Page 47 of Getting Down to Business

Chapter 10

As soon as Lucy was buckled in and the cab started for the Bronx Zoo, she turned to him very seriously and asked, “Where’s Chanda?”

“She’s working today.” This wasn’t entirely a lie. She would be working later that day, but she wasn’t working for the next four hours.

He hadn’t told Chanda about Julie’s conditions. In fact, he’d kept his distance. How was it going to work for him to be dating someone who wasn’t allowed around his daughter?

“Awwww. I drawed a picture for her of a picture she liked at the Mets.”

He smiled as she pulled out her picture of a picture.

“And this one is us.” She held out another with three somewhat square bodies on it.

“It’s beautiful. What is this on my arm?” He pointed to a flower on the largest person’s appendage.

“That’s me. I have a tattoo.”

Doug didn’t know what to do. He hadn’t gotten a Dad Manual with his child.

“Sweetie, if you want to get a tattoo when you’re a grown-up, Daddy won’t mind. As long as you’ve given it a lot of thought. And it’s not a boy’s name.”

“Okay.”

“And if at some point when you’re an adult you want to dye your hair a bright color or have a giant needle shoved through your nose so you can put a hoop through it, I will support you, I promise.”

Lucy’s eyes were wide. Maybe he’d overdone it slightly.

“But until you’re as old as Mommy and Daddy, you can’t have real tattoos or piercings. You understand?”

Lucy nodded and frowned.

“I wanted to be pretty like Chanda,” she said in a small, pitiful voice.

“You are beautiful, just the way you are. Why don’t we call her and see if she can join us?”

“Yay!”

Doug put his phone on speaker and dialed her number. She picked up on the second ring.

“You’re calling me?” It was no wonder she was surprised. He thought he’d been doing the right thing, but what he was doing was reinforcing Julie’s feelings that people with tattoos and piercings were lesser beings.

“No. Lucy and I are calling you.”

“Hi, Chanda! Please come to the zoo with us. I want you to see my favorite animal and I drawed you a picture.”

He heard Chanda laugh on the other end.

“Don’t you want to spend time with your daddy?” she tried.

“I want to be with both of you.”

“I can’t very well say no to that, now can I?”

“That worked?” Doug laughed. “I thought her special powers only worked on me.”

“I guess not. I’ll meet you there.”

They spent the entire afternoon going from exhibit to exhibit. Each one was Lucy’s favorite. He and Chanda held on to each of Lucy’s hands and swung her in the air, making her giggle.