Chapter 5 - One Hour in the Park
Declan arrived forty minutes early.
He had bought three enormous stuffed animals.
Then he remembered Cassidy's warning and left them in the car.
At ten, the girls appeared.
They approached cautiously.
Cassidy stayed nearby.
Declan crouched.
“Hi.”
Lily stared at him.
“Are you Mommy's friend?”
Declan glanced at Cassidy.
“I'm trying to be.”
Emma pointed at him.
“You were staring at us.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Declan swallowed.
“Because you reminded me of someone.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
Grace giggled.
“You're a boy.”
Declan laughed.
It surprised everyone.
The hour passed with bubbles, ducks and three ice creams that ended up mostly on dresses.
Declan learned Lily asked endless questions.
Emma hated strawberries.
Grace became shy when tired.
Tiny facts.
Priceless facts.
When the hour ended, Grace unexpectedly took his hand.
“Are you coming next Saturday?”
Declan looked at Cassidy.
“If your mom says I can.”
All three girls turned toward her.
Cassidy nearly laughed at the coordinated pressure.
“We'll see.”
Declan understood it was not a promise.
But it wasn't no.
As Cassidy walked away with the girls, Lily looked backward and waved.
Declan waved too.
Then he sat alone on a park bench long after they disappeared.
He cried where nobody could see him.
But someone had seen.
Across the path, Charles Hawthorne lowered his phone.
He had followed his son.
May you like
And now he knew about the girls.
By Monday morning, Cassidy would discover that Declan was not the only Hawthorne interested in her daughters.
