He continued walking down the long, wooden-floored hallway toward the high-pitched sounds of animation, and found everyone in the den. Lori sat in the middle of a large couch with her feet next to a laptop on the coffee table, her head leaned back, and her eyes closed. Both kids’ heads were in her lap, and their bodies flung out opposite ways. Extracting her without waking them could be tricky.
But the way Lori’s hands lay protectively on Asher’s and Emily’s backs as they napped sent a bolt straight to his heart. He’d never had anyone soothe him like that when he’d been sick as a kid.
He needed to get Asher his mother back.
3
DESPERATION CAN LEAD TO MAKING NEW FRIENDS.
Rustling sounds from the kitchen woke Lori. Must be Deek. Her empty stomach was thrilled their dinner had arrived.
She slid her hands under Emily’s and Asher’s heads and slowly wiggled out from under them. Gently, she laid their heads back down on the couch cushions and then tiptoed her way to the kitchen. A pair of suit-clad legs stuck out from under the kitchen sink. She knelt down to ask what he was doing and tapped a knee.
Deek’s head shot up, and he bashed it on a pipe.
Her hand flew to her mouth. “So sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“That’s okay.” He winced and then got back to tightening the pipe. “I noticed you were in the middle of working on this, so I thought I’d finish it up for you. As a thank-you for watching Asher.”
While wearing a suit? “Thanks. It was leaking a little, so I was just going to—”
“Rewrap the plumber’s tape. I figured that out. Almost done.”
“I would’ve never guessed former nerds with high IQs were good at plumbing too. You might come in handy yet.”
“Maybe you’d better wait to pass judgment until we see if I fixed it.” He slid out and then stood and turned the water on. They both leaned down, side by side, and waited for a leak to appear. When the pipe stayed dry, she gave him a shoulder bump. “Awesome. Now let’s eat. I’m starving.” She washed her hands, and then Deek did the same.
It was sweet of him to fix her pipe. She hoped they could become better friends. She’d enjoyed sharing pizza with him the night before.
Lori grabbed some plates while he unloaded the bags. Little white box after little white box appeared on the faded yellow countertop. The bag was like Mary Poppins’ purse, filled with an impossible number of items. “Should I expect a football team to show up at my door any minute, or are you training to be an Olympic swimmer? There’s enough to feed a small town.”
He stopped unloading and cringed. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just bought one of everything.”
Lori smiled as she unwrapped pairs of stuck-together wooden chopsticks. “I’m not all that picky when free food shows up at my door, Deek. But thank you. I appreciate it.” She started to pour them both glasses of water. But then for the heck of it, she grabbed a bottle of wine and poured out two glasses. “Did you happen to get any gong bao chicken? That’s my favorite. Well, that and sweet and sour pork.”
“Yes.” His face lit up. “Those are my favorites too.”
After they had loaded up their plates, they settled across from each other at the little round table in the nook. Deek asked, “So, how are the kids? Are their fevers any better?”
Her mouth was full, so she shook her head while she swallowed. “Both running about one hundred two. I think we’ll probably have another sick day tomorrow. Did you get all your business taken care of?”
“Yes. Thanks to your heroic efforts today, the Universe of Zeldane will defend and defeat the massive invasion from the warriors of Trithor—if the gamer is clever enough. Thank you for saving my contract today. In your honor, I’m going to add a princess to the game and make her look just like you.” He paused for a drink of his wine. “Wait. Did that sound creepy? I didn’t mean it that way. If you’d rather I didn’t—”
“No. I’m actually a little flattered.” She’d googled Zeldane when she’d gotten home. It was the name of the highly anticipated next installment in one of the most popular video games on the market. “Just make sure I have a fortified castle, so I don’t get killed off. And give me a big closet filled with Louboutins. It’s only fitting for an imaginary princess like me. Real-life Lori has never owned a pair.”
“Those are the shoes with red soles, right? I went out with a woman once who asked me to buy those for her almost weekly. Then one day I overheard her talking on the phone to a friend. She admitted that she liked that I have a lot of money much more than she liked me. Apparently, I was too much to take sometimes. I didn’t even see that one coming. I’m not always the best with social cues.” He took a bite as he seemed to ponder that failed relationship. After he had swallowed, he said, “But you, princess-who-defiantly-wears-yoga pants, will have complete editorial control over the closet.”