“Uncle Paul!”
Lily dropped her bike into the grass and went running for the man stepping out of the car.
“Oh, how’s my little Lilypad?” Paul asked. “Have you grown? You look four inches taller.”
“No,” Lily said with a giggle. “I’m only half an inch taller.”
“Half an inch! If you don’t stop growing, you’ll be as big as a beanstalk!” Paul said.
I stood on the porch and watched as Paul tickled my daughter’s stomach. I’d known he would be by eventually. Paul and Bradley had gone through basic together. Paul became a military police officer, and Bradley found his niche with cyber security and coding. They were the best of friends when I’d met Bradley. Paul had been his wingman at the bar we’d met at that night. When we had Lily, it was a no-brainer as to who we wanted to be her godfather, and through every struggle we battled with her, Paul was there to help.
Paul even came back from a deployment early to help me arrange Bradley’s funeral. Now he was back for good, having run out his time in the military and taken a job with the Bend Police Department.
“Glad to see you back,” Paul said.
He wrapped me up in his arms, and I hugged him close.
“It’s good to be back, however bittersweet it might be,” I said.
“How are you doing? How’s Lily getting along with things?”
“I’m getting along. Got a part-time job that’s keeping me busy for now. Lily’s… Lily. She asks passing questions after her dad from time to time, but she’s loving school.”
I released Paul, but his hand stayed around my body. He was rubbing my back, which was probably an innocent gesture, but ever since Bradley’s passing, I’d shied away from physical contact with any man. Even one who had been our closest friend. I took a step away from him and smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Did you just get off work?” I asked.
“I took today off. I usually have Sundays and Mondays off, but a long weekend seemed like a good idea after three full weeks of working nonstop,” Paul said.
“The police department keeping you busy enough?” I asked.
“Not as busy as the military, but the change of pace is nice.”
“You’ve been out how long now?” I asked.
“A little over a year.”
“I’m sorry. A lot of things blurred together over the past couple of years.”
“Don’t be sorry. You were grieving. We all were. I’m just glad both sides of the family were still there for you, even in Brad’s absence,” he said.
“Me too. Living with my mother after everything that happened was hard. I felt like I was sort of floundering. She was the one who helped me get my finances in order. And Brad’s mother took Lily whenever I needed her to. She was a godsend, that one. I had my worst days away from Lily thanks to her. I didn't want Lily to see all that.”
“Because you’re a good mother, Cindy. And you were a good wife to Bradley. He was a lucky man. I want to make sure you girls are still being looked after without him.”
“Lily likes that you’re here,” I said.
“How’s the house treating you?” Paul asked.
“It’s good. My mother helped me pick it out. She found someone to take Brad’s military gear as well as his truck, and it paid off most of the house.”
“Brad’s life insurance through the military should’ve paid off all of it,” he said.
“I had some student loan debt from my business degree, and I put the rest into a college savings fund for Lily. I wanted it to feel like Brad was still providing for her. When she gets older, she can use that to bypass all the debt I dug myself into, and when she asks where it came from, I can say her father gave it to her.”
“That’s actually a really good idea. I never would’ve thought of that.”
“You’ve always been an immediate gratification kind of man. Bradley was the long-term planner out of the two of you,” I said with a grin.