by Kim Nash
She laughed back at him and was glad that things between them had been better, lately. They seemed to have reached a truce and it was all quite a relief.
‘Ok then, Archie, say goodbye to Daddy,’ she shouted up to him. ‘We’ve got lots to do so hurry up, sweetie.’
He ran back downstairs and hugged his dad goodbye and she said a cheery goodbye herself and shut the door, feeling relieved that her world was now complete again now her boy was home, where she felt that he belonged.
‘Do I have to go to Dad’s all the time, Mum? You know I’d rather be here with you instead. It’s so boring at his house. I don’t have my own bedroom and he and Lorraine are always yelling at each other. I think sometimes they forget I’m there. All Dad does is watch TV or work. I even asked him if he’d listen to me read earlier and he said he hadn’t got time, but then sat and watched the Chelsea match on the telly.’
‘Dad would miss you so much if he didn’t see you darling, you know that.’
‘I don’t think he’d even notice whether I’m there or not,’ he mumbled as Becks suddenly realised that his buddy was home and came running towards Archie, giving him a great big lick. Archie’s frown disappeared and his beautiful smile returned when he saw his furry friend. Becks rolled over on his back and let Archie tickle his tummy.
‘Come on, gorgeous, I baked your favourite chocolate brownies this morning. I think you deserve one!’
‘Just one?’ he asked with a cheeky grin that he knew wrapped his mother around his little finger.
‘We’ll see. You don’t just bat your eyelashes at me and get your own way,’ she replied and he grinned back at her and fluttered away, knowing that he absolutely would get his own way, like he always did.
‘What have you been doing today, Mummy? Have you had a nice day?’
‘I have, darling, thank you. Do you remember I told you that I had a friend called Vinnie?’
‘Mmm?’ Archie said, suspiciously.
‘Well, I was taking Becks for a nice long walk over the forest and Vinnie asked if he could come with me, so he did. We had a bit of a picnic, then I went back to Vinnie’s house for a cuppa and watched a film, then Becks and I came home as we were looking forward to getting our boy back.’
‘Mummy, is Vinnie your boyfriend?’
‘I’m not sure what to call him,’ she replied honestly. ‘I do like him though, he’s a very nice man. I like him a lot. I think I’m a bit too old to call him a boyfriend.’
‘So when can I meet him?’ he asked.
That was unexpected!
‘I’m not sure, darling, would you like to meet him?’
‘Mummy are you for real? This is someone who you spend time with when I’m not here. Of course I want to meet him. I want to make sure he’s nice to you. I know that Dad sometimes isn’t and I do tell him that, you know! I tell him that he’s not to upset you, that you are my mummy and that I don’t like it when he’s nasty. I need to ask this Vinnie man lots of questions, so can you arrange it as soon as possible? Can you ring him now and ask him over one of the days this week?’ Sometimes, it amazed her just how grown up her son was for a ten-year-old.
‘Oh, OK love, I’ll give him a ring soon. But for now, we need to sort tea and you can do some of your reading while the bath is running.’
Her heart pounded. She needed to know exactly what she had with Vinnie before she introduced him to Archie. He said all the right things, and when she was with him she felt that he only had eyes for her – but she couldn’t help but think of the feeling that she got when she saw that text message. Women’s intuition, they called it and she was definitely feeling something odd. Perhaps Vinnie wasn’t the man she thought he was, after all. But then, it could be totally innocent. God, this dating lark was really hard.
She and Vinnie hadn’t discussed him meeting Archie yet, and she wondered how he would feel when she asked him to meet her son. She knew now that she’d have to broach the topic with him when she next spoke to him. She knew that she’d have to mention the text message that she’d seen at some point, but when did you bring up something like that? It had already played on her mind constantly since she’d come home, so she knew that it should be sooner rather than later and vowed to do it the next time she spoke to him before she chickened out.
She didn’t have to wait long. While Archie was splashing around in the bath, and she was sitting on the toilet seat reading to him, the phone rang and Vinnie’s name flashed up on the screen.
‘Is that him?’ Archie asked.
‘It is!’
‘Speak to him, then!’ Archie said grinning from ear to ear.
She answered the call and took a deep breath. ‘Hi Vinnie, how are you?’
‘I’m good Grace, thanks, are you? Just wanted to say thanks for a lovely afternoon. I’m glad we talked about Meredith. I didn’t really know how to bring it up in conversation. It’s not really the sort of thing you just drop in, is it?’
‘I suppose not, but I’m glad you told me.’
Grace walked out of the bathroom.
‘Ask him, Mum, ask him!’ Archie shouted from the bath. ‘Please, please, please.’
Grace took a deep breath and decided that she would keep her fears to herself for now. ‘Vinnie, I’m sorry but I have a very impatient little man here who says that I have to ask you something. I hope you don’t mind.’
‘Go on… ’
‘Archie would like you to come round so he can meet you. Are you free one day this week at all? Perhaps you could pop in for a cuppa one night, I’d love the two of you to meet.’ She waited apprehensively for his response. She didn’t know when would be the right time to introduce a new partner – if that’s what he was – and her child to each other. It wasn’t a problem she’d ever had to consider before and she squirmed a little, finding herself out of her comfort zone.
‘I’d love that, Grace, I really would. When would be good for you?’
‘Oh, erm, how about Tuesday evening, around five, would that be OK for you?’
‘That’s definitely good for me, perfect in fact. Thanks Grace, I’d really like that. I can’t wait to meet him. I hope he likes me!’
Grace smiled, hoping that Archie and Vinnie got on too. They chatted for a few more minutes before it was time to get Archie out of the bath. He said he wanted to go into his bedroom as he had some ‘private stuff’ to do so she left him for fifteen minutes before calling him down for dinner. When she asked him what he’d been doing, he said ‘nothing much’. She was well aware that as Archie was growing up, he needed a little private time. She’d had to get used to the fact that he needed space. She hoped that through his teen years they’d still have the fabulous relationship that they’d always had and that he wouldn’t withdraw from her.
After dinner, they finished Archie’s reading sat on his bed, snuggling up. Grace’s mind kept wandering off to the text message that she’d seen. Was it something to be worried about? Was it too early to be introducing Archie to Vinnie? Oh God! She really hoped she was doing the right thing.
* * *
Tuesday came round and Grace felt on edge all day. She was so nervous about the two very important men in her life meeting each other. Archie raced upstairs when they got home from the school run, shutting himself in his room. When the doorbell rang at five, she walked towards the front door, yelling at Archie to come downstairs. He stood halfway down the stairs apprehensively and as she turned to look at him before she opened the door, she noticed that he was no longer wearing his school trousers and polo shirt but had changed into a shirt and tie. She smiled as she let Vinnie in.
‘Hi, Grace,’ he said breezily as he kissed her on the cheek and she stood back to let him inside the hallway.
‘And you must be Archie,’ he said, leaning up towards him, holding out his hand. ‘I’ve heard so much about you from your mum.’
Archie looked him up and down before shaking his hand as firmly as a ten-year-old can. ‘I am. And I’m the man of the hou
se.’ Grace’s mouth twitched as she tried not to smile. ‘So, you must be Vinnie…’ he said in a voice that was much gruffer and deeper than his normal voice.
‘That’s right, I am,’ Vinnie said as Becks ran up to him and gave a little bark as if to say hello.
‘I’ve brought you a little something, Archie. I hope that’s OK,’ Vinnie said, handing him a carrier bag.
‘Oh!’ said Archie as he peered into the bag. His deep big man’s voice was soon forgotten as he squealed with joy. ‘Oh wow! Mum look! It’s FIFA 18 for the Xbox! I’ve wanted this for ages. That’s awesome. Did Mum tell you? Thanks so much, Vinnie.’
Vinnie and Archie high-fived each other. ‘I don’t know how it works though, do you?’ Archie asked.
‘I do, I play it all the time, and yes, your Mum told me you are an Xbox addict and had some of the older FIFA games when she saw my Xbox at my house,’ Vinnie replied.
‘Really? You do? Mum, could Vinnie come up to my room and show me how to work it?’ he asked.
‘Erm, does Vinnie mind?’ Grace asked.
‘I’d love to, mate!’
‘Fab, come on then, follow me!’
Vinnie winked at Grace over his shoulder as they bounded up the stairs and she went into the kitchen and flicked the switch on the kettle. She didn’t know whether she needed a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. Her nerves were in tatters.
Whoops of joy and lots of laughter could be heard from upstairs as she made a cup of tea but as she walked up the stairs with the drinks, the room went quiet and she heard Archie say to Vinnie, ‘I hope you don’t mind but I’ve made a list of some questions that I’d like to ask you. Would that be OK?’
‘Sure it would, mate, fire away.’
Grace tiptoed closer and peeked round the door.
Archie grabbed a piece of paper from under his bed. This must have been what he was doing the night before when he told Grace he had ‘private stuff’ to do.
‘How old are you?’ Archie asked.
‘Thirty-five,’ Vinnie replied.
‘Ever been married?’
‘Nope, have you?’
Archie giggled. ‘No, there is a girl at school who I quite like, but I’m not sure I’d like to marry her.’
‘Ah well perhaps you need to get to know each other. You never know what the future holds, do you, mate? Is she pretty?’
‘She’s very pretty and she wears glasses so she’s very clever too.’
‘That’s good, beauty and brains. You’ll be a lucky boy if you win her heart.’
‘Do you like my mum?’
‘I do, I like her very much.’
‘Do you like Becks?’
‘I do, I think he’s really cool.’
‘Do you ever get drunk?’
‘No mate, I like a glass of wine from time to time but I’m not a big drinker at all. How about you?’
Archie giggled again. ‘I don’t think I’m ever going to drink alcohol. My dad and his girlfriend drink lots of red wine and I don’t like it because they get really loud and shout at each other and it scares me.’
‘Oh mate, I’m sorry to hear that. I did get quite drunk once when I was really young but I didn’t like it so I’ve never done it again.’
‘Are you very rich?’
‘I do alright. How about you?’
‘I have about ninety pounds in my piggy bank right now. Do you have more than that?’
‘A little bit more than that.’
‘Ah OK! Who is your favourite football team?’
‘Aston Villa of course! Who else?’
‘Oh fab! They’re my favourite team too. I’d love to go and see them one day.’
‘Well perhaps we could go together one day, mate?’
‘Sick! I like the sound of that! Do you have any children?’
‘I don’t. I wish I had but I don’t.’
‘Do you like children?’
‘I do, I’m an uncle to two brilliant girls and a boy. Bella is twelve, going on twenty-one, Rebecca is the same age as you and George is six. I adore them and spend as much time as I can with them when I’m not working.’
‘But you’d like a child of your own one day?’
‘It would be really cool, but if I don’t, that would be fine too. I have lots of lovely children in my life. And now I’ve met you too so if you don’t mind, I could add you to my pretty-cool-children buddies too.’
‘I think I’d like that, Vinnie, thanks. On a scale of one to ten, how pretty do you think my mum is?’
‘Wow! What a question. I think she’s off the scale, to be honest. She’s very pretty so I’d say around three million four hundred and seventy-one.’
‘Good answer! And do you think that one day you might love my mum?’
Grace, listening at the door, exhaled a big breath that she didn’t realise she’d been holding in, then tuned in again to hear Vinnie’s voice. ‘I like your mum. I really like your mum a lot. And I hope that your mum quite likes me too. I’d like to spend more time with her, and perhaps one day that like could turn into love. I think I’d like that very much. But only if that was OK with your mum and you, of course. I’d never want to do anything that might upset her and certainly not you either. I know that you are the most important person in her life.’
Archie pondered on this for a few seconds then said, ‘I love my mum so much. Do you think you’d love her more than I do?’
‘Do you know what, buddy? I think that the love that a mother and her son have between them is extremely special and no one could ever love their mother in the way that a child can. And no one could ever come between that love. And I don’t know your mum very well yet, but I can tell that she loves you more than she probably would ever love anyone. But love can come in different shapes and sizes. I think love is about looking after someone and making sure you do things that make them happy as much as you can. I’d like to make your mum happy, but in a different way to the way that she feels about you. Does that make any sense at all?’
‘So you wouldn’t love her more than me, just different to me?’
‘Yep, that’s about right!’
Archie pondered on that for a few seconds, judging by the silence.
‘Then, yes! That’s fine by me. Do you think you might marry my mum?’
Vinnie took a sharp intake of breath. ‘I think it’s very early days yet, buddy, but I’m not against marriage if two people really love each other.’
‘So if you married my mum, would that make you my new dad?’
‘No, mate, not at all. You only get one mum and one dad. If, and that’s a big if, I was to ever marry your mum, I would be your mate, we’d do super-cool stuff together, but I’d never try to be your dad.’
‘So you’d never tell me off?’
‘Ah, that’s a tricky one. Why, are you planning on misbehaving?’
Archie giggled again. ‘Not really, but sometimes Dad makes me stay up really late and I get really tired and am a bit grumpy the next day. Then he shouts at me and says I’m horrible and naughty.’
‘Oh, mate, I’m sure he doesn’t mean it. Perhaps he’s just a bit frustrated sometimes and maybe tired himself. Adults get a bit grumpy sometimes if they’re tired.’
‘But you wouldn’t shout at me, would you?’
Grace thought it was about time she intervened and put down the tray she was carrying, wiped away the tear that had trickled from her eye, smiled and knocked on the door. She walked in with the tea tray and a plate of biscuits. ‘Not too many for you, young man,’ she directed at Archie. ‘It’s teatime soon.’
‘Can Vinnie stay for tea, mum? Please.’
‘Vinnie’s very welcome to stay to tea if he’d like to.’ She looked at Vinnie and he winked at her and her insides turned to mush. Luckily she’d made enough lasagne to feed an army so she was delighted when he said he’d love to stay.
Archie punched the air and high-fived Vinnie and they continued their game. Grace felt a little surplus to requireme
nts but at the same time was truly thrilled that this first meeting was going so well.
‘Mum, can you call us when tea’s ready? You can go now,’ Archie said, dismissing her from his bedroom. ‘We’re playing FIFA. It’s not for girls!’
Vinnie grinned at her over her son’s head as she backed out of the room leaving them sat side by side on Archie’s cabin bed. All she could hear was laughter. It was a lovely sound. She noticed when she reached the bottom of the stairs that she had the biggest smile on her face that she’d had for a long time.
* * *
‘Guys, dinner’s ready!’
Archie and Vinnie came running down the stairs and Archie made Vinnie go into the downstairs toilet and wash his hands, which made her smile. He really was taking his man of the house duties very seriously.
They sat on the stools around the breakfast bar in the kitchen and tucked into lasagne, garlic bread, sweet potato fries and salad.
‘My mum is the best cook in the world.’
‘I can see that buddy, this is delicious, Grace.’ He smiled at her across the table, and her heart melted just a little bit more.
‘Can you cook, Vinnie?’ asked Archie.
‘I can, actually. When you live on your own, you either learn to cook or eat rubbish, so Ruth, my sister, made sure she gave me cooking lessons so I could eat healthily and not just buy stuff that I throw in the microwave.’
‘Perhaps one day, Vinnie, Mum and I could come to your house and you could cook tea for us?’
Grace rolled her eyes and mouthed ‘Sorry!’ over Archie’s head. Vinnie shook his head.
‘Do you know what, mate, I’d really love that. I’ll sort that out with your mum.’
After they’d finished tea and Grace was loading the dishwasher, she glanced over and noticed that Archie couldn’t have sat closer to Vinnie if he’d tried. Even Becks was at his feet.
‘Oh and Grace, the guys want to come next Monday and get those trees sorted out for you.’
‘Yes that’s fab, can’t wait to get some sunshine back into my life.’
