"That's why I'm talking to you. I can help."

"How long would it take you to put something together?"

"I've already got some general ideas," I admitted. "It wouldn't take long at all to finalize everything."

He looked me over. "All right. Monday afternoon. One o'clock. I'm in court the rest of the week, and the week after that."

I couldn't fathom waiting that long, even if it meant that I'd be buried in work the next three days.

"One o'clock it is," I agreed.

"Just remember, though."

"What's that?"

"Don't waste my time. I hate when people waste my time."

That afternoon, knowing the presentation had to be as informative as possible with far more specific detail than the ones I'd done last week, I went to work. Though I was going to present a plan that offered a broad campaign in a variety of media, I started with the commercials because it seemed to be Taglieri's main area of interest. My first step was to start with the script and after the first drafts were complete, I began to cut and paste together generic images I pulled from the Internet, so Taglieri would be able to follow the flow of the commercials in the way I imagined. While I worked, London was content to play with her Barbies, but I worked from the kitchen table, so I could keep an eye on her.

Vivian rolled in a little past five. I gave her a quick rehash of my day before she spent some time with London and made dinner. It was only after I got London in bed that Vivian and I were able to get some alone time. I found her on the couch, flipping through a magazine, a nearly empty glass of wine on the end table beside her.

"Did she go down okay?"

"She was tired. Only a couple of books tonight."

"How's your work going?"

"There's a way to go, but I'll get it done."

"I noticed when I pulled in that you fixed up your bicycle."

"I want to be able to ride with London."

"She said that the two of you went riding again."

"She rode. I ran and almost died. Hence the repairs on my bike. She's getting pretty good. I can't keep up with her anymore."

"She's got a lot of energy."

"Yes she does."

She turned a page. "I was able to make some calls to day cares while I was out of town."

"Really?" I asked, feeling a mixture of astonishment and relief, along with a stab of guilt I hadn't expected. Our previous discussion of the matter had led me to believe she'd never call at all. "When did you have the time?"

She nodded. "When Walter was meeting with Senator Thurman. But it was just a preliminary call. I didn't schedule any appointments though because I wasn't sure about my travel schedule next week."

"You're traveling next week, too?"

"I think so. But I'm not sure what days yet."

"When do you think you'll find out?"

"I'm hoping by tomorrow, but who knows? I'll let you know as soon as I know."

I didn't know how Spannerman could believe that scheduling last-minute overnights was fair to employees, but then again, my experience of him told me that he probably didn't care.

"What did the day cares say?"

"I didn't speak to them very long. I just wanted a sense of some of the activities they offer, how many kids are there, things like that."

"Did you feel comfortable with them?"

"They seemed okay. The people I talked to were conscientious, but even they told me that we couldn't get a real sense of the places unless we actually visited."

"Makes sense," I said. "How was your trip, by the way?"

"Productive. In addition to the senator, Spannerman met with two different representatives, and our lobbyist. Now that the PAC has more funding, it's a lot easier to meet with the people we need to."

"That's not a surprise."

She shrugged. "So you had pizza last night, huh? And ice cream?"

"I figured she'd enjoy it. She wasn't in the best mood after dance."

"She'll like it more once she starts competing. That's when I started to like it."

"You used to dance?"

"I've told you that before."

Not that I could remember. "How long did you dance?"

She continued to flip through the magazine. "I don't know. Two or three years? What does it matter?"

"It doesn't. I was just making conversation."

"It's not a big deal. My teacher was nowhere near as good as London's. I wish she would have been. I probably would have kept at it longer." She reached for her glass. "Would you mind getting me another half a glass of wine? I'm exhausted and I really want to be able to sleep tonight. Especially since I promised to make up for our date night."

"Yeah," I said, glad she remembered. "Sure."

I rose from the couch and went to the kitchen, returning with a half a glass. By the time I got there, Vivian had turned the television to a reality show, and though we sat together for another hour, she retreated into silence, content to watch her show and flip through the magazine, as if I weren't there at all.

Friday morning, and as soon as I woke, my thoughts flashed to the presentation. I was out of bed minutes later, and as I'd done the day before, I worked from the kitchen table until it was time to head to art class. While London was painting, I parked myself at the coffee shop, and lost in thought, I didn't notice the passage of time. The next thing I knew, London's class was over.

Oops.

I gathered my things and walked quickly to the studio, feeling relief when I spotted London and Bodhi in the corner, heads together. I was about to call out to her when I saw Emily watching me with an amused expression.

"Hi, Russ."

"Oh, hey Emily. You're still here?"

She smiled, looking relaxed. "I saw you in the coffee shop a few minutes ago, and you looked pretty intense with whatever you were working on. When you didn't show up, I thought I'd wait until you got here to make sure London was okay."

"You didn't have to do that," I said.

"No worries. Believe me, my son was thrilled that you're late."

"Where is he?"

"My son?" She motioned in London's direction. "He's talking with your daughter."

I suppose I should have seen the resemblance; now that I knew, I could see it clearly. "Bodhi's your son?"

"Small world, huh?" As we watched them, she went on. "They're so cute at this age, aren't they? They're just so... innocent, you know?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

"No hamsters today?"

"Was I supposed to bring them?"

She laughed. "Not that I know about. But Bodhi loves Mr. and Mrs. Sprinkles. Ever since she brought them, he's been asking me if we could get some hamsters, too."

"Sorry. If it makes you feel any better, London wants to play with Noodle. And see Bodhi's light saber."

"Don't get me started on the light saber. Bodhi brings that thing everywhere. He started to cry when I wouldn't let him bring it into church last weekend. How's your work coming?"

"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."