He wasn’t sure what to say. He was talking with his late wife’s mother about his new woman. He cleared his throat.

“Oh, come on, Sebastian. I deserve to know about things that affect my grandson.”

“That logic is a little wonky, Muriel. If you’re in the market for gossip, just ask.”

She made a little outraged noise from above him that made Seb laugh.

“No, things are good, I think,” he divulged, to soothe her. “I’m just in my own way.”

She was quiet and he could hear her organizing tools. “In your own way how?”

He considered her question. “Do you think I’m too old to be doing this? Trying to start something new with a woman?”

“Old?” She scoffed. “Don’t be idiotic, it doesn’t suit you.”

“I’m forty-two, Muriel.”

“Yes, and...?”

“She’s twenty-eight.”

She was quiet for a second. “That’s hardly a scandal. As long as she’s presentable. Oh Lord on high, tell me she doesn’t wear those horrid midriff shirts.”

Seb laughed. “Cora wore those midriff shirts.”

“And I thought they were horrid then, too.”

He could have sworn she laughed.

“Well, no. She’s very professional. And put together. She’s sweet. You actually know her or might remember her. She was Matty’s pre-K teacher.”

“Oh. Yes, I vaguely remember her. She was good with Matty, if I recall correctly?”

“She was good with him then, and she’s great with him now. It comes naturally to her, I think. But they also have a genuine connection. They’re...friends.” There wasn’t really a better word for it, but it felt strangely inadequate.

“His pre-K teacher,” Muriel repeated, and seemed to be racking her memory. “She was very small? Dark hair? I can’t quite picture her. That year is...foggy for me.” She sounded like admitting it was a real weakness.

Seb scooted out from under the sink and leaned forward on his knees. “Yeah, me, too.” He slanted a quick look up at her. “She was at that softball game, too. I wasn’t sure if you’d recognize her.”

“I knew it!” Muriel crowed before quickly regaining her composure. “I thought for sure you were attracted to that woman. Though, I didn’t realize who she was. Or that we’d already met.”

“Did you interact with her much when Matty was in her class?”

Muriel lifted one shoulder. “A bit. I remember thinking she was good for Matty.”

“Yeah. She actually did this one thing that really helped me after Cora passed. Do you remember that checklist I used to keep up on the fridge?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, she made that for me. And that was really helpful, in a logistical way. But the real thing she did for me was to kindly, gently, tell me that I was neglecting my son.”

Muriel made a sound that Seb would never be able to interpret if he lived a hundred years. She sounded outraged and in agreement at the same time.

“She was right.” Seb wiped his forearm against his eyes. “I was lost and spinning and a bad father. And she just firmly told me to do better. I clung to that for months. The idea that I could do better. And all I had to do was follow that little roadmap she gave me. And every day, I got a little bit better at it.”