by Amy Brent
“Can we order pizza for lunch?”
“You just had breakfast, little man, and you’re already thinking about lunch?”
He nodded, his face guileless despite the fact that I could feel that I was about to have one put over on me. “But if I ask you right now, it will give you time to decide and order it.”
“Look at you, thinking ahead of time. That’s very mature of you.”
“Well I’m very mature,” he answered confidently, nodding his head. “Mature enough to pick what friends I want to have over?” He finished in a question and although I wanted to laugh at his try, I instead fixed him with a stern look.
“Dom.”
“Aw, please, Dad! She’s the only one who’d ever read the type of books I like and didn’t tell me I should try reading something else! She didn’t talk to me like was a little kid!”
“You are a little kid, Dom.”
“I know, but that don’t mean I like it when people treat me like I’m dumb!”
“Fair enough. But I’m not asking McKenna over.”
“Please, Dad! I’ve never asked for any friend to come over! Pleeeassse!”
Normally I never tolerated begging, but he did have a point. In his short five years he had never once asked for a friend to come over. In fact, I wasn’t sure that he really had any friends his age. Although he was plenty charming, he didn’t seem to get along well with little ones. I liked to blame his mother, but I was willing to believe some of it was me and my own trust issues.
“Alright. I’ll ask her. But I don’t want you to be surprised if she can’t make it.”
“I understand,” Dom said with a solemn nod. “I just wanna try.”
“Let me go grab my laptop and I’ll shoot her an email.”
“Why not just text her?”
“Uh, adult reasons.”
“Okay. Whatever you say.” I could tell that he didn’t really believe me, which lead me to wonder if he thought I was too old to know how to text. I would have to show him just how technologically capable I was, but that would have to wait for another time.
As I went off to grab my laptop, I was tempted to just pretend that I was emailing McKenna, but I had always taught my son that honesty was a requirement to relationships, not optional, so I needed to uphold my own teachings.
I booted up my computer and stared at it for a solid ten minutes, thinking of how I could compose this email. Did I acknowledge our tryst? Did I continue as if nothing had happened between us? Did I apologize for contacting her and tell her that I never would of if it weren’t for Dom?
I decided honesty was the best way to go as well. I told her that I wasn’t certain where things laid between us, but that Dom was begging to see her and that I promised him that I would at least try. I also put in that I had told him that she was most likely busy, so it would be no issue if she was occupied. Otherwise I wished her well and sent it off before I could second-guess myself.
Still, I cringed as I reread my email. For being a confident man, and someone who prided myself of being in control of most situations, I certainly felt off-kilter now. If I didn’t know better, I would almost think that I had feeling for McKenna.
But that was impossible. I had no idea who she was and almost all of our interactions started or ended with high levels of stress. That was not healthy by any stretch of the means. Maybe I just needed to start dating again.
After I had broken up with Dom’s mother, I had gone on a year and a half spree of bouncing from relationship to relationship. It had been fun, and certainly tabloid worthy, but ultimately it left me feeling more alone than I had been after the divorce. None of those women really cared for me. I was either another notch on their belt or a way to secure their station.
I sighed and rubbed my face, cursing the night that I had gotten so involved in my work that I had ended up staying late and seeing a strange woman dance.
I got up to head into the living room -I could already hear the next cartoon about mechanized dinosaurs playing, but as I stood, I saw a notification that I had a reply.
No, she couldn’t have responded so fast! Also, it was only eleven in the morning, as a night shift worker, I was pretty sure she usually slept in until after noon. But sure enough, as I sat back down, I saw that it was indeed her.
I clicked on it, sure that it was her saying to never contact her again, but instead it was a cautious acceptance and she said she could be there in an hour and a half. It was a completely unexpected offer, and I couldn’t help but marvel at her generosity. She was willing to cross the city and endure what was going to be a very awkward interaction between her and I just so my son could hang out with one of his few friends.
Or she was looking to get something out of it.
I shook that thought out of my head. After everything that had happened between McKenna and I, she had never tried to wheedle anything out of me. In fact, she had done her best to generally avoid me and never be person of note. If there was one person who deserved at least an ounce of trust, it was her.
…unless she was playing the long con.
I took a deep breath and pushed myself away from the desk. What was wrong with me? It felt like I could never be happy and that no matter what the red headed woman did, she would always have my suspicion. What a terrible way to live!
Oh well, if there was one person I could look to be positive, it was Dom. I headed to the living room and sat next to my little man.
“So?” he asked, eye bright.
“So what?” I asked, deciding to play out the moment a bit. I wasn’t often I got to razz my son; he was usually much to smart for any of that.
“Did she answer?”
“Did who answer?”
“Dad!”
I laughed, I couldn’t help it. “She said she’d be here in about an hour and a half.”
He literally jumped up, nearly knocking his cereal over in the process.
“See! I told you so! She’s coming!” Suddenly he stood stock still, his eyes growing wide. “I gotta clean my room!”
With that he took off, leaving me to pick up our breakfast dishes. His excitement was infectious, and I felt myself looking forwards to her arrival as well.
No matter what happened, it would be nice to see her face.
Chapter Eighteen
~McKenna~
I had slept surprisingly well for getting home after six am and washing up to the sounds of the rest of my neighbors getting ready for work. Despite my every intention to sleep in, I found myself waking up just after eleven, feeling fully rested and satisfied.
I guess that week vacation really had done wonders to reset my body. Of course, not having the stress of waiting for a paycheck or being fired certainly helped. All in all, the day felt brighter, and for once it didn’t seem like there was a guillotine hanging above my head.
Until my phone beeped, that was.
I recognized the sound as my email going off and a wave of cold dread washed over me. The last time I had received an email from work, it had sent my life tail spinning in a direction that I had not expected. I didn’t even want to think what it could possibly contain.
I tried to ignore it, tried to just roll over and forget than anything had happened, but my mind wouldn’t let me. Rolling over, I grabbed my phone and decided to face the music.
It was from Rafael. I couldn’t believe it! A week with no contact and now he was going to email me, of all things? It had to be something good then. Or at least I hoped so. If it was a booty call, I was going to drop kick him into a new eon.
I supposed that I should open it up before leaping to conclusions, so I did. My eyes quickly skimmed over it and I saw that Dom had specifically asked to hang out with me. Rafael had told him I’d probably be busy, but he promised to ask anyways.
My heart melted a bit at that. I remembered how lonely Dom had seemed when his parents were fighting and how happy he had been our entire meal together. He was such a sweet, smart boy. It was clear he d
idn’t have a lot of people who understood the kind of things he was into, and like most bookworms, I could guess that he didn’t exactly have a ton of friends his own age.
How could I say no? That would be punishing the son for the sins of the father. Quickly, I typed up an answer and told him I would be there in an hour and a half after I showered and caught the bus.
For a moment I was worried that Rafael would offer to pay for a cab or something like that, but thankfully, he did not. I didn’t like the idea of being in his debt, or not knowing how to get to his place. The only thing the CEO did was send me his address and that was that.
I took my time getting ready, being choosy about what I wore. I didn’t want to send the wrong idea, so I chose the most casual clothes I had; a loose sweater and some old jeans, then threw my hair into a ponytail and headed out.
Despite the caution that was nagging at my mind, I was still excited to go. Part of me tried to argue that I was just happy to see Dom again, but part of me also knew that was total bull. I wanted to see Rafael. Too much of him was wrapped in mystery for me and I just wanted to dig back at all those layers and find out just who he was.
The bus ride gave me plenty of time to mentally put together the greeting I wanted to say, and then overthink it about twenty times over. It wasn’t the first time I wished my mind didn’t work like a hamster on a wheel, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
Thankfully, there was still a fifteen-minute walk between the stop and Rafael’s place. Of course, he lived in the upper part of the city where they didn’t rely on such banal public transportation like buses, but I didn’t mind the trek. The physical exertion got me out of my head, and by the time I reached the lobby, I was only mildly sick from the whirlwind in my own head.
The room was incredibly beautiful, all high ceilings and gold embellishment. It was like something out of a movie and I couldn’t help but feel incredibly out of place.
“Can I help you, Miss?”
I looked to see a man behind a large marble desk in the center of the room looking to me. I just stared blankly at him for a moment before realizing that he was talking to me.
“Oh! I’m here to see Mr. Barbos.” I said, walking up to him and trying to look like I belonged.
“Mr. Barbos? Let me see if he sent word of any visitors. I just started my shift, so I have a few messages left by the previous helper.” He typed a few things into the computer in front of him and I felt my stomach twist.
What a bizarre reaction. Rafael had asked me here himself, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. I didn’t know what it was about the stunningly handsome man that made me doubt everything about myself.
“Ah yes! I see a Miss Maxine Grady! Thank you for your patience, I’ll buzz the elevator down for you.”
Buzz the elevator down? I didn’t quite get what he meant until I actually went over to the lift and saw that there was no call button at all. Oh. That was an interesting security measure.
I was very pleased that it arrived quickly, the golden doors parting to let me inside. But then I was surprised once more when I saw there was no floor pad inside either. Instead, the doors just closed and whisked me upwards.
Was this a thing? Did rich people really need to hire someone because they were too lazy to actually press and elevator button? Or was it more about showing off their wealth? Or was it some sort of luxurious hook the building used to convince rich people to live here instead of the other exorbitantly expensive penthouse across the street?
I didn’t know. As much as I stressed about money and paying the bills, I didn’t really lust after the life of the mega-wealthy either. Rafael, for the amazing, incredible things he had, didn’t seem that much happier than me.
The elevator finally came to a stop and the doors opened to reveal a single landing and just one door. Did Rafael really have the entire floor just for his apartment? That seemed…unimaginable.
I thought about emailing him that I was here, but what if he wasn’t by his computer? I only had my work email hooked up to my phone because I didn’t own a desktop or laptop. I guessed I would just have to suck it up and knock.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I strode forward and rapped on the door. I didn’t see any sort of bell, but I guessed that with the desk worker below, no one was going to come up that Rafael didn’t know was already on their way,
I heard footsteps approach the door, light and quick, then a second later it flew open to show Dom’s smiling face.
“McKenna!” He said, practically bouncing up and down. What I had done to make this little kid so enraptured with me, I would never know, but the smile he gave me was absolutely heartwarming. “You came!”
“That I did, little man,” I said, borrowing his father’s term for him. I hoped that wasn’t creepy. I certainly wasn’t going for that. “And I brought a few things too!” I gestured to the messenger bag on my hip and stepped inside.
Looking around, I did see a shoe rack and a selection of different sneakers on the floor, so I quickly slipped my own off and set them to the side. It made me feel strangely vulnerable to be walking around in just my socks, but I didn’t want to be a bad guest and scuff up their undoubtedly expensive floors.
Not that I didn’t know how to buff that out, of course. The plus side of working as an overnight janitor was that I learned about a dozen different ways to spot clean at a low cost.
Of course, what I really was looking for was Rafael. I spotted him standing in the kitchen, sipping at a cup of coffee. Normally I would ask for a cup myself, but I really didn’t need to be more wired.
“What did you bring, what did you bring?”
“Oh, nothing too exciting, just some figurines and one of my favorite movies.”
“I wanna see!”
He grabbed my hand and led me over to the plush couch. It looked so nice that I was almost afraid to sit on it, but Dom was pretty insistent in his tugging.
Conceding, I let myself down onto the thick, velvety cushions, pulling my legs up under me. Instantly, I was surrounded by comfort, and support. Was this some sort of memory-foam couch? It was better than my own bed!
Granted, my bed was a ten-year-old mattress on the floor of my room with an even older box spring. Maybe one day I could afford an upgrade, but that definitely wasn’t today.
Dom clapped his little hands as I unzipped my backpack. Reaching in, I made a great show of pulling out my first trinket.
According to his point of view though, it probably just looked like I lifted out a small, dingy hand towel. I noticed the disappointment that flashed across his face, but that would just make my reveal that much better.
“So this,” I said, finding the edge of the cloth. “Is one of my oldest kaiju figures.” With a flourish of my hand, I finally revealed the hunk of plastic. I had gone through a major Japanese cinema phase when I was a teenager and, although my passion had cooled considerably since then, I still had a lot of my old collection for nostalgia’s sake. It was one of the few things I consistently brought with me on my multiple escapes.
“Wow! That’s so cool!”
“You wanna hold it?” I asked, handing it over to him.
He looked like I had just offered him the holy grail, and he nodded solemnly. Laughing, I watched as he recently took it, turning it this way and that to see all the details. I knew that many people liked to keep things in their original packaging to preserve their value, but I was all about playing with my toys. I liked to look at them, hold them, and just generally interact with them. What was the point of keeping things in boxes forever? No great memories were going to be build that way.
Besides, the pure joy on Dom’s face was more than worth it.
“This is so cool,” he said, holding it close enough to his face that I could almost see his reflection in the figure’s eye gloss. “It’s older than me.”
“Honey, this figure is older than me and then some.”
“Wow.” He continued to fiddle with the thi
ng, his attention one hundred percent captured, which allowed me to look for Rafael once again. It seemed that he was trying to give his son and me space while still being a good parent and keeping an eye on his child. I appreciated it. I had no idea how to interact with the man, or how he wanted to interact with me, so distance really was for the best.
“Come, I wanna show you my collection!”
Suddenly we were off the couch and heading towards his room. Dom’s behavior pretty much confirmed all of my suspicions about him being lonely. It seemed, although Rafael was obviously trying his best, Dom had a lot of social needs that weren’t being fulfilled. Mostly to do with books and nerdy stuff.
I knew how he felt, in a way. Although my parents were usually wonderfully supportive, they were never really into all of the niche things that I was into. They wouldn’t go to the movies with me, they never went to premiers. They existed on the very fringes of my interests and that was about it.
So, I let Dom take me to his room, and I responded with enthusiasm to each and every thing he showed me. It helped that he actually did have a very impressive set up in his room. It was the type of hang out space I had always dreamed of as a kid. There was a large bookcase that went almost to the ceiling, packed with dozens and dozens of novels and comics, ranging from fantasy to sci-fi, to autobiographies on famous special effects make up artists and I think I even saw some behind the scenes novels on several popular space operas.
