hapter 31
I smiled. “Not entirely. It’s mainly to help me be a better parent to my son.”
At the mention of my son, I noticed a flicker of surprise in Lorraine’s eyes. Nonetheless, she quickly regained her composure. She replied, “Oh, so you have a child. Would you mind telling me about him?”
I hesitated for a moment before answering, “His name is Jonas, and he’s nine years old. He’s a very thoughtful kid.”
We continued chatting, and the conversation grew more relaxed. Lorraine had a knack for keeping the discussion engaging and always found interesting topics to bring up.
Before we knew it, an hour had passed. Hayden checked his watch and said, “It’s getting late. We should head back to the office.”
As we stood up to leave, Lorraine turned to me. “Mr. Cole, it was really nice meeting you. If you don’t mind, perhaps we could stay in touch?
I thought it over and agreed, “Sure, let’s exchange numbers.”
||
With that, Lorraine and I swapped contact information. As we walked out of the coffee shop, Hayden patted my shoulder and asked in a playful tone, “So, what do you think? Lorraine’s pretty great, isn’t she?”
I responded flatly, “Yes, she seems nice.”
Hayden grinned. “Well, maybe you should get to know her better. You never know what might happen.”
I didn’t respond and quietly walked to my car. Back in my office, I sat at my desk, lost in thought. While Lorraine was undeniably lovely, I was unsure if I was ready to start dating again.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Jonas‘ homeroom teacher. I quickly answered the phone. The teacher said, “Hello, Mr. Joplin. Jonas had a minor fall at the science museum and scraped his knee. It’s nothing serious, but we thought you should know.”
I immediately stood up. “Thank you for letting me know. I’ll come get him right away.”
After hanging up, I quickly gathered my things and went to look for Hayden. I explained briefly, “Hayden, Jonas got hurt at school. I need to pick him up.”
Hayden nodded understandingly. “Go ahead, don’t worry about work. Let me know if you need anything.”
I shot Hayden a grateful look before rushing out of the office.
During the drive to school, my stomach was in knots. Even though the teacher said it was not serious, I could not help but worry.
When I reached the school nurse’s office, I found Jonas sitting on a bed with a bandage on his
knee.
“Daddy!” Jonas’s face lit up when he saw me.
I hurried to his side, examining his injury. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
Jonas shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt, Daddy. I just tripped. I’m sorry for making you worry.”
I hugged him gently. “Don’t be silly. You’ve nothing to apologize for. I’m just glad you’re okay.
After handling the necessary paperwork, I took Jonas out of school.
“Daddy, are we going home now?” Jonas asked.
I thought for a moment before replying, “Not just yet. How about we grab some ice cream and then go shopping for toys? Would you like that?”
Jonas‘ eyes sparkled with excitement. “Really? That’s awesome!”
As I watched the excitement on my son’s face, I felt a warm sense of joy.
Spin to Claim Your Surprise Reward!
