"Dyslexia, huh?" Lucas said as he sat down on the couch with his Dad. "I don't remember Ellie telling me that he does but maybe she didn't know."
"Ace said that before his Mom left she mentioned that he had it."
Lucas nodded. "Did they go to sleep easily?"
"No. Ace fought it hard but I sat with him until he fell asleep. Amie came out of her room a few times."
"Thanks for watching them. Both of you."
Helen nodded but stayed quiet. He was okay with that.
"Well, I'm going to head to bed. We are leaving early in the morning," Helen mentioned standing.
"Alright." Lucas stood and gave her a hug. "I love you, Mother."
"I love you, son."
"See you soon, Pop?" he said to Martin, getting a hug from him as well.
"Soon, son. We want to see those kids. Maybe come up for a weekend sometime."
"I will."
…..
Next morning
"Where's Grandpa and Nana?" Amie asked, taking a bite of cereal.
"They went home this morning, remember?"
"Oh yeah. I miss them."
"We will have to take a weekend and go see them before the summer is over and you guys start school."
"Do we have to go to school?" Ace said, a bit of whine in his voice.
"Yes, bud."
"Me too, Daddy?"
"Yes, babydoll. You turn five next month, right?"
"Yep! Can I have a birthday party?"
"Of course you can. Do you want to have it here in the backyard?"
"Can we get a bouncy house?"
"We can rent one, yes."
"Awesome!" she cheered, pumping her tiny fist in the air.
He wondered if Elizabeth knew someone who planned parties. He took out his phone and sent a text, asking her.
A party. Maybe she could plan parties when she didn't have any design jobs coming up. It couldn't be too hard.
"I can," she texted, thinking it could be something she could take Nora along to do. It might just solve her problem.
"You can? You do party planning too?"
"Well, not technically, but I'm trying to scale back for a bit for Nora's sake and I think planning a party might be something I can take her along for."
"Well, if you don't think it will be too much, it would be great to have you handle it. You did a great job with their rooms."
"Well, I guess it depends on the party and how long from now it is, etc."
"Why don't we go for some dessert after next week's class and we can discuss specifics," he texted.
She dropped her phone. No. That seemed way too much like a date. She didn't want to date. Not even a good looking, single Dad.
She didn't respond. He waited a few minutes and there was no response even though he knew she had read it.
Maybe it was too strong of a suggestion? "If not, that's ok," he threw in for good measure.
Elizabeth picked up her phone and texted Vi. Thank goodness for her older and much wiser best friend and sister.
"He wants me to go out for dessert after class to talk about me planning his daughter's birthday party!"
"Oh, so many questions. Who does? Hot dad?"
"Yes."
"Why does he want you to plan it?"
"Because I said I could."
"Okay so I don't see an issue."
"The issue is it sounds like a date!"
"Oh."
"That's all I get? Oh?"
Vi called her and was laughing on the other end.
"What's funny, Vi?"
"Promise you aren't going to get mad at me."
"Mama?" Nora said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes from the couch next to her.
Elizabeth put the phone between her ear and shoulder and pulled Nora to her lap.
"What, Vi?"
"Well, I don't see a problem with you going to get dessert, even if it is a date."
"I know you don't."
"Beth, Tyler was a jerk. He treated you terribly. Cheated, mooched off of you. The whole nine yards. Thank goodness he signed the divorce papers."
"But…" Elizabeth prompted, putting her phone on speaker so she had both hands free to hold Nora and play with her hair.
"But, this Mr. Bouchard seems like a nice person. He's a good dad, has money, his own house. You said he is very nice, trusting. What would it hurt to take him up on dessert? If nothing else comes of it, you will have free pie and an income to cover any bills."
Vi was right and maybe Beth knew what she would say before she called. Maybe Beth really did want to see what would happen with Lucas.
"I don't want to get hurt, Vi. I'm terrified to get my heart stomped on again. I deserve better than that."
"You do and what if this Mr. Bouchard is just the person to give you that?"
"What if he's not?"
"You won't know unless you take that leap."
Elizabeth decided to compromise. After hanging up with Vi, she texted him back. "To be clear, our relationship is professional only. This won't be a date."
"Heard and I agree."
"Okay then. I like warm apple pie."
"Who doesn't?"
…..
"Saving for college," the words on the whiteboard said at the next class.
Nora was not even three. Did this even apply?
"I know what you are all thinking," Molly said. "My kid is young. Why do I need to worry about this now?"
Molly could apparently read her thoughts too.
"Its never too early to plan for your children's future. Let's face it. Life gets busy and before you know it, they're seventeen and are about to graduate and you don't have any money saved. In addition, college is not cheap. What if your child decided they wanted to be a doctor? That's four years of college, plus pre-med, plus med school and residency. That's a lot of money."
Elizabeth couldn't argue with that. It was logical. Nora may only be two and a half, but time would go fast.
She pulled her phone out and added it to her list-college fund.
As the class finished up, Elizabeth's nerves took over. She didn't have to be nervous. It wasn't as if she hadn't been out to dessert with a man before. Well, Tyler. But Lucas wasn't him.
"Elizabeth?"
"Hm?"
"Class is over," Lucas told her quietly.
"Oh. Ok." She stood without grabbing her phone from her lap making it fall to the floor.
"I'll get it," Lucas said at the same time she was bending down so their heads connected. "Ow. You alright?" he asked, rubbing his forehead.
"Yes. I'm sorry."
"No, I am."
"I'm nervous," she blurted.
"About what?"
"Going out. After. I'm not sure its a good idea."
"As friends, right, Elizabeth? I promise, I'm not a bad guy. I am not looking to date either. I just became a father to two young kids and that's enough for me right now."
"I know you're not a bad guy. I…I've just been through a lot with my ex and I don't want to go through that again."
"I've been through alot too. With my ex. So, friends? Getting pie and talking about a five year old's birthday party. That's all. Agreed?" he asked, holding out his hand for her to shake and seal the deal.
She hesitated but she shook it and tried to ignore the feeling of his warm, larger hand engulfing hers.
"Agreed."
….
Abigail's Bakery and Creamery
"Oh wow," she moaned as she took a bite of the warm apple pie and the cold vanilla ice cream.
"You said it," he agreed, taking another bite of his.
"Mm. Okay," she said, licking her lips. "Party. Five year old." She took her tablet out and made notes. "How many kids?"
"She doesn't really know any here yet. So that may be a problem."
"I can bring Nora and you have Ace. What if I bring my sister Vi and her four boys? They are a little older but they love a good party."
"Sure. Um and my neighbor has a couple kids, I think." He really needed to figure that out.
"So at least six, maybe eight. I'll be there, you, my sister and the neighbor's mom or dad. So we are saying less than fifteen people."
"I'm hoping my parents will come as well and my friend Lee. So add three more."
"Got it. What activities are you wanting?"
"Well, Amie wants a bounce house and I was thinking maybe a splash pad?" Elizabeth nodded, adding that to her list.
"What about something like a petting zoo?"
"In my backyard?"
"Well, yes. We can make it small and contain the animals to that area."
"Let me ask Amie and see if she would like that."
"Gotcha. Now, as far as food."
"I've been told she wants a unicorn cake."
"What about a small unicorn cake and cupcakes? We could have the kids decorate their own."
"Amie likes to help me cook so yeah, she would like that I think."
"It can be messy so we can set it up on your deck under a canopy."
"You've thought about this."
"I used Pinterest for ideas but also I thought about Nora and what kind of party she might like."
Elizabeth took another bite of her pie with the now almost completely melted ice cream. "So good."
"So if this goes well and you are available in December, that's when Ace's birthday is."
"I'll let you know."
As they finished talking about the party and budget, Elizabeth asked, "So, how are the kids doing with sleeping in their own rooms?"
"Same. Now though I wonder if its more of a habit than a necessity. If that makes sense."
"It does. Nora is the same. She hates her room to sleep in so I moved her crib in my room. Not only do I not get enough sleep, but she wakes up and sees me and wants to sleep in my bed."
"Sometimes its easier to give in," he mentioned.
"Yes. I agree."
"But is that what's best?" he asked rhetorically.
She didn't know. This parenting thing was a whole lot different than she had thought it would be.
"Parenting is not what I thought it would be," she admitted out loud.
"Its a challenge."
"Yes. I wanted to be a mom. Tyler decided he didn't want to have kids so I told myself I could do it alone. So here I am and…its a struggle."
"Tyler is your ex?"
"Yeah."
"Can I ask how long its been since you broke up?"
"Three years since the divorce was final. I waited about a year to put my name on an adoption app and then I just jumped. When I saw her gorgeous face, I knew she was meant to be my daughter."
Lucas watched Elizabeth's face fill with love for Nora. He felt the same way about his kids.
"How long has it been for you?"
"Since Crystal? Six years."
"Have you dated?" She wasn't sure what prompted that question to come out of her mouth but it was out there.
"I did after about six months. My friend Lee set me up a few times. He's a serial dater, for lack of a better term. I am definitely not. Since then I haven't. What about you?"
"Nope."
"At all?"
"No."
When she didn't offer more info, he didn't press her. They were just starting a friendship. Maybe she needed more time.
"Well, if that's all the details I need to get started, I should get going."
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. If I made you uncomfortable, I didn't mean to."
"You didn't. I know I asked you that question and you answered but I'm just not ready to talk about it."
"I get it. It's no problem."
When Elizabeth got home, she closed the door quietly and walked into the living room.
"How was she?" she asked Vi.
"She was good."
"No fits?"
"Nope. Not one."
"That's great."
"How was your pie?"
"Amazing. Warm and tart. Perfect."
"And the company?"
"Fine." Elizabeth sat down and rubbed her eyes. "He was fine. I was, well, me."
"What happened?" Vi asked, moving to sit closer to Elizabeth.
"We were talking and everything was good. Then he asked me if I've dated since Tyler. I told him no. That's it. Just no. He was so nice about it."
Vi put her arm around Elizabeth's shoulder and kissed her temple. "I'm proud of you, Beth."
"Why?" she asked, shaking her head.
"Because you did something that made you uncomfortable. You didn't cancel or refuse to go. You went and you had pie with a man you find hot. That's a big step."
"I guess."
"Maybe next time you see him, you'll tell him more."
"I don't plan on seeing him again."
"Beth, you're planning his daughter's party. You're going to have to see him at some point."
"Ugh. What was I thinking?"
"You were thinking that you wanted to help the 'hot dad' and help yourself and Nora at the same time."
Vi was right. This party was going to float her for a few months so she would just need to get used to sharing about herself.