“It’s going well. I’m hoping to finish this weekend. How’s your painting?”

“It’s been hard to get back into the rhythm. Tough couple of years, I guess.”

“Makes sense,” I agreed. “I haven’t been able to swing by the gallery to see your work yet.”

“I didn’t expect you to. I’m guessing that between work and London, you’re on the go pretty much every day. London’s schedule is packed. Dance, piano, art, and now tennis.” When she saw my expression, she went on. “What can I tell you? Bodhi talks about her all the time. He wants a playdate.”

“So does London, but frankly, I’m not even sure how to go about setting up something like that.”

I sensed her amusement. “It’s not that complicated, Russ,” she said. “We talk about it. As in, what’s your schedule like? Do you have any time on Monday afternoon? Can London come over?”

As soon as she said it, I knew it would be perfect. But…

When I didn’t answer, she went on. “Do you have something else planned?”

“No,” I answered, “it’s not that. Actually, I’m supposed to have a presentation at one o’clock.”

“Then it’s perfect. I can pick her up here and bring her to the house. I’ll feed her lunch and let the two of them hang out until you come by to get her.”

“Isn’t that almost like babysitting? Since I’ll be off working?”

“That’s called a happy coincidence. Let’s plan on it, okay?”

“Are you sure? It feels like I’m taking advantage of you.”

She laughed. “You haven’t changed much, have you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You worry too much about things you shouldn’t. You don’t think that if I had something to do, I wouldn’t find someone to watch Bodhi?”

“Thank you,” I said. “That’ll help me out a lot.”

“I’m happy to do it, and Bodhi will be thrilled. Of course, he’s going to be super excited all weekend, so I’ll have to deal with that. And speak of the devil, here they come.”

I watched the two of them scampering toward us.

“Mom?” Bodhi asked. “Can we go to Chick-fil-A for lunch?”

“Sure,” Emily answered.

I felt London tug on my sleeve. “Daddy? Can we go, too?”

“You want to go to Chick-fil-A?”

“Please?” she pleaded.

I sensed Emily waiting for an answer, but I couldn’t tell whether she was happy or bothered by the idea that I might join them.

“Yeah,” I said. “We can go.”

Chick-fil-A was bustling. London and Bodhi ran off toward the climbing play area while Emily and I made small talk in line. After picking up our order, we called the kids over and they wolfed down their food before rushing back to the climbing area.

“I like coming here because it helps Bodhi get some of his energy out. He’s been a little rambunctious ever since his dad left. His dad isn’t around much and it’s been hard on him.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said.

“It is what it is. There’s not much I can do about it.”

“Is there a way to talk to your ex into spending more time with him?”

“I don’t see how. He moved back to Australia last April. Of course, he’s coming in the week after next and he’ll be in town until the third or fourth week of September. Some big project or whatever, and he said he’d like to see Bodhi as much as possible. Which is great, but it’ll throw Bodhi’s schedule out of whack until then, and after that, I have no idea when he’ll be back. I have no idea how Bodhi’s going to handle his dad leaving again.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I swore to myself that I wasn’t going to be one of those women who talk nonstop about their ex.”

“Sometimes it’s hard not to, especially when it comes to kids.”

“I know you’re right, but it still gets boring. Hell, I get bored hearing myself talk about it.” She folded her hands on the table in front of her. “So how about you tell me exactly what you’re working on. You were completely zoned in when I saw you.”

“It’s a presentation for a prospective client. An attorney, and it’s kind of a big deal for me. My business hasn’t exactly taken off the way I wanted it to.”

“I’m sure he’ll love your ideas.”

“How would you know that?”

“Because you’re smart and creative. You always were. They’re your gifts.”

“I always thought you were the creative one.”

“That’s why we got along as well as we did.” She shrugged. “Well, until the end, anyway.”

“How does this painting thing work?”

“You mean as a profession? Or how did I get started?”

“Both. I knew you were passionate about painting, but you told me you thought you’d end up getting your master’s and teaching somewhere.”

“I just got lucky. After you and I broke up, I went a little crazy there for a while and all I did was paint. I took all the hurt and angst I was feeling and somehow got it down on various canvases. By the end, they were stacked in my parents’ garage, and I had no idea what to do with all of them. I wasn’t even sure any of the paintings were any good. A little while after that, I met David and life moved forward, and eventually, I heard about this festival of the arts in Greensboro. I decided on a whim to rent a booth and even before I finished setting everything up, I met a gallery owner. He examined all my work and agreed on the spot to bring in some of my work. Within a month, it had sold out.”