That's different. Mrs. Patterson is like family, so maybe these people will be like family, too. Marcus stared at his daughter. Sometimes she said things that stopped him in his tracks that made him wonder if she was really only 6 years old. "When did you get so wise?" he asked.
"You keep asking me that." "Because you keep surprising me." He made fresh eggs and they ate breakfast together at the tiny kitchen table. After he helped Lily take a bath and carefully combed her hair while it was still wet, she put on her new blue dress and her new shoes and the hair ribbon. And when she stood in front of the mirror, she looked like a different child.
"I look pretty," she said, surprised. "You always look pretty." Marcus knelt down to her level. "This dress just helps everyone else see it." He'd bought himself a new shirt, too.
Nothing fancy, just a clean button-down that didn't have any grease stains on it. He paired it with his best jeans and his least-worn boots. And when he looked in the mirror, he thought he looked almost respectable. Almost. They left the apartment at 6:30, giving themselves plenty of time for the drive.
The route took them through parts of the city Marcus rarely visited, past the fancy restaurants and the boutique shops, past the high-end car dealerships and the office buildings where important people made important decisions. The higher they climbed into the hills, the bigger the houses got. By the time they reached the address Sophie had sent, Marcus was gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles had gone white. The Caldwell House wasn't a castle, but it was close. A wrought-iron gate opened onto a long driveway that curved through a manicured lawn.
The house itself was enormous. Three stories of stone and glass with more windows than Marcus could count. There were at least a dozen cars parked along the circular drive, all of them worth more than Marcus made in a year. Whoa. Lily breathed.
Yeah. Marcus swallowed hard. Wow. He parked his battered Honda among the luxury vehicles, feeling like a trespasser. For a moment, he just sat there trying to gather his courage.
What was he doing here? These people lived in a different world. They probably had staff butlers, people who cooked their meals and cleaned their rooms. What could they possibly have in common with a broke mechanic from the wrong side of town? Daddy.
Lily's voice was small. Are we going in? Marcus looked at his daughter. She was nervous, too. He could see it in her eyes, but she was also excited, curious, ready to step into this unfamiliar world and see what it held.
If she could be brave, so could he. Yeah, baby. He opened his door. We're going in. They walked up to the front entrance together, hand in hand.
Before Marcus could knock, the door flew open. Sophie stood there grinning from ear to ear. You came? She threw her arms around Marcus in a hug that caught him completely off guard. We weren't sure if you would, but you came.
Of course, we came. Marcus patted her back awkwardly. You invited us. Maya appeared behind her sister, equally excited. Is this Lily?