Keeper and Kid
Edward Hardy
Reviewed by Jenny
Salyers
When Jim Keeper
receives a call
out of the blue from his ex-wife Cynthia’s mother, the last thing he
expects to
hear is that she is in the hospital. Jim drops everything to drive up
to Boston to find out what the
favor he has been told she
needs to ask him is. A week later, when
going to pick up what used to be their dog Arrow, Jim is faced with a
huge
problem that he was not expecting.
It’s been four
years since He
and Cynthia divorced, a little over three years since he had seen her
last. His
life in those years has changed significantly. He now lives in Providence, and is partner in a
two man salvage shop. He
spends his days looking for buyers of the stuff his partner and best
friend Tim
finds (everything from old mantelpieces salvaged from houses that have
been
demolished to antique toys), and running their warehouse. He has also
just
moved into a house with Leah, his current girlfriend.
Cynthia has passed away, and
rather than going home with the dog he was expecting, he is introduced
to Leo.
Suddenly he is finding himself father to a three year old, whom he
wasn’t even
aware he had. Jim finds himself
transporting home a toddler, and his belongings. He cannot fathom what
has just
happened, and can not figure out how to break the news to Leah.
His life becomes one of
introduction to this small child who speaks of strange kid things such
as the
tv show Kipper, and who only eats round foods. Everywhere he turns, his
small
home he had been making with his girlfriend Leah is over run with
bright
colored toys, and child sized clothing. He
is struggling to survive as a single parent, learning to cope with
daily
childcare and toilet training. Through
all this, there is an urgency to get Leo integrated into the life he
had, and
to convince Leah to give him and Leo another chance.
Keeper and Kid is a warm and
sweet story of a man and child thrown headfirst into each others lives.
Edward
Hardy has created an engaging look into life, as a new parent, as a
single
parent, and the receipt of an unexpected gift. Jim Keeper, a man who
never
thought about children in his life, grows through the story. I found
myself
immersed in the book, and quickly sped through it to find out how Jim,
Leo, and
Leah survive the shock of being thrown together so suddenly.