“I always told him he’s good at drawing,” she says.
“He works with a children’s book author, and he wants me to give you this,” I say, pulling out the wad of cash.
Her smile fades.
“What is this?”
“An advance.”
She takes the stash of cash and looks at it suspiciously.
“That’s a lot of money,” she says.
“He works with a successful author.”
She lifts her gaze to me.
“So where is he?”
“At the author’s vacation home. They are working really hard to wrap it up and meet the deadline.”
“I see...” she says, not entirely convinced.
“He also suggested you should take a couple of weeks off and go on vacation. You deserve it, he said. He thinks Emma would love it too, and he’ll send more money as soon as possible. He also said the sooner you leave, the better you’ll be.”
“Okay,” she says, a bit overwhelmed.
“Oh... I also have something for Emma.”
I push out of my chair and head to the exit. She follows me and watches me from the doorway as I pull the truck open and scoop out a Llama ride-on toy.
“No...” she says, grinning.
“Oh, yes,” I say, smiling.
“It looks like a pony.”
“It comes with a blanket too. And reins.”
“She’ll love it,” she says, the smile flashing through her eyes, making her look even younger, reminding me so much of him.
“I love it,” I say. “Too bad they don’t make them for adults.”
I give her the toy while I carry another gift inside.
“Horse… horse,” Emma murmurs, clapping her hands.
“It’s not a horse,” Sara says.
“It’s a llama,” I say.
“What’s a llama?” Emma asks, mumbling her way through the word.
“It’s a camel...” I say.
“What’s a camel?”
Sara looks at me.