"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to know that while I'm not thrilled with the idea of being your first, and only, client, I've been trying to convince myself that it probably means you'll have more time to work on my campaign. Frankly, I'm not sure I've gotten there yet. But after seeing what you've done, I'll admit that I'm impressed with the thought process you put into all this."

He stopped there and I took a deep breath.

"What exactly are you saying?"

With my head spinning after the meeting with Taglieri, I drove to Emily's house. Had it not been for the navigation system on my phone, I never would have been able to find it. Though not far from my home, I'd never detoured through that particular neighborhood, and the main access road wasn't particularly well marked. The lots were heavily wooded and the homes were midcentury modern, with large windows, cedar plank siding, and main levels that rose and fell with the topography.

After pulling up the drive, I followed a curving walkway that passed over a koi pond and led to the front door. When Emily opened the door, I was struck again by the warmth of her smile.

"I didn't expect you so soon," she said. "For some reason, I thought your presentation would take longer. Come on in."

If the argument with Vivian made it hard to concentrate and the meeting with Taglieri left my head spinning, then stepping into the home of a recently divorced woman with whom I'd shared a bed made the day seem even more surreal. It felt wrong somehow, inappropriate, and I reminded myself that I'd simply come by to get my daughter. It was no different than picking her up from my mom's, but even so, the feeling that I was doing something illicit only intensified as Emily motioned toward the stairs.

"The kids are up in the playroom with Noodle. They finished lunch about half an hour ago so they haven't been up there that long."

I nodded, making sure to maintain distance between us. "Did they have a good time?"

"They've had a great time," she said. "They've been laughing a lot. I think your daughter is in love with the dog."

"That doesn't shock me in the slightest," I said. "How did Noodle do with the hamsters?"

"He sniffed the cage for a few seconds and that was about it."

"Good." I put my hands in my pockets, the voice inside my head continuing to whisper that I shouldn't be here, that my presence in Emily's home was inappropriate. Turning away from Emily, I surveyed the room. With an open floor plan and shaded sunlight streaming through large windows along the rear of the house, it was comfortable and eclectic, with odds and ends scattered throughout the room, the home of an artist. On the walls, I spotted a handful of large paintings that I assumed she'd done.

"You have a beautiful home," I said, trying to keep the conversation innocuous.

"Thank you," she said, sounding far more at ease than I was feeling. "I've actually been thinking about selling the place. There's too much maintenance, and a couple of the rooms are in serious need of renovation. Of course, I've been saying that ever since David moved out. I'm sorry it's such a mess."

"I didn't notice," I said. "Are those some of your paintings?"

She moved closer to me, not too close, but close enough that I was able to catch a whiff of the honeysuckle shampoo she used. "Some of my older work. I've been wanting to trade a few of them out for some more recent paintings, but that's been on the back burner, too."

"I can understand why the gallery owner loves your work."

"They remind me of when I was pregnant with Bodhi. They're darker and less textured than a lot of what I do now. Moodier, too. Of course, I was sick as a dog for months when I was pregnant, so maybe that has something to do with it. Hold on a second." She walked toward the staircase. "Bodhi? London?" she called out. "Are you still okay?"

In chorus, I heard their answer. "Yes!"

"Your dad's here, London."

Footsteps pounded overhead and I caught sight of my daughter peeking through the railings. "Daddy? Can I stay longer? Bodhi has an extra light saber and it's red! And we're playing with Noodle!"

I looked toward Emily. "It's fine with me," she said with a shrug. "She's keeping Bodhi busy and happy, which makes my life easy."

"Maybe a few more minutes," I called up. "But we can't stay long. Remember that you have dance tonight."

"With Ms. Hamshaw?" Emily asked. When I nodded, Emily went on. "I've heard some pretty interesting things about her. And by 'interesting,' I mean not particularly good."

"I'm not sure London enjoys it all that much," I admitted.

"So pull her out."

With Vivian, such things aren't always that easy, I thought to myself. In the silence, Emily hooked a thumb toward the kitchen. "Would you like some sweet tea while you wait? I just made a pitcher."

I heard the voice in my head again, this time telling me to politely decline, but instead, I found myself saying, "Sounds good."

I followed her toward the breakfast table in the kitchen; the hamster cage was on the floor in front of French doors that led to the backyard. Off to the side, I saw another room, obviously her studio. There were paintings stacked along the walls and another on an easel; there was an apron draped over the battered desk, along with hundreds of containers of paint.

"This is where you work?"

"My studio," she said, pulling out the pitcher of tea. "It used to be a screened porch, but we glassed it in when we bought the house. It's got perfect light in the morning."

"Is it hard to work at home?"

"Not really. But I've always painted at home so I don't know any different."

"How does that work with Bodhi?"

She poured the tea into the glasses, added ice to both, and brought them to the table. "I work in the mornings before we really get going for the day, but even after that, it's not too bad. If I get the urge to paint, he'll head upstairs and play or watch TV. He's gotten used to it. "

She took a seat and I followed her lead, still feeling far too self-conscious. If Emily felt the same, she didn't show it.

"How did it go with Taglieri?"

"It went well," I said. "He hired me. For the entire campaign I proposed."

"That's great!" she cried. "Congratulations! I knew you'd nail it. You've got to be thrilled."

"I don't think I've had time to really process it yet."

"It'll sink in soon enough, I'm sure. Are you going to celebrate tonight?"

I remembered Vivian's behavior that morning. "We'll see."

"He's your first client. You have to celebrate. But before that, I want to hear how it went. Walk me through it."

Recapping the events distracted me from my discomfort, and when I recounted how Taglieri had called Peters and the things he'd said, she put her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide.

"Oh, that's terrible! Did you just shrivel up?"

"It wasn't pleasant, that's for sure."

"I think I would have died."

"That's pretty much exactly how I felt. I think he just wanted to see me squirm."

"Lawyers will do that," she agreed. "But still, that's great. I couldn't be any happier for you."

"I appreciate that. It feels like I got the monkey off my back, you know?"

"I know exactly how you feel. I can remember the first time I found out that one of my paintings had sold in the gallery. At the time, I was certain I'd never be able to make a living with my art, and I kept expecting the owner to call me and tell me that a mistake had been made and when he finally did call with good news, I was so afraid to hear what he might say that I let my voicemail pick it up."

When I laughed, she went on. "So what's next? How does it work in your world?"

"I'll get a contract to him tomorrow and as soon as he signs it, I'll get to work. There's scouting, scheduling, getting permits, and working with my tech guy on the website. Camera and sound crews to call, agencies, rehearsals... filming is always a major production."

"Can you do all that while you're watching London?"

I hadn't even begun to think about it, but replied, "I'm going to have to. But we're trying to find the right day care."

"I know. London told me at lunch. She doesn't want to go. She said that it was pointless since she was starting school soon anyway."

Pointless? That sounded more like Vivian's word than my daughter's. "She said that?"

"It amazed me, too. But then again, she seems a lot more mature than Bodhi."

I took a long pull from the glass, wondering what else Vivian had said to London about day care. "Other than that, London was okay?"

"She was perfect. Your daughter is very sweet. She loves Noodle, by the way. She wants to bring her home. I told her that I'd have to ask you."

"We're good with the hamsters." I held up a hand. "I couldn't handle a dog in addition to everything else going on. I'm thinking of giving up sleep for a while."

She smiled, looking almost wistful. "London mentioned that you taught her to ride a bike."

"I did."

"I keep wanting to do that for Bodhi, but I'm afraid I won't be able to keep him from falling over. I think I'll need to hit the gym first and develop some upper-body strength. In all my spare time, I mean."

"Kids are definitely time consuming."

"I know," she said. "But I wouldn't change it for the world."

She was exactly right, I thought, finishing my glass.

"Thanks for this. I'd hate to take any more of your time and we really should go."

"I'm glad London came over. I got to know Bodhi's best friend a little better."

I rose from the table, grabbed the hamster cage, and followed Emily to the door. When I called for London, she and Bodhi trotted down the steps, followed by a small poodle.

"Noodle the poodle?" I asked.

"Bodhi named him," she said.

"I'm ready," London announced. "Noodle is sooooooo cute, isn't he, Daddy? Can we go to the pet store? I want to see if they have a dog like Noodle."

"Not today," I said. "Unfortunately, Daddy's got some work to do. Say goodbye to Miss Emily, okay?"

She gave Emily a hug. My daughter would voluntarily hug anyone; I'd seen her hug the mailman and old women at the park. She also hugged Bodhi, and as we made our way to the car, I felt her slip her hand into mine.

"Miss Emily is really nice. She let me have marshmallow fluff on my peanut butter sandwich."

"That sounds tasty. And I'm glad you had fun."

"I did. Can Bodhi come over to my house next time?"

I wondered how Vivian would feel about that.

"Please?"

"We'll have to make sure it's okay with his mom, okay?"

"Okay. And you know what?"

"What?"

"Thanks for bringing me over. I love you, Daddy."

Vivian's edginess was still evident when she got home from work, at least when it came to me, but by then, I can't say it caught me off guard. It wasn't until later that evening, as I sat beside her on the couch that I finally saw the flicker of a smile. It vanished as quickly as it had come, but I'd known her long enough to understand that the cold shoulder was probably more like the produce drawer in the fridge as opposed to the freezer.

"I've got good news," I said.

"Yeah?"

"I got my first client today. I'll be dropping off the contract tomorrow."

"With that lawyer you were telling me about?"

"That's the one. I know you weren't too keen on the idea that I'd be working with attorneys, but I'm excited about it. We'll be shooting four different commercials and there's a lot of other media, too."

"Congratulations," she said. "When does all this start?"

"As soon as he signs. I have a guy who'll start the website and Internet stuff right away, but before we can film, there's a lot of preliminary work. We probably won't do any filming until the end of August."

"That's perfect," she said.

"Why's it perfect?"

"Because London will be in school then."

"And?"

"And I called the day cares again today and I don't think it's going to work out. My top two choices," she said, mentioning their names, "won't have any openings until school starts. And the third option, which might be able to start her earlier won't know for sure until next week. And after that, the intake process requires at least a couple of weeks, before she can actually attend. By then, we're coming up on the middle of August, but it also means she'd only be there for a week or so before school starts."

"Why on earth would it take so long?"