5. Tanner

5

TANNER

T hat afternoon, Tanner stood outside the elementary school, taking in the sight of all the bundled-up parents and little brothers and sisters waiting for pickup. A row of yellow school buses formed a line on the side of the building and the air was filled with tiny snow flurries and anticipation.

Though he’d had more than enough to do today, Tanner finished his first round of checks on the houses rewired by Linck early enough to pick up his son at school. He figured they could walk into town and enjoy the hint of snow coming down, and Tanner could hear about Zeke’s school day instead of just what happened on the bus.

The bell rang inside and a little girl standing with her mom started jumping up and down excitedly.

“That means Leah’s coming,” the girl squeaked.

“She sure is,” her mother said with a smile.

The other parents in earshot all smiled at each other, and even though they were mostly moms and grandmas, Tanner got smiled at too.

People were getting used to seeing him around. When he’d been a single dad at the community play group back when Zeke was tiny, it had been a little different. It felt like the moms viewed him with a certain amount of suspicion at first. By now, he was just part of the scenery.

Kids began pouring out the front doors of the school, and Tanner started getting excited himself. He remembered heading out of this very school when he was small, filled with joy at knowing that he was going back to the homestead to run and play with his cousins, and eat warm cookies or whatever other delicious snack the grown-ups had waiting for them.

“ Daddy ,” Zeke yelled when he spotted him.

Tanner watched as his seven-year-old son sprinted in his direction, his backpack thudding against his back so hard that Tanner was afraid the child would be tipped over by it if it picked up any more momentum.

Tanner bent to hug him as he zoomed in.

“No bus today?” Zeke panted as he flung himself into his father’s arms.

“Nope,” Tanner told him. “I left my truck in town because I was thinking maybe you’d want to walk through the snow flurries with me and get our snack at the bakery.”

“Yes,” Zeke yelled in delight.

“Let’s do it,” Tanner said, straightening up. “Want me to carry your backpack?”

“Okay,” Zeke told him, shouldering it off and holding it up .

Though it looked enormous on the boy, it actually wasn’t all that heavy. Tanner just hoped there wasn’t too much homework in it.

“Can we build a snowman tonight?” Zeke asked as they headed for the footpath to the village.

“I’m not sure about that,” Tanner told him, trying not to chuckle. “We aren’t supposed to get much more snow than this. It’s pretty, but it won’t stick to the ground.”

“Oh,” Zeke said a little sadly.

“But that makes it nice to walk in,” Tanner told him. “It looks like a snow globe, but we won’t slip and fall down.”

That earned him a big laugh from Zeke.

“I don’t fall down in the snow, Dad,” he chuckled.

“Well, if you ever do, at least you’ll have a nice soft, cold landing,” Tanner offered.

Zeke melted into more giggles and for a minute Tanner got to feel like a stand-up comedian.

“How were your friends today?” Tanner asked. “Did anyone get kicked out of school?”

“ No, ” Zeke laughed. “No, Daddy, they were all really good.”

“Are you sure?” Tanner asked, pretending to be suspicious. “Not even that naughty Ezekiel Williams?”

“That’s me , Dad,” Zeke shrieked in delight, laughing so hard he actually did melt onto the ground for a minute, like a snowman in the sunshine. “ I’m Ezekiel Williams.”

“Oh, right,” Tanner said, nodding wisely. “That name did sound familiar.”

“Why are you so silly today?” Zeke asked, using Tanner’s leg to pull himself back up.

Tanner had asked Zeke the same thing so many times that he was broadsided by a terrible pang of sentimentality.

Don’t grow up too fast, buddy…

“Dad?” Zeke said.

“I had a good day, I guess,” he told the boy, as they continued their walk.

“That’s nice,” Zeke said. “Why was it good?”

Tanner wasn’t really sure, but when he thought back all he could see was Valentina’s eyes widening when she realized she had leaned on the paint, and then the sparkling wonderland at the electric supply shop that reminded him of her earrings.

“I made a new friend,” he realized out loud.

“What’s his name?” Zeke asked.

“ Her name is Valentina,” Tanner told him.

“Is she going to be my stepmom?” Zeke asked casually.

Tanner was so surprised that he looked down at Zeke, and tripped over a tree root that lifted the sidewalk slightly, barely catching his balance before he dropped Zeke’s backpack.

“No,” Tanner said. “No. What would make you think that?”

“Uncle Ansel got married and now Lucas has a stepmom,” Zeke said shrugging. “She makes art projects with him. And he has a stepsister now, too. Does Vallerina have a daughter? ”

“Valentina,” Tanner corrected him automatically. “And no, she doesn’t have any kids. I don’t think.”

Come to think of it, he didn’t know much about her at all, except that she was loyal and wore pretty earrings. And she had listened to him today like she cared about what he was saying.

“You should definitely ask her if she has any kids before you marry her,” Zeke suggested wisely. “We have to be sure we have enough space for everyone when they move in.”

“I’m not marrying her,” Tanner said, stopping in his tracks and wondering how they had gotten this far in the conversation without him making that clear. “We just work together.”

“Oh,” Zeke said, looking mildly disappointed again. “Can we get brownies with ice cream on top?”

“Uh, sure,” Tanner said, shaking his head at Zeke’s seven-year-old change of topic.

“Yes,” Zeke exclaimed for the second time in two minutes.

Tanner was surprised to hear Zeke talk in such a positive way about stepmoms, although he guessed he really shouldn’t be. Winona and Parker had been a huge boon to his cousin Ansel’s life. Ansel and Lucas were definitely a lot happier these days, and that was likely why Zeke had taken an interest.

Tanner had never really considered dating again, but it was interesting to think Zeke wouldn’t have a problem with it if he did. Though he’d have to have a talk with the boy about how it all worked before he scared off some poor woman by asking her to pick out curtains or something.

Then he thought about the demands of his work, and the attention Zeke needed, and he knew he wasn’t really going to date, at least not until Zeke was grown up and he didn’t have to weigh every job against whether it would interfere with being the boy’s sole parent.

“ Christmas ,” Zeke yelled, spotting the candy canes hanging from the lampposts.

“Not too much longer,” Tanner agreed. “It’s right around the corner.”

“I want to get Mrs. Hastings something with a bear on it,” Zeke reminded him for the tenth time. “She loves bears.”

No matter how much Mrs. Hastings tortured Zeke with her endless homework drills, Zeke still adored her. He had been so excited to shop for her Christmas present that he barely mentioned what he wanted for himself.

“We’ll find something great,” Tanner promised the boy.

Hopefully, they could find it in the shop at Cassidy Farm or one of the stores in town. The mall up on Route One had everything, but Tanner preferred supporting his neighbors when he could. After all, he was grateful when they hired him instead of going to the big shop out in Springton Valley. For Tanner, loyalty went both ways.

Zeke jogged backwards to take his father’s hand as they crossed the street from Columbia Avenue over to Park, and Tanner was reminded yet again of what a great kid he had. At Zeke’s age, his mother definitely had to yell at him about holding hands to cross the street .

“Let’s check the house,” Zeke squeaked when they got to the other side, tugging Tanner over to the window of the real estate office.

A beautiful dollhouse that resembled some of the Victorian homes in Trinity Falls was displayed in the window year-round, but during the holiday season, it was carefully decorated, bit by bit. The house had been sitting in a bed of soft cotton snow since the day after Thanksgiving, and tiny lights had appeared on it last week. The latest addition appeared to be a tiny, decorated Christmas tree in one of the windows. A miniature Santa Claus would appear in the chimney just before the holiday, an event Tanner remembered being excited about when he was a kid himself.

Zeke pressed his little nose against the glass and Tanner almost pulled him back, until he saw Sloane Greenfield smiling at them from her desk on the other side of the window. Probably a lot of kids were smashing their faces against that glass at this time of year. He gave her a quick wave and, then a voice from the doorway of the shop next door called out to them.

“If it isn’t my best customers,” Mallory, the owner of the bakery chimed, holding a plastic bowl in her hand.

“Is that for dogs?” Zeke asked, excitedly peeling himself off the window and turning his attention to Mallory.

“It sure is,” she told him. “I just put fresh water in it. Do you want to set it in front of the shop for me? It needs to go in a spot where no one will trip over it.”

“Sure,” Zeke said, running over to her looking delighted that she had asked for his help.

“Just be careful,” she told him. “You wouldn’t want to get covered in water when it’s so cold out.”

He took the bowl as carefully as if it was filled with eggs, and lowered it to the ideal spot—exactly where Mallory always put it.

“Wow,” she said. “Thank you so much, Zeke. That’s just perfect.”

“You’re welcome,” he said proudly, glancing over at his dad as if to make sure he’d seen.

“Zeke’s a great helper,” he told Mallory. “He even has chores at home now, and it makes things so much easier for me.”

“Oh, yeah?” Mallory asked.

“I set the table,” Zeke told her. “And I help wash dishes.”

“Oh, I could put you right to work here,” Mallory said, frowning and pretending to think up jobs. “If you came here looking for a job to do, you’re in the right place.”

“I came for a snack,” Zeke said thoughtfully. “But I can probably help you until it’s time to do my homework.”

Tanner felt a pang of pride at his son’s selflessness.

“I’m only teasing,” Mallory said, bending down to tousle his hair. “But you’re a great kid, and if you still want to work for me when you grow up, you can come see me anytime.”

“Okay,” Zeke said happily.

Mallory smiled at Tanner over Zeke’s head, giving him the same smile he saw so often when people were charmed by his son. He let her know what they were having—a zucchini muffin for him, a small brownie with ice cream for Zeke, and two hot chocolates.

Zeke was already settling in at their favorite table—one at the back so he could watch Mallory use the cool, old-fashioned cash register that actually made a ding sound whenever she opened the drawer.

“I wish we could make a snowman,” Zeke said suddenly, his eyes on the delicate flurries falling on the village out the big front windows of the bakery.

“Well, we won’t be able to do that, but maybe we can fix the snowman decoration we got from Big Jim,” Tanner offered.

Tanner owned an apartment building in town that had a nice garden to one side. He had started putting out Christmas decorations a few years ago, and before long, what had been a fun little display had become something everyone in town waited for. People even started donating decorations that no longer worked. Which was perfect, since he was an electrician, and it was usually a snap to refurbish old ones and get them lit up again.

“Yes,” Zeke said. “I want to do that.”

“Let’s just have a look at your homework first,” Tanner said. “You know we normally only work on the lights on weekends.”

Zeke industriously dug into his backpack and fished out a list, a notebook, and a workbook.

Tanner took the list and scanned it. The reading homework was just to read for ten minutes before bed, which was easy since they did more than that most nights anyway. But there were also a bunch of pages in the workbook that had to be completed, along with a handwritten page of sums in Zeke’s notebook.

It was too much.

But Tanner knew he couldn’t get angry or complain openly in front of the boy. It was important for Zeke to understand that his teacher was an authority figure, and that authority figures needed to be treated with respect.

Besides, Zeke loved Mrs. Hastings. He wouldn’t want to hear anything negative about her.

He’ll just think he’s having a hard time finishing the work because he’s not good at math…

That kind of thinking could close off doors in the boy’s mind that were open right now.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” he said, feeling a lump in his own throat. “I think we’ll just have our nice snack and head home to get to work. We probably have some tricky math problems to solve today.”

He’d done his best to put a positive spin on things, but the look in Zeke’s eyes nearly broke his heart.