Page 66 of More than Need

“I like it when I get the ball.”

“Sometimes it’s enough to enjoy something, Hud, regardless of whether you think you’re good at it or not.”

“Really?” Hudson asked, like it had never occurred to him that enjoyment was enough.

“Really.”

“I used to play,” Dawson offered, swallowing his mouthful. “We could go kick around the footy sometime if you wanted?”

“Can we go and kick the footy now, Dad?”

“It’s a bit late to be going anywhere tonight,” Gideon said. “If you finish all your food, we can go tomorrow after school, how’s that?”

“Will you come?” Hudson asked Dawson.

Even if Dawson had plans for tomorrow, he’d have cancelled them. “Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”

Hudson shovelled food into his mouth at a terrifying rate, slurping the noodles and chewing animatedly fast. He only stopped every so often to suck down his drink, complaining about brain freeze and then going back to it.

“Slow down, buddy. It’s not going anywhere.”

Hudson slowed down… a little.

“I bet that was you as a kid,” Dawson said, grinning.

“This is penance, I’m sure.”

Hudson loudly declared he was finished and shoved his bowl into the middle of the table with a loud burp.

Dawson snorted out a laugh, almost choking on his milkshake.

“’scuse me,” Hudson said with a giggle.

“Is that where your bowl goes?” Gideon asked pointedly.

Hudson rolled his eyes and grabbed it before stomping off towards the sink. “Sink, sink,sink. Can I watch some telly, Dad?”

Gideon checked his watch. “For fifteen minutes, and then it’s bath time.”

As soon as Hudson was out of earshot, lying sideways on the couch with the remote in his hand, Dawson said, “Sorry, I should have asked before offering the invitation.”

“So long as you follow through, I’ll forgive you,” Gideon said, smiling playfully. “He’ll probably invite some friends to come with him.”

“The more the merrier.” He’d be there, no matter what. He didn’t want to disappoint the dad or his son.

Once they were done, he and Riley shooed Gideon away, telling him they would do the dishes while he got his son ready for bed.

“It’s weird, seeing you like this,” Dawson said, leaning a hip on the counter as he waited for Riley to wash the first dish.

“You think I don’t wash my own dishes?” Riley asked, giving him a wry look. “I’m afraid animals don’t come and clean my home while I’m sleeping.”

“I can’t tell if I’m more surprised by that, or by the fact you even know that reference.”

“You’re surprised I don’t have animals doing my bidding?”

“It means there’s someone out there that doesn’t obey your every command.”

Riley passed him a bowl. “It would be difficult to walk through life not knowing Snow White, even in the vaguest sense. Besides, my brother Lucas went through a Disney phase when he was eight, and we all had to endure it. He never grew out of it. I can even recite some of the classic songs.”

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