Page 24 of Baby Boy

“But I’m not done coloring.” Avery peered up and even had a bit of a pout.

“You have to eat now before it gets cold,” Jace told him. He would be a stern Daddy if he needed to be, but he couldn’t see Avery arguing with him.

Avery sighed but nodded. He closed the book before he slowly, very slowly, started to put the crayons back into the box.

Jace set the plate down drawing Avery’s attention. Avery snapped his gaze back to Jace.

“Is that mine?” he pointed toward the plate.

“Yes, a special plate for my special boy,” Jace confirmed.

Avery nodded but didn’t finish putting his crayons away. Jace leaned over to help the boy. There would be times when it would be Avery’s job to clean up, but Jace knew his boy’s mind would be whirling with all the new things he was dealing with.

Jace quickly had the crayons in the box and picked them and the coloring book up. With his free hand, he pushed the plate in front of Avery. “I want you to eat all your food like a good boy.” He held out the fork for Avery.

Avery blinked several times before reaching out to take the fork. “Okay…”

Jace patted his back then strode to the other side of the kitchen. He placed the coloring book and crayons back in the drawer before he picked up his own plate and glass of tea.

He set his dishes down before checking Avery’s sippy cup. Almost empty.

Avery watched as Jace walked to the fridge, refilling the boy’s cup then returning. He hadn’t eaten yet but he happily picked up his cup once it was refilled.

“Eat up, boy,” Jace commanded. He set next to his boy.

Avery stabbed a small piece of his pork chop before bringing it to his mouth. Next was a helping of mac and cheese, then a bit of apple sauce. Jace watched him as he tried to eat his own food. Avery had tried a little of everything. Did he like it?

Then amazingly, Avery laughed. “It’s good!”

Jace laughed when the boy went back to the mac and cheese and practically shoveled it in. “Slow down, buddy,” Jace said. “You need to eat all your meat too. There’s plenty of food.”

“So good.” Avery smacked his lips. There was already cheese on his chin.

“I’m glad you like it,” Jace replied with pride. He had a good idea that Avery had money problems and his too-thin frame spoke of not eating properly, so it was important to find foods he liked. But he didn’t want Avery to make himself sick either. “The mac and cheese recipe was my mom’s mom’s. We always have it at every family gathering.”

“Did you live with her?” Avery asked. He scooped up a big bit of apple sauce. “I lived with my grandma.”

Jace hid his surprise. He’d wanted to press Avery on his family but when they talked on the phone, Avery always evaded the questions. “Where was that?” he asked casually.

“Colorado,” Avery shared.

“What made you move to New Mexico?” Jace questioned.

“School. I got a partial scholarship.”

Jace felt that school might be a sore subject, so he decided to stay away from that for now.

“Does your grandma still live in Colorado?”

“No.” He shook his head. “She died.” Avery looked down at his plate. The mac and cheese and apple sauce were gone.

“Eat your meat,” Jace told him. “If you’re still hungry, I’ll give you another scoop of mac and cheese.”

Avery grinned before returning to his food.

“Have you been back to Colorado,” he asked.

“No, no reason. I didn’t like it there.”

---