Page 116 of Mr. Broody

The walls are painted a navy blue, and his twin bed has a plaid comforter, his dresser a walnut wood. It’s a boy’s room in all ways.

My gaze travels to his wall of postcards. “Whoa, Bodhi, have you been to all these places?”

He gets on his bed and crosses his legs. “No, those are from my great-grandparents. They go on a lot of trips and send me a postcard from each one.”

“They’ve really traveled a lot.” Most of them are from within the United States, but some are international.

“Yeah, Daddy sends them away.”

I turn around and look to the door, finding Henry leaning his shoulder against the frame, watching us. “They always wanted to travel.” He shrugs.

And they couldn’t because they had to raise him, are the words he doesn’t say.

He foots the bill. Of course he does, as a way of showing his appreciation for putting their life on hold.

“That’s really nice.” I continue my journey around his room and right next to his bed is the picture I gave him of the sunset in Zimbabwe. “Oh, you have it up.”

“Daddy put it up right after my birthday. Oh!” He hops out of bed and out of the room.

Henry steps in and leans his back to the wall. “I like you here,” he says, glancing around. “In his room.”

I swivel around and arch an eyebrow. “More than in yours?”

He grins. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“I almost forgot.” Bodhi runs into the room with his bag from the zoo, dumping it on the bed and pulling out the stickers he got.

“It’s not time for playing. Let Jade read you a story, and then it’s bed,” Henry says.

“Just one thing.”

He opens the stickers and pulls out the sheet with a bunch of elephants on it, taking the biggest one off. Then he perfectly positions the elephant sticker on the glass of the frame on the opposite side of the little elephant in the picture.

“There. Now Jade’s in the picture too.”

My heart squeezes, and my eyes water. I turn my head to find Henry with his mouth parted in awe right before his eyes meet mine, and he smiles.

Bodhi grabs a book from his small bookcase and slides under the covers as if it’s any ordinary night, and he didn’t just make me feel like I fit, like I have a place in this little family.

I think I like myself in this room, too. This kid has stolen my heart and made me want something I didn’t know I was looking for. Or maybe it was what I was looking for all along.

Fifty-One

Henry

I hate the fact we’re stuck having to spend most of our alone time at a hotel when we want to have sex, but she’s living with her parents, and I have Bodhi.

Jade is done filling in at St. Pat’s so I told her to pack an overnight bag, and that I’d pick her up right after I dropped Bodhi off at school. Juggling my time between them isn’t ideal, but I’d run myself into the ground to give them both the attention they deserve.

And this thing with Jade and I is just starting up again. I don’t want to miss an opportunity for us to cross the finish line this time.

I pull up to the curb outside her house and get out of the car to go get her, but she’s already running down the stairs with her bag slung over her shoulder.

“Hey!”

“I was going to come to the door,” I say, opening the passenger car door.

She inches up on her tiptoes and kisses me, and I reach over to slide the strap off her shoulder as her lips meet mine too briefly. “We’re past that. No one is home anyway.”

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