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?”
“Because all these places do interviews along with credit and background checks, which is exactly the kind of security I’d need to feel comfortable.”
“Do you want me to call? See if there’s anything they can do to speed up the process?”