Chapter 6
Henry
I’ve never seen Willa smile like this. She’s on the floor with Ben, and he’s telling her about his favorite dinosaurs —because of course dinosaurs came up— and she’s listening like it’s the most important information she’s ever received.
“The T-Rex had tiny arms but they were actually super strong,” Ben explains, demonstrating a muscle pose with his own arms and receiving a small chuckle from both of us.
“And Dr. Willa, did you know that doctors are kind of like dinosaur doctors? Because you have to be detectives and figure out what’s wrong?
Because humans are like dinosaurs because we’ve been here for thousands of years. ”
“That’s exactly right and that’s what we do,” Willa says, and her whole face lights up. “We’re medical detectives. We look for clues in how you feel and what your body is telling us.”
“That’s so cool!” Ben looks at me. “Daddy, Dr. Willa is cool.”
“I know, buddy.” I can’t take my eyes off her. “She really is.”
Willa’s cheeks flush that perfect shade of pink, and I want to tell her everything.
That I’ve been hoping to meet her past her order for three months.
That her smile is the best part of my day.
That I fall asleep thinking about what it would be like to know her, really know her, and wake up disappointed that it was just a dream.
But Ben is here, and there are boundaries, and I need to not scare her off by coming on too strong.
“We should let Dr. Monroe get back to work,” I say reluctantly. “Come on, Ben.”
“But I want to stay and talk ‘bout dinosaurs!”
“She has other patients, buddy. Maybe another time?”
“Can we come back tomorrow?” Ben asks Willa hopefully. “I could get another scrape. It’s not hard.”
Willa laughs, and the sound is music. “I’d love to see you again, Ben. But maybe let’s hope you don’t get scraped up, okay? Scrapes hurt.”
“This one didn’t hurt, ’cause you made it not hurt.” Ben carefully picks up the box he’d set down. “These cupcakes are for you! Daddy made them special.”
He hands her the box, and Willa opens it to reveal six perfect chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
“Henry, you didn’t have—”
“I wanted to. Call it a thank you for seeing Ben on such short notice.” I catch her eye. “And for being so nice to him.”
“He makes it easy.” She’s looking at Ben like he’s the most precious thing in the world, and something in my chest cracks wide open.
I want this. I’d love to see her looking at Ben like that every day. I want her in our life. I need to come home to her smile and wake up to her warmth and teach her that not everyone leaves.
We say our goodbyes, and I usher Ben toward the door. But before we leave, I turn back.
“Willa?”
She looks up from the cupcakes, her expression soft and open in a way I’ve never seen before.
“I’m picking you up at four. Don’t forget.”
“I won’t forget.” Her smile could power the entire town. “Thank you, Henry. For… everything.”
“Anytime, Doc.”
Ben talks about Willa the entire drive to his grandmother’s house— where he’s spending the afternoon so I can get back to work. He talks about her smile and her kindness and how she’s the prettiest doctor he’s ever seen.
“Daddy, are you going to kiss her?” he asks as I pull into my parents’ driveway.
I nearly choke. “What? Ben, I barely know her.”
“But you like her. I can tell. You smile when you talk to her.” He unbuckles his seatbelt and looks at me with complete seven-year-old certainty. “I think she should be my mom.”
My heart splinters into a thousand pieces. “Buddy, that’s... we can’t just make someone your mom. These things take time.”
“But you like her?”
I look at my son, this brave little boy who’s been without a mother for five years, who’s watched other kids get picked up by their moms while I’m the only dad doing drop-off most days. Who deserves the world and has somehow decided that Willa Monroe is part of that world.
“Yeah, buddy. I like her and I’d really like to get to know her.”
“Good.” Ben grins and hops out of the truck. “I’m going to tell Grandma we met my new mom!” He slams the door.
Shit!
I open my door. “Ben, wait—” But he’s already running up the porch steps, and my mother is opening the door with a curious expression.
That’s going to be a fun conversation.