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“Really?”
Elijah’s voice is quiet, and I flick off the radio that’s been playing in the background.
“Yeah, my dad and your dad are actually friends. My dad, his name’s John, is a big-shot marketer, which means he helps other people sell their products and services. Gets them noticed.”
Pausing at a red light, I look back in the mirror again.
“It demands a lot of his attention, but when I started my job as a nanny and learned how to help families, I taught my dad the same stuff. It can get lonely, though. That’s why I started telling my dad how I felt.”
Elijah meets my eyes in the reflection.
“I try. I do. He’s just…it wasn’t always this way. I mean, he’s always been, like, really busy, but before, he’d take me to do stuff on the weekends, and when I had a game, he’d come.”
“A game?”
“I play baseball. I’m not that good.”
Sadness fills Elijah’s eyes, and the light goes green.
“So, what happened? Why doesn’t he take you as much?”
I have a feeling I know, but I want to hear it from him, hear how he sees it.
“The divorce. When Mom and Dad split up…he’s angry, I think. I think Mom did something bad.”
Silence fills the car as my heart sinks through the floor.
A divorce is never pleasant, but this is worse than I thought. They didn’t just fall out of love; there’s hurt there.
I think about Noah’s cold demeanor. He’s definitely got his walls up.
“I’m sorry, Elijah. I don’t personally have experience with a divorce. But I know what it’s like to not have your parent around a lot and for one of them to suddenly be gone.”
I swallow around the lump forming in my throat. The memory of a black casket and far too many flowers choking the air with their potent scent skitters across my mind.
“I’m sorry, too.”
Looking back, I see understanding beaming from Elijah’s young stare. He’s more mature than his ten years.
“Thank you, Elijah.” I smile softly at him and then shake my head. “So, I have to ask. What’s with the fish?”
After a moment of confusion, Elijah’s eyes light up as he looks down at his paper masterpiece, and a wide smile stretches across his face.
“It’s for school. We did this awesome project about sea life, and we got to pick an animal to do a report on. Mrs. Pemberton said we should make something to go along with the report to show to the class. This is a mandarinfish. Isn’t it cool?”
“I’m not a fish girl, and that is super cool. I have a feeling you like fish, though, huh?”
“Yeah! I love them. They can be so bright and stripey. Or they can be super poisonous and kill people.”
I burst out laughing, and Elijah joins in. As I pull into the roundabout in front of his school, he gathers his stuff and unbuckles.
“Elijah.” I wait for him to look at me. “Don’t we have a pretty great aquarium in town? You should ask your dad to take you. I don’t know if they’ll have any mandarinfish, but I think they have sharks and octopuses.”
He hesitates, dropping his gaze to his paper fish.
“Just try it, okay? Remember homework and cookies. We can have both.”
A pang radiates through my heart.
