Page 27 of For the Love of a Boy

“What if we open it together?”

Seth peered up at him, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “I think I can do that.”

Malcolm offered him a reassuring smile. “Why don’t you and Bear sit up? Then I can scoot in next to you.”

“Sure.”

Seth wiggled his way to a sitting position, then tucked Bear on his one side, leaving Malcolm room to get close on the other. Malcolm held the envelope between them.

“I bet this is exciting news, baby. I can’t wait to see.”

Seth cleared his throat, then slowly reached up. His hand trembled as he touched the envelope. “I know you’re right, Daddy.” Seth lifted his gaze. “I want to see what’s inside.”

“On the count of three?”

At last, Seth’s features brightened, and Malcolm believed he’d reached him. That his boy had left the dark place he’d been lost in all day.

“Okay. On three.”

Malcolm held the large envelope from the top. “Here we go. One, two, three!”

The envelope tore, and they both pulled out the certificate and a cover letter. The moment Seth’s eyes lit up and he broke into a grin, Malcolm’s entire body felt as if it had exhaled.

“Look, Daddy! I have my birth certificate.” He regarded Malcolm with joy. “Next is my Social Security card, then he’ll no longer have anything to hold over my head.” Seth took Malcolm’s hand. “I know he doesn’t anyway. But, sometimes it’s hard to believe he isn’t still taking control of my life and forcing me to be the way he wants. That’s why he kept my documents. He thought he’d have power over me forever.” Seth stared at his birth certificate. “Not anymore.”

Malcolm kissed Seth’s cheek. “No, baby. Not anymore.”

The evening had gone from stressful to celebratory in record time, and Malcolm wasn’t in the mood to try and coax him into trying anything new. It was more of a comfort food, relax by the fire and watch a movie sort of night.

“Hey, I was thinking.” Malcolm covered Seth’s hand with his own. “You don’t want that nasty ol’ Greek food, do you?”

Seth snorted out a laugh. “Why do you say that? And anyway, you told me Greek food is delicious.”

“It is. But doesn’t pizza sound much better?”

“Yeah, Daddy. Pizza sounds way better.”

“Excellent. We can save the Greek food for tomorrow.”

Malcolm yanked Seth into his arms and poured all his love into a long, deep kiss. The pizza could wait for a few more minutes.

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