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Kali ushered Theo upstairs and let her hand trail along his back as they made their way into the apartment. Theo plopped onto the floor and undid his shoes, his teeth biting his bottom lip, his tongue slightly out at the corner. Kali sat down across from him as he looked at her, eyes wide.
She reached a hand to his knee. “Did you have fun with Daddy today?”
Theo nodded then brought his attention back to his shoes. He yanked the first one off and set it with the row of shoes by the door.
“You like Daddy, right?”
Another nod.
“More than Lincoln?”
Theo’s head tilted. He was silent for a moment. “Different.” He bent his head again and worked on the other shoe. Kali waited until it sat beside the first shoe.
As Theo was about to stand, Kali put pressure on his knee, indicating he stay. “What do you mean by different?”
“Mmm. I don’t know.” Theo rocked. “Daddy’s Daddy and Lincoln’s Lincoln.”
“Okay.” Kali’s brow furrowed. “You said once that Lincoln was kind of like a daddy. How would you like that, if Lincoln were to live with us and he and Mommy were together and he really was like your daddy?”
Theo shook his head, his face scrunched up with confusion and mirth. “Lincoln already lives with us. It’s already like that.”
“He hasn’t been though, much, has he?”
Theo’s face fell slightly. “He’s busy because his daddy died. Then he’s coming back, right?”
Kali took a deep breath. “He’s not planning to, no. Remember he came in a couple of weeks ago to say goodbye. To tell you he wouldn’t be seeing you so much.”
Theo nodded, his face concerned.
“He doesn’t live with us anymore.”
“But I still see him. We went to the park and to the burger place and then,” Theo tapped his chin, “swimming. He took me to the swimming pool.”
“I know. But you haven’t seen him in a long time, have you? Almost two weeks.”
“I don’t know!” Theo’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll see him again. He said I’d see him again. And when he’s done being busy with his dead daddy he’s gonna live here again.”
“He said that?”
“I ...” Theo’s mouth opened and closed. “I don’t know. Yes. Yes. He said. He said so. He told me.”
“I don’t think so, honey. I think maybe you’re confused.”
“I’m not confused. You’re confused.”
“I told Lincoln I didn’t think it was good for you to see him anymore. That it would confuse you.”
“No!” Theo grabbed a shoe and hurled it at Kali’s chest. She caught it before impact.
“Theo.”
“No. You’re stupid. That’s stupid. Lincoln’s coming back.”
Kali rubbed her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. “That makes you very upset, doesn’t it, the idea that Lincoln’s not coming back.”
“He is coming back.” Theo yelled. “He’s going to be like my second daddy. Or my first daddy. He’s first. You said.”
“I didn’t—”
“You said he’d live with us and be like my real daddy.”
Kali reached her arms forward and placed her hands on each of Theo’s hips. She pulled him closer. “I didn’t say that. I asked if you would like that.”
Theo crossed his arms tight in front of him. “I would.”
“Would you rather live with Daddy though?”
“Just Daddy?”
“What if it were Daddy and me and Grampie and you?”
“And Lincoln.”
“No. Not Lincoln. But you like Daddy, right?”
Theo’s lips pursed.
“Theo.”
He nodded. “Daddy’s fun. I like Daddy.”
“Do you love him?”
Theo shrugged.
“Do you love Lincoln?”
Theo nodded.
“You love Lincoln.”
Another nod. His lips trembled. His eyes glistened. “I want Lincoln to come back. I thought Lincoln was coming back.”
Kali pulled Theo into her lap.
“Make Lincoln come back. He can be my daddy.”
Kali rocked Theo against her, her heart aching, then shifted him so she could see his face. She wiped away the few tears that fell with her thumb. “I’m sorry, honey. I shouldn’t be talking to you about this.”
“You should. You should bring Lincoln back.”
“But we’ve been doing okay, haven’t we. Just me and you, then seeing Daddy and Grampie?”
Theo nodded.
“You love Grampie, right?”
Another nod.
“And maybe you’ll love Daddy too, sometime soon.”
“I don’t know him so well.”
“But you’re getting to, right?”
“Uh huh.”
“Daddy loves you. So much. He came back for you.”
“And you.”
Kali smiled. “Mostly you.” She squeezed Theo tighter and smoothed her hand over his dreads. “I’m so sorry, baby, that you don’t know your daddy better. He wanted to know you. He wanted to visit and I, I kept him from you ... I was scared.”
Theo’s eyes widened. “You were scared of Daddy?”
“No. No.” Kali looked up to the ceiling. Lately it felt like she couldn’t get anything right. She adjusted Theo again so she could look him in the face. “I guess I was scared that he’d love you so much he’d try to take you away from me, but that was silly. So silly. He loves you like crazy but he’d never take you away.”
Theo’s brow furrowed. “You sure?”
“So sure.” Kali smiled and cupped Theo’s chin. She eased him off of her lap, stood, then offered a hand to help him up. “You must be hungry.”
Theo nodded, a hand wiping under his nose.
“Time for lunch?”
“Uh huh.”
Kali squeezed Theo’s hand then released it. “You go play with your cars. I’ll make grilled cheese.”
Theo turned without a backward glance. Kali rubbed a hand on her neck. She’d made her son cry. She’d tried to get answers out of him she needed to answer for herself. Theo loved Lincoln. He missed Lincoln. That much was clear. But he’d love Derek too. She was sure of it. Like Lincoln said, kids were malleable. Kali glanced into the living room, where Theo sat crouched on the floor, completely engrossed in his cars. Theo would be fine. No matter what, he’d be okay. He had his Dad back. That’s what was important.
***
“AND YOU CAN BUILD THIS anywhere?”
“Not anywhere, no. I need a tree. The right kind of tree.”
“Right.” Twizzler turned then leaned against the fencing Lincoln had built with Theo in mind. She smiled, her grin lighting her face. “It looks even better than last time.”
“Thanks.” Lincoln leaned against the logs making up the tree house’s outer wall, fighting a grin himself. “I’m sure you get this all the time, but—”
“Twizzler is my real name. My given name.” Twizzler shook her long wavy red locks and flashed a smile. “My father had a sense of humour.”
“And you’re carrying on the joke.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“You could keep your hair short. Dye it.”
“This is my hair, and I like it.”
Lincoln’s grin escaped through the corner of his mouth. “I respect that. It suits you, anyway.”
“The name or the hair?”
“Both.”
Twizzler gave a crisp nod then pulled out her camera. “I think I’ve got enough shots up here. I’ll take a few more from the ground, then we’re done.”
Back on the forest floor, Twizzler tucked her camera away after some final shots. “The key now is to find interested buyers, preferably people with visions of their own, so you can work with them, create a portfolio of potential styles and designs, from simple and rustic to elaborate and classy.”
“I’m guessing mine’s the former?”
Twizzler let her head bob side to side. “Closer to the former, but really somewhere in between. The finishing work you’ve done, high end customers will want that and more, but you said you also want to appeal to the Dad who wants a man cave, the family who wants a fun retreat for their kids. They may not care so much about the double layer you’ve done, the natural trunks. Plain old lumber should suffice.”
“Okay.”
“My job is to focus on what you want. Help you make this the business you want it to be.”
Lincoln raised an eyebrow.
Twizzler waved a hand. “I know when we first met I had all these visions and I laid them down hard. I know your family. I know Joseph. I may have let that influence who I thought you’d be and what you’d want. But if this is going to work, it’s got to work for you. You want the main focus to be you designing houses individually, that’ll be the main focus. You want to actually be there doing the work a lot of the time, that’s what you’ll do. You’ll make less, but you’ll make a name. Niche can be good.”
Lincoln looked up to the tree house and bit his lip. “I’m okay with pre-designed too. I liked that combo thing we talked about. Basic structure but with options for people to personalize it. And I’m okay with hiring contractors for the work. Just not right away. I want to make sure I have something solid before I start to grow. I want to control that growth, not let it get away from me.”
“You want a business that supports your life, not one that becomes it.”
Lincoln gave a slight nod. “Yeah.”
“You will have to travel.”
“I know.”
“But we’ll start as close to home as we can.”
Lincoln gave another nod. “You have someone in the Valley?”
“I do.” Twizzler grinned, her green eyes sparkling. “But I really want you to meet with the Montreal guy first. Get started there. He’s a name maker.”
“I don’t know. It’s not exactly close to home.”
“It’s closer than Germany, where I think you could eventually have a lot of interest.” Twizzler finished fastening the cover to her camera case then slung the bag across her shoulder. “Listen, Lincoln, if this guy wants to hire you it’ll be a big job. More than that, if he likes it, which he will, he’ll want to show his tree house off. This one job could make your career. It may make you busy enough that you don’t have to advertise for years.”
“Won’t that put you out of a job?”
Twizzler crossed her arms and sighed. “I’d get a cut then move on to the next client until you need me again.”
“Anyway,” Lincoln leaned against his truck, “I don’t want to be busy for years, I want—”
“To do a full day’s work then go home and rest. I get it. So you do the design. You hire contractors. You get them started—you’re out there for a fews days—if you want to make sure they’re doing the work the way you want to do it, then you take a trip every couple of weeks.”
Lincoln cringed.
“Get your foreman to send you daily pictures. You can make it work. You said you were fine with travel.”
“I am. But contractors on my first job. Contractors without me there?”
“So stay. Do it there. A few months of hard work if you do it alone. Far less if you hire a team you’ll oversee. You don’t have anything holding you here, do you?”
Lincoln took a deep breath and lifted his arms as his shoulders shrugged. “No. You’re right.” He pushed out a smile. “I’ll meet with him. See if we’re in alignment.”
“You’ll be in alignment. I’ll book the flights tomorrow. In one to two weeks is good?”
Lincoln nodded.
Twizzler pulled out her phone, pressed a button to show the time, then brought her attention back to Lincoln, a grin on her face. “All right, back to civilization.”