and Auntie Marge and Auntie Liz went to see a movie, and it was really funny…”

While Vivian chatted with London, I refilled my coffee and motioned that I was going back to the bedroom to change. I tossed on some shorts and a T-shirt and the pair of shoes I used to wear to the gym. Back in the kitchen, London was telling her mom about the hamsters and Vivian finally asked for me.

I picked up the phone, taking it off speaker.

“Hey there,” I said.

“She’s in a good mood. Sounds like you two have been having a lot of fun. I’m jealous.”

I hesitated, thinking about last night. “It’s been okay. How did last night go on your end?”

“Amazingly, it went off without a hitch. Walter was thrilled. The video presentations were great and so was the music. People went crazy for it.”

“I’m glad it worked out.”

“It did. We raised a lot of money. Turns out Walter isn’t the only one who’s frustrated with the current administration and Congress when it comes to development. The regulations are getting ridiculous. Developers are really getting squeezed, and it’s almost impossible to turn a profit anymore.”

As evidenced by Walter’s private jet, I thought. “What time will you be home?”

“I’m hoping around one. But we may be having lunch with a developer from Mississippi. If that happens, it’ll probably be closer to three.”

“Hold on for a second,” I said. I moved from the kitchen to the living room. “What about the blueberry farm?”

“I don’t know if we’ll be able to make it.”

“But you promised London you’d go.”

“I didn’t promise.”

“I was right there, Viv. I heard you. And I backed you up last night.”

“What does that mean?”

I recounted what had happened the night before.

“Well, that’s just great,” she said. “You shouldn’t have reminded her.”

“You’re saying this is my fault?”

“She’s going to be even more upset.”

“Because you said you’d take her.”

“Just stop, Russ, okay? I was on the go for almost twenty hours straight and I’ve had almost no sleep. Just talk to her, okay? Explain it to her.”

“What do you want me to tell her?”

“Please don’t use that tone with me. I’m not the one who set up the lunch. I’m at Walter’s mercy here, and there’s a lot of money at stake.”

“Spannerman already has a lot of money. He’s a billionaire.”

I heard her let out a long exhale. “Like I told you,” she said, her voice taut. “I still might make it. If the lunch doesn’t work out, I’ll be home by one. I should know more in an hour or two.”