Page 74 of A Bond with the Dark

“Shh,” he says, putting his finger to his pursed lips. He bends down and whispers something to Gauge that makes him giggle.

“And what is it?” I query as Dominic slips out of his shoes.

“It’s our secret,” he says, pulling his hand out from behind his back and handing me a paper bag as well. “This one’s yours.”

I peek into the bag and see candy and scratch tickets. “Thank you,” I say, smiling. “Hungry?”

“Ravenous,” he answers with a smirk.

“All right, dinner is almost ready. You two can help set the table. Gauge, check your blood sugar. Dinner is going to be around seventy-five carbs.”

“Okay Mama,” Gauge says, wheeling over to the coffee table to deposit the paper bag before heading over to the kitchen.

“How long have you had diabetes?” Dominic asks Gauge as he grabs the pile of napkins I hand him.

“I was diagnosed at four, right, Mama?”

“That’s right,” I answer, removing the boiling water from the stove.

“Wow, that’s a long time. How are you doing with it?”

“Pretty good,” Gauge responds, taking the forks from the pile on the counter and putting them on the napkins Dom is setting out.

“He’s good with it. He keeps control of his numbers and his A1C has come down to 7.8. Which probably is Greek to you.” I laugh.

“No, I know quite a bit about it. My dad’s a doctor.”

“Really?” Gauge asks, intrigued. “That’s cool.”

“Pretty cool, huh?” Dominic asks and hands him a napkin to set on the other side of the table. “So, you’re on a pump?”

“Yeah. See,” Gauge says, pulling the pump out from his pocket.

“Way cool,” Dom answers, walking around the table to check it out.

“I can do the site changes all by myself. I’ve done my CGM once, but I usually have Mom do that. That one hurts.”

“I bet. Wow, you are so, so cool. Way cooler than me! I can’t stand needles, I faint.”

Gauge laughs, his chubby cheeks getting rosy. “You do?”

“I do. I’m a big pansy. You are so much stronger than me.”

“I tell him that all the time,” I say, taking the garlic bread out of the oven. “I could not do what he does. He doesn’t flinch when he has to check his blood or change his sites.”

“Oh, man. Maybe you can teach me how you are so brave. Or lend me some of your bravery.”

Gauge giggles, putting his pump back in his pocket. “You can’t teach bravery, silly. You have to just be brave. It’s easy when that’s all you have.”

Sometimes the words that come out of him amaze me.

I feel the smile spread from ear to ear looking at the way my child and my man are getting on. This is something that I’ve yearned for, for a long time.

I hope that whatever he has to tell me doesn’t change this.

No matter what, I’m not letting him leave the house tonight without telling me, though.

“That was delicious Sayah, thank you,” Dom says when dinner is done, helping me bring the dishes to the sink. “Need some help?”

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