She noticed.
“You’re not going to tell me everything happens for a reason?”
“No.”
“Good.”
She stared at the fence.
“My Daughter doesn’t know.”
The Single Dad looked toward the kitchen.
The Daughter stood behind the glass.
Only for a second.
Then disappeared.
“She knows something.”
The CEO followed his gaze.
Her face changed.
“She shouldn’t have to worry.”
“She already is.”
“I’m protecting her.”
The Single Dad nodded.
“I know.”
The CEO looked at him sharply.
“Then what?”
“Worrying alone is harder.”
Silence.
“Experience?”
He looked down at his burned hand.
“Every day.”
His Son arrived after school the next afternoon.
Backpack dragging.
Cheeks red from walking too fast.
He stopped at the gate.
Looked at the work.
Then announced:
“Galvanized mesh.”
The Single Dad sighed.
“Yes.”
“Good choice.”
“Thank you.”
“You reset three footings?”
“Two and a half yesterday.”
“You should have started earlier.”
The Single Dad stared.
“I started at eight.”
“Earlier than eight.”
“One day you’ll own a business.”
The Son thought.
“And?”
“Then I’ll explain why six-thirty exists.”
The CEO appeared in the doorway.
The Son immediately straightened.
“Ma’am.”
She smiled.
“You must be the Son.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He looked at the fence.
“Your old posts were already rotting.”
The Single Dad closed his eyes.
The CEO looked amused.
The Son continued:
“Dad says the truck didn’t cause the whole problem.”
“I’ve heard.”
“He fixes the original problem.”
The CEO’s expression changed.
The Son pointed toward the third post.
“Things that look solid sometimes aren’t.”
The Daughter appeared behind her mother.
She heard that.
Then looked toward the Single Dad.
He pretended to adjust something.
“Would you like a snack?”
The Daughter asked the Son.
The boy nodded immediately.
“Do you have crackers?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
“Good ones.”
He followed her inside.
The CEO watched him go.
Then looked at the Single Dad.
“He just walks into places like he belongs.”
“He’s nine.”
“That isn’t what I mean.”
The Single Dad understood.
“He hasn’t learned to apologize for existing yet.”
The CEO stared at him.
Something in that sentence reached somewhere uncomfortable.
She looked toward the house.
“I hope he never does.”