My 5-year-old wants

“Wow,” I said, and quickly thought about it.

“This is… a big surprise. You know what, sweetheart, shall we play a game? Invite him over for dinner on Sunday. But don’t tell Mom. And don’t tell him I’m home either. It’ll be fun, and our little secret.”

“A game?”

“Yes. But it has to remain a secret, Mom can’t tell, okay?” I remembered her.

“Okay! I love games!”

I smiled and leaned forward to kiss her head, but inside I was breaking down.

I went to work while she prepared her equipment that morning. We had pancakes for breakfast. We went to the park. Lily got to choose the centerpiece for dinner at the supermarket—a crooked bouquet of sunflowers. When we got home, Jess was gone.

I told my wife that Lily and I would be out all day doing something fun to celebrate this special day. I also let her know that I would call the babysitter and leave Lily with her while I visited my parents.

She knew that she should not predict my return until much later.

There was a knock at 6:07 PM.

I took a deep breath, opened the door, and almost dropped the serving tray!