Chapter 31

I smiled. "Not entirely," I admitted. "It's mainly to help me be a better parent to my son."

Lorraine's eyes flickered with surprise at the mention of my son, but she quickly recovered. "Oh, you have a child?" she asked. "Tell me about him."

"His name is Jonas," I said, after a moment's hesitation. "He's nine, very thoughtful."

The conversation flowed easily after that. Lorraine was engaging, effortlessly finding interesting topics. Before we knew it, an hour had passed.

Hayden checked his watch. "Getting late," he announced. "Back to the office."

As we stood, Lorraine turned to me. "Mr. Cole, it was lovely meeting you. Perhaps we could stay in touch?"

"Sure," I said, exchanging numbers with her.

Outside the coffee shop, Hayden clapped me on the shoulder. "So?" he asked, playfully. "Lorraine's pretty great, huh?"

"She seems nice," I replied flatly.

Hayden grinned. "Maybe you should get to know her better. You never know."

I didn't respond, walking silently to my car.

Back at the office, lost in thought, my phone rang. Jonas's homeroom teacher.

"Hello, Mr. Joplin," the teacher said. "Jonas had a minor fall at the science museum. Scraped his knee. Nothing serious, but we thought you should know."

I stood abruptly. "Thank you. I'll come get him."

Gathering my things, I found Hayden. "Jonas got hurt at school," I explained. "Need to pick him up."

Hayden nodded. "Go, don't worry about work. Let me know if you need anything."

I offered a grateful look before rushing out.

My stomach churned during the drive. Even though the teacher said it was minor, I worried.

In the school nurse's office, Jonas sat on a bed, a bandage on his knee. His face lit up when he saw me.

"Daddy!"

I hurried to his side. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't hurt, Daddy. I just tripped. Sorry for worrying you."

I hugged him gently. "Don't be silly. I'm just glad you're okay."

After the paperwork, I took Jonas from school.

"Daddy, are we going home?" he asked.

"Not yet," I said. "How about ice cream, then toy shopping? Want to?"

His eyes sparkled. "Really? That's awesome!"

Watching his excitement, a warm joy filled me.