“?‘New Dads,’?” William said. “I know people make fun. But I see those guys pushing babies in a stroller on the way to work, or the ones with their kids at the park at six in the morning, and I feel like I missed the good part. I know it’s a lot of work, but it’s the good stuff. And I didn’t even know I was missing it. No one ever told me it was the stuff to covet. My dad certainly didn’t make it a priority. Anyway, it’s not like doing things the old way left me rich. I worked my ass off to barely stay afloat. It’s costing me most of what I have saved to try and win Gretta back. With this.”
William pointed at the book, then gulped the last of his beer. Apollo finished the wrapping and lightly ran his pointer finger along the edges one more time.
“If I could just get my wife back into the house, I could do better. Now I know what matters. I love my daughters so much, but I never said it. I thought it was obvious, or should have been obvious, because of the things I did for them. But people need to hear the words, you know? I didn’t realize that for twenty-five years.”
William accepted the book from Apollo. He clutched it to his stomach as if to protect it.
“When I saw your listing for the book, I figured maybe it could convince Gretta I was serious. She read this to the girls just like her father did with her. I used to call my wife Mockingbird when we were young. Like a pet name. I don’t remember when I stopped. It was after the kids came, I know that much. Couple of years ago I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. I tried to go back to the old days. Go back to the way things used to be. But maybe it was too late. Or she didn’t want to go back in time. Not with me. She left me because we were absolute strangers. I never hit her or cheated on her. We barely even argued.
“I mean, I’ve been a programmer for nineteen years. Nights and weekends are when you catch up on the work you didn’t get done from nine to five! I bet I spent more time on code than I did on my marriage. I know I did. I turned into a ghost to her, and maybe she was a ghost to me. You think this could work, though? What’s your feeling, guys?”
Patrice lifted one of the empty bottles and placed it back into the case. He did the same with the others, his and theirs. He stopped looking tipsy. It was as if William’s earnestness, his honesty, had sobered the big man.
“You tell her all that stuff you just told us,” Patrice said. “I bet she’d at least consider it.”
William nodded faintly. He reached into his pocket for his phone again.
“I can write you both a check if you want,” he said. “But it would be even quicker if I just sent the funds to an account electronically. Do you want to do that?”
Apollo gave William his routing number and the account number. He and Patrice would split the profits after the money cleared.
William refreshed his phone’s browser and stared at the number in his savings account, all zeros. “That’s it then,” he said softly. “If this doesn’t get them back, I’m all tapped out.” He set down the phone and held the wrapped book. “This paper is a nice touch.”
Then, right there on the boat, William took one hiccupping breath and cried. After the surprise of it passed, both Apollo and Patrice brought a hand to William’s back and patted him as he let his tears out.
FIRST THING YOU do when you get some money is pay off old debts. Don’t buy anything new until your ledger is clear. Apollo learned that early in his career as a book man, and it remained a bit of gospel for him.
Which is how he ended up making plans to see Kim Valentine again.
The Mahayana Buddhist Temple is one of the most famous sights for tourists to visit in all of Chinatown. Two golden lions guard the red front doors, and inside sits the largest Buddha statue in all of New York City. Before it became the Mahayana Buddhist Temple, it had been the Rosemary Theater, a place that showed a steady rotation of kung fu movies and porn films.
In 2011 Kim asked Apollo and Emma to meet her at this temple when they’d agreed to take her on as their midwife. None of them were Buddhists, and when they arrived they were treated—appropriately—like any of the other million tourists who wandered through to gawk at the red and gold designs inside. They stood under the great golden Buddha, sixteen feet tall and perched on a lotus flower, his head ringed by a blue halo fashioned from neon tubing. They hadn’t known if they were supposed to get on their knees, bow their heads, or what. Apollo, out of a very old habit, even made the sign of the cross.
Kim finally had to admit that meeting clients at a Buddhist temple just seemed kind of “holy” in a way that promised to offend none of her clients, all of them Westerners. Emma and Apollo had been the first ones to even question the meeting place. Feeling silly, they all went out to eat at a spot nearby called Tasty Dumpling, on Mulberry Street, the best dumpling spot in Chinatown. A good meal together felt even holier than the temple visit.
It was in this spirit—the warmth of those old times—that Apollo greeted Kim out in front of the temple. He stood next to one of the golden lions, making room for the tourists and actual practicing Buddhists moving in and out of the space. When Kim arrived, she seemed burned through, bone tired.
“I was up for two days,” she admitted after they hugged. When she stepped back, she watched his face warily for a moment. “It’s good to see you. Did you bring me here to yell at me?”
“I thought about it,” Apollo said, trying to seem light but not sure if he quite pulled it off. “But I picked this place because it’s a happy memory.”
Kim leaned into him again, and the hug lasted longer this time.
“Do you want to go inside, or do you want to walk?” Apollo asked.
“It’s kind of dark in there,” Kim said. “I’m so tired I might fall asleep.”
Apollo pointed over her shoulder toward the Manhattan Bridge. “Let’s walk then,” he said.
They crossed the street and stopped on the traffic island as five hundred cars took the on-ramp to the bridge. The grand arch and colonnade of the Manhattan Bridge appeared majestic even under decades of soot.
Kim looked pained for a moment before she spoke. “Triplets,” she said, then caught herself and scanned Apollo. “Do you mind me talking about this?”
“It’s okay.”
“Triplets,” she repeated. “Never had that many before. The couple used fertility treatments. It’s kind of amazing how commonplace that kind of thing is now. I’m still amazed by it, and I see it all the time.”
“Do you think it’s a bad idea? Would you go back to the way it was?”
Kim opened her hands as if she held a baby in them now. “It means more life in the world,” she said. “I’m a sucker for life.”
“I wanted to pay you what we owed you.” Apollo took out his wallet and found the check he’d written. “I’m sorry, it’s postdated until Friday. That’s when the money clears.”
He held the check between two fingers, and it flapped there in the strong winds rolling off the East River. Kim couldn’t have looked more confused. She shook her head, and her tired eyes turned even redder.
“In the end you didn’t even need me. Emma did it herself. You did it together.”
“Between you and that class, we were well trained,” Apollo said. “And this is yours.”
“Apollo,” she said, but then seemed lost for anything more.