I blinked.
“I’m sorry.”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“I probably shouldn’t assume anything, but you look worried.”
“I am.”
He nodded.
“I had a feeling you might be.”
My pulse quickened.
“You knew my husband?”
“I wouldn’t say I knew him.”
He glanced toward his truck before meeting my eyes again.
“I’ve seen him every Thursday for almost a year.”
My heart started racing.
“Every Thursday?”
Charlie nodded.
“Yesterday included.”
Yesterday had been Thursday.
Julian came home insisting he had lost the phone somewhere between work and the gym.
Instead, it had spent the night at a family visitation center.
My mind filled the silence with possibilities I did not want.
Another family.
A secret child.
Someone he had never told me about.
Charlie must have seen every terrible conclusion crossing my face because he raised a hand gently.
“I think you’re imagining something that isn’t true.”
I swallowed.
“Then help me understand.”
He hesitated.
“I probably shouldn’t be the one explaining.”
“You know my husband,” I said. “And now I’m standing here wondering if I know him at all.”
Charlie’s expression softened.
“I volunteer there.”
I frowned.
“You do?”
“Most Thursdays,” he said with a faint smile. “Julian too.”
For several seconds, I only stared at him.
“I don’t know what to say.”
I shook my head.
“He never told me.”
“I don’t think he wanted anyone to know.”
“Why?”
Charlie thought for a moment.
“Because he wasn’t doing it for recognition.”
He leaned against the porch railing.
“Every Thursday afternoon, he comes in after work. He helps wherever he’s needed. Sometimes he builds cardboard castles. Sometimes he colors. Sometimes he reads stories. And sometimes, he spends an hour pretending the waiting room is full of dinosaurs because that’s what one little boy likes.”
I listened without interrupting.
Charlie smiled to himself.
“Yesterday they built an entire cardboard volcano. He was covered in green paint by the time they finished.”
A memory surfaced.
The night before, I had noticed a tiny streak of green on Julian’s wrist.
He laughed and said, “Marker from a presentation.”
I never questioned it.
Charlie continued.
“One little fellow refused to play unless Julian was Daddy Dinosaur.”
Despite everything churning inside me, the corner of my mouth lifted.
“Daddy Dinosaur?”
“Oh, absolutely!” Charlie laughed. “The kids assigned everyone roles. Nurse Kelly was Baby Triceratops. I somehow became a confused turtle. And Julian was always Daddy Dinosaur.”
I looked down at the phone in my hand.
“So that’s where he lost this.”
Charlie nodded.
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