My arms are fine, the girl said with the offense, only a seven-year-old can load into three syllables. Your arms are great. The bolts just being difficult. Different problem. The girl considered this with visible seriousness, tilting her head in the way that meant she was deciding whether to accept the argument.
Then she looked up and saw Viv standing at the elevator. Children do not operate the same social filters adults do. They never got the memo that you're supposed to pretend not to notice the most powerful person in the building. Hey," the girl said, pointing. "You're the lady."
Dad got out of the elevator. Marcus looked up. His expression cycled through surprise. A flash of something private and then settled into that familiar warmth. Hey, Miss Callaway.
Flat tire. Nothing serious, just taking longer than I'd like. He nodded toward the girl. This is Lily. She's supposed to be in the lobby.
I wanted to watch, Lily said firmly. She wanted to watch. Marcus confirmed with a tone that suggested this was a negotiation he'd already lost. Viv found herself standing there when she should have been walking to her car. "I didn't know you had a daughter," she said, which was not entirely true, but was true enough.
"She's my whole operation," Marcus said. He got the bolt moving finally, and Lily issued a cheer from the hood. She talks me into letting her supervise everything. I'm still not sure how. Charm, Lily announced.
Daddy says I have a surplus. Viv laughed. Actually laughed the involuntary kind, not the polite professional acknowledgement she deployed in meetings. The sound surprised her almost as much as it seemed to surprise Marcus. She's not wrong, Marcus said, watching Viv with a careful attention she wasn't used to from people who didn't want something from her.
You seem Viv stopped, started again. You're always easy about things, even this. She gestured at the flat tire, the parking deck the Friday at 6 p.m. Does anything get to you? He sat back on his heels, turning that over, not deflecting. Actually thinking about it.
Things get to me, he said. I just try not to let them convince me that they're bigger than they are. He tightened the last bolt and stood wiping his hands on a shop rag. Lily needs me to be steady, so I practice being steady. It stops feeling like effort after a while.
Lily had slid off the hood and was now standing beside her father, examining Viv with the open assessment of someone who hasn't learned that staring is rude. Your necklace is pretty, Lily said. Is it real gold, Lily? Marcus said, "It's okay," Viv said. She crouched down, bringing herself to the girl's level.
"It is real gold. It was my grandmother's. So, it's old, very old." Lily processed this. Old things are better.
She said. Daddy says the old compass is worth more than anything new because it knows where home is. Viv glanced at Marcus who had gone slightly still. Lily, he said gently, "Sorry." Lily said, not looking sorry at all.