Page 24 of The Single Dad

Archie waves slightly, glancing at me. He seems to glance at me whenever he thinks I’m not looking at him. If I try to meet his gaze, he looks away immediately.

Mr. Sullivan leaves, and I’m alone with Archie.

“You almost ready to head to pre-K, bud?” I ask him.

Archie shrugs, looking down at the table. I frown. Maybe he’s just tired. After all, he just woke up. We can’t all be morning people.

I follow the directions on the sheet. I make sure he finishes his breakfast, then shuttle him to pre-K, which is at a daycare a few blocks away. I try to chit chat with him as we head over, but he doesn’t say a word to me the entire time.

When he gets back from pre-K, the situation is no better. I was hoping that seeing other kids might perk him up, but he’s as subdued as he was this morning.

I feel like an absolute failure. It’s my first day, and I don’t think I’ve gotten Archie to say more than two sentences to me. What on earth am I doing wrong? This was so much easier the last time I saw him.

Laura shows up in the afternoon to straighten things up, and greets me with a nod. She’s not live-in, but Mr. Sullivan told me that she’ll be by often to make sure everything’s tidy. While she cleans, I try to play with Archie in the living room, but he doesn’t seem interested in any of the toys or games I pull out in my attempts to entice him.

By five o’clock, I’m starting to get really nervous. Mr. Sullivan is going to be back soon, and he’s sure to notice how poorly we’re getting along.

He arrives at the front door at seven-thirty. I can hear the keys jingling, and look forlornly over at Archie, who is sitting on the other side of the room, ignoring me while he colors something with a set of crayons. It was the only activity I suggested that stuck.

Mr. Sullivan enters the living room, looking between me and his child. “So, how was the first day?” he asks me. “Did everything go alright? He behaved himself?”

“Oh, of course,” I say. “He was great.”

I restrain myself from adding, I think he might hate me, though.

Mr. Sullivan seems to notice that for himself as he glances over at Archie. His eyes are calculating as he takes in the distance between us, the frostiness in the room. It definitely hasn’t escaped him.

There’s a flicker of fear in my chest. What if that’s it for me—what if he fires me, decides this isn’t working out? I already gave my notice at the restaurant, so I can’t go back there. I’ll be totally screwed.

“Did you have a good day, Archie?” Mr. Sullivan raises his voice to call over to the boy.

Archie looks up for a moment, then shrugs and goes back to his coloring.

Mr. Sullivan glances at me, gauging my reaction.

“I think he’s just been a little shy today,” I say carefully. He doesn’t respond, but there are definitely unspoken thoughts swirling in those dark blue eyes.

Even though I was on the fence about this job originally, I’m panicking slightly at the idea of being fired. Now that I’ve committed, I want to do this job and do it right. I don’t want to be let go on the first day.

I help Archie get ready for bed, making sure he brushes his teeth and gets into his pajamas. As I’m getting him tucked in, I notice that he brought his drawing upstairs. It sits on the desk in the corner of his room.

I lean over to look at the page, and can’t help smiling fondly at the crude rendering of a long-necked dinosaur.

“That’s a great drawing,” I tell him. “You’re a real artist.”

“Thanks,” he says shortly.

“Is that your friend from the other day? I thought I recognized—”

I break off abruptly. Archie’s eyes have filled with tears. He starts to sniffle, and I feel a pang at seeing the little boy cry.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I sit down on the edge of his bed, smoothing the bedsheets. I want to ruffle his hair, or pull him into a hug, but I’m worried I’m still too much of a stranger to him.

“I—I lost the dinosaur,” he admits tearfully, between sniffs. “I don’t know where he went.”

“Oh, buddy,” I say, sympathetic.

He looks up at me with huge, glistening eyes. “Are you mad at me?”

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