It was ridiculous—over the top!—how quickly a feeling of goodwill spread through his body from this small kindness. And that was before he took even a single bite of muffin.

Chapter 9

LU

LU FOUND A lovely little café to work in. It was called Joy Bombs. The coffee was phenomenal, the Wi-Fi was free (password: makingwhoopie), and the specialty, small whoopie pies that came in a variety of flavors, were to die for. She bought a sampler plate, coffee for herself, juice for the boys. After the incident with Sebastian and Anthony, Lu wanted the boys within sight even while she was working, so Chase had the family iPad and Sebastian had Lu’s phone. Jeremy didn’t like the boys to be on electronics at all, not at their ages—he didn’t think it was good for their brain development. In fact, he’d brought it up just the day before, before he’d left again for the hospital. Lu didn’t think it was good for the boys’ brain development either, but it was easier to have a zero-tolerance policy about electronics when you worked sixteen-hour shifts and sometimes slept at the hospital.

They spread out at the table, and Lu began to write.

Readers! Let’s talk mozzarella and tomatoes. I don’t know if you’re lucky enough to have fresh tomatoes where you are. It’s early in the season for many. Here in the Midwest we’re still waiting for our first batches. My garden is telling me that July looks promising. If you have ’em, by all means use ’em! But remember what Dinner by Dad always tells you: a good canned tomato (and there are some, see my affiliate links) is waaaaay better than one of those waxy-looking villains from your produce section.

Lu wasn’t sure if she’d do the mozzarella and tomatoes for dinner tonight, but she’d definitely make ice cream for dessert. She’d brought her ice-cream maker with her for the summer. The boys would go ballistic. Leo churned his own ice cream, of course. Fresh strawberry in the summer, peppermint stick closer to the holidays. Everything was seasonal on Dinner by Dad. And local, whenever possible. Maybe she could use the balsamic vinegar from the tomatoes to make a glaze to go on top? Yes.

Lu had begun the blog as a hobby, sort of a lark, when the kids were really little, a way to pass the time and keep her mind sharp while they napped. She’d tossed up a few recipes, written a little bit of background for them, talked about her kids, her home. The usual. Yawn, yawn. Then she’d searched some other mommy blogs and realized that stay-at-home mom bloggers were a dime a dozen. Cheaper, even. You could probably get a dozen for a nickel.

Stay-at-home dads, though! Less common. Stay-at-home dads were sexy, warmhearted, exotic. And a stay-at-home dad who could cook, who laid a warm and nutritious meal before his two sons and his fingers-to-the-bone attorney wife each night? A dad who took the bacon his wife brought home, fried it up in a pan, broke it over an arugula salad topped by a perfectly poached farmhouse egg and homemade parmesan croutons? A dad who discovered (and then wrote about) such creative ways to conceal shredded zucchini and chia seeds that his sons never even for a second guessed they were there? That guy was worth real money. So she became Leo.