Hearts of Spring Page #3

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with my son

is tempered by the knowledge...

I still can't believe

Henry went for it.

Fortunately, the

door came between us.

...It is also a responsibility.

A responsibility

to teach our children

a love of right over wrong,

of following

the path of the virtuous.

To be true to themselves...

Mom, I was thinking,

maybe I shouldn't go

straight to college

after I graduate.

What?

You know, maybe

I should see the world

a little first.

Travel.

Travel?

Where?

I don't know, Africa?

Or maybe Indonesia?

That sounds exciting.

...To provide our children

with the guidance that they need

to find their way

in the world...

She was completely

oblivious to the fact

that her son was terrorizing

the entire restaurant,

including me.

That's the thing about

women with kids,

it's a package deal.

No, no, I like kids.

That's why I'm

a pediatrician?

This wasn't a kid,

this was a tornado

with dimples.

This was your wife's

fantastic idea.

She wants you

to be happy.

Simon, look at me.

Look at me, don't I look happy?

You look happy-ish.

The point is,

I don't need Lauren

setting me up.

Technically,

you set yourself up.

Come again?

With those bright eyes

and that cute smile,

are you kidding?

Half the women

who bring in their kids

just want to

give you a big hug

and a warm meal.

Come on,

I'm being serious.

So am I.

Simon, tell him.

It's true, we get a lot of

inquiries regarding your status.

I don't have a status.

Well, maybe you should.

Okay, then, um,

for future reference,

my new status

is "not interested."

Especially if you get

your parenting advice

from "Bestie Mom."

From what?

Not what. Who.

It's a mommy blog.

You know about this?

Of course I do.

A lot of the moms

have passed it around.

She has some

good advice.

Oh, please.

Now you sound

like Dad and Mom.

Nothing wrong with

the way we were raised.

No, but it's

a different world now.

A lot of that

Old School approach

just doesn't

work anymore.

Something you might

want to keep in mind.

What does that mean?

Look, being

the cool Aunt and all,

sometimes, Troy talks to me,

you know, about... things.

What kinds of things?

The kind of things he should be

talking with you about.

We talk all the time.

We had it all figured out,

two years of community college,

then she transfers to university

to get her degree.

Now she's throwing

darts on a map,

wanting to travel.

She never said anything?

First I've heard of it.

Well, if you don't

want her to go,

why don't you

just tell her?

Well, I can't do that.

Why not?

Our relationship

has always been built

on mutual respect

and understanding.

I don't just

tell her what to do.

We talk it through.

Well, that's great,

but, Carly,

sometimes, you just got

to law down the law.

Now you're sounding

like Juggling Dad.

Who?

This incredibly arrogant father

who's been posting on my blog.

You wouldn't believe

what he's been saying.

Well, I can hardly wait

to read it.

Well, you better hurry,

because I'm gonna

delete it and block him.

Just as soon as

I figure out

what I'm gonna say

to Sadie.

"The way I see it,

"rules have a way

of closing doors

"to any further discussion...

"But sharing with your child

keeps those doors open

to a future

you can build together."

You sound like

a fortune cookie.

"Hello, Bestie Mom.

"After reading your last entry,

"I see you ignored my advice.

"But the good news is,

"if this blog of yours

doesn't work out...

you have a great future

in comedy..."

Seriously?

"Because I haven't laughed

this hard in a long time."

"Laugh all you want.

"If you don't listen

to your son,

don't be surprised

when he stops listening to you."

"Your problem is,

"you think setting

a few rules for your kid

makes you a dictator."

"And your problem is,

"you're more interested

in making rules

than in listening to your son."

"This coming from someone

who uses baseball analogies...

a game that is played

entirely by the rules."

Well.

"If you don't know

the difference

"between baseball and life,

"then that makes you...

officially hopeless."

"I'd rather be

hopeless than flaky."

"It's called passion...

"something you obviously know

nothing about."

Well.

"Maybe not...

"but there's one thing

I do know...

"if I ever need

another good laugh,

you'll be hearing from me."

Don't bother.

You won't get an answer from me.

Goodbye.

Like I care.

Okay, so what was wrong

with that last pair of jeans?

Because I thought they looked

really good on you.

I'm sorry, I don't

want Mom jeans.

I want them to

look good on me.

Okay.

We'll keep looking.

Listen, I was thinking about

what you were saying

about traveling,

and I think we should

talk about it.

Okay, we're not

going to do this,

I'm not going to

look all day...

- Hey.

- Hi.

How are you?

Uh, good. Great.

How did those daisies

work out?

Oh, they were great.

They were very, um...

ordinary.

Um...

Carly. By the way.

Andy.

It's great

to finally meet you.

You too.

Uh, this is

my daughter, Sadie.

Hi.

This is my son, Troy.

Hi.

Chemistry class,

right?

Uh, yeah. Yeah,

how are you?

I'm good.

What are you fellas

shopping for today?

Oh, running shoes

for, um...

Trying to find

the new 750s

in red.

Have you looked

at Saul's yet?

Is that the one

by Denim Loft?

Uh, yeah, I was gonna go

look for some jeans.

Sure, let's do it.

Cool. All right,

we'll be back.

Uh...

Meet you by

the food court.

Cool.

O...kay.

So, have you

picked a college yet?

Uh, well,

we're waiting to see

where he gets accepted,

and then we're going to talk

about financial aid.

You know, all that fun stuff.

What about Sadie?

Well, we had a plan.

Um, a pretty good one,

I thought.

Now... we're talking.

Yeah.

When Troy was born,

I thought that, um,

as he got older,

that this whole parenting thing

would get easier.

What about your wife?

She passed away

when Troy was seven.

I'm sorry.

It's okay.

It's just him and I.

And we talk, but...

well, we... I guess

we grunt our meaning across,

you know?

Which I guess is a form

of talking, right?

I know what you mean.

After Sadie's father left,

it was just the two of us.

We were a little team.

From the time

she was two years old,

we could talk about anything.

Lately... not so much.

The other day,

I shouted upstairs to Troy

to ask what he wants for dinner,

and, um...

he texted me back.

I can predict

Sadie's moods

depending on how many

emoticons she uses

in any given message.

What are you two

talking about?

Stuff.

So, did you get

his number?

Hmm?

Troy's dad.

Oh, I, uh...

What? No.

You obviously

like him.

Well, sure,

I mean, um...

He seems like

a nice enough guy.

So, what's the problem?

We were just talking.

Well, if you change

your mind,

I have Troy's number,

so we can hook you two up.

Listen, I think we should talk

about this whole

traveling thing.

Trish warned me

you were gonna try

to talk me out of it.

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