Treasure Me (Rough Edges 4)

He smiles. “I’ll see you tomorrow when we bring him in.”

Could things get any more complicated? I’m being ignorant, because Dean hasn’t cared, but I like to keep Lily in the dark on romantic stuff. It’s hard enough on her we aren’t together anymore, and going back and forth.

“Who was that, mommy?”

“He works with your uncle at the fire department. I am going to be taking care of his daddy at the center.”

She puts the red crayon down. “So, his daddy has the remembering disease?”

I nod, and she slips out of the booth and runs after him. “Sir?”

Jeremy turns around and crouches down. “Yes, sweetie?”

“I hope your daddy gets better. My mommy will take good care of him.”

Jeremy looks up at me and then smiles. “Thank you. I know she will.”

He walks out the door, and she sits back down and continues to color until the food arrives.

“Here you go. Order up, little one.”

She digs in right away, and I just sit there and watch her. Lily knows about my job, and that it revolves around helping people that have trouble remembering things. Sometimes, she will ask me if anyone remembered today when I get home, and no matter what, I always tell her yes. It might give her a sense of false hope that I perform miracles or something. But she’s a kid, so I don’t correct her.

I hope Don gets better, or at least gets to have more time with his kids than they are predicting. Losing a parent is baffling and at the center it’s a revolving door of grieving families. I hope it’s different for the Greys.