The Woman stopped.
“What?”
“You undervalued yourself.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Dangerous opening.”
The Single Dad smiled.
“Thirty-five.”
“Same buy-up formula.”
“Same authority.”
“The business would not be here without what you built.”
The Woman looked at the numbers.
Calculated silently.
“Thirty-five.”
She said.
“Deal.”
They shook hands.
Exactly like the first day.
Except her hand was warm.
The Son arrived later from a sleepover.
He found them still reviewing the partnership papers.
“What’s happening?”
“Business meeting.”
The Single Dad said.
“Promotion?”
“Better.”
The Son looked at the Woman.
“What’s better?”
She showed him the old sign.
He read it.
Confused.
Then looked between them.
“What does that mean?”
The Woman crouched slightly.
“It means I’m going to be here a long time.”
The Son stared at her.
Then at his father.
“Like permanently?”
The Single Dad smiled.
“Like permanently.”
The boy nodded very seriously.
“Cool.”
Then grabbed his backpack.
Went into the breakroom.
The adults watched him leave.
The Woman looked at the Single Dad.
“Cool.”
The Single Dad whispered.
She smiled fully.
For once, no restraint.
Three months later, a new sign appeared on the front window.
Not romantic.
Not dramatic.
Professional.
Two surnames originally would have been there, but instead the wording was simple:
WALKER AUTO & OPERATIONS PARTNERSHIP
Under it:
Repair. Fleet Service. Operations.
The Woman designed it.
The Single Dad installed it.
The Son took a photograph.
Sent it to the Woman’s Father.
One reply came back.
Good.
The Woman read the word.
Pressed her lips together.
The Single Dad saw.
Did not ask.
He understood.
The Father visited two months later.
Still walking carefully.
Cane.
Stubborn expression.
He entered the shop.
Looked at the Single Dad.
“You the mechanic?”
“Yes.”
“You any good?”
“Depends who you ask.”
The Father grunted.
Looked at his Daughter.
Then the office.
Then the scheduling board.
Then the Son doing homework.
Then the two coffees.
He noticed everything.
The Woman folded her arms.
“Don’t.”
Her Father smiled.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re thinking loudly.”
The Father looked at the Single Dad.
“She gets that from me.”
The Woman groaned.
Later, when she was in the office, the Father stood beside the Single Dad near a truck.
“She happy?”
The Single Dad looked toward the glass.