Page 48 of The Mayor and the Mystery Man

“Thanks for watching Ari yesterday. When I kissed him goodnight, he seemed to be doing much better. I’m shocked you were able to pull him away from his controller,” Leo said with a light-hearted laugh that immediately sparked something within me.

He started up his jog again, but I didn’t follow.

“What is it?” he asked.

“You gotta stop that,” I said.

He turned back to me, utterly confused. “Stop what?”

“Shitting all over your son.”

“Excuse me.” He went into protective dad mode, which I found endearing, yet also a touch scary since it was turned on me. “I love Ari.”

“I know you love him, but you have a weird way of showing it. You put down his interest in video games all the time.”

A pained look crossed Leo’s brow. “I want him to find a more enriching, challenging hobby.”

“Belittling his interests and always comparing him to his sister isn’t pushing him in that direction.”

“Are we really doing this? Let’s just continue our run.”

For a man who loved to give speeches and debate, Leo was a king of not talking about things.

“Ari designs video games,” I said defiantly. “Really good ones. I played one of them.”

A pinch of regret stung my chest. Technically, Ari hadn’t sworn me to secrecy. I felt bad for sharing, but I wanted Leo to see how incredibly talented his son was.

“Ari?”

“Yeah. He designs them on his computer. The graphics, the schematics of the levels, all of it.”

“I thought he only played.” Leo put his hands on his hips like he was catching his breath at the new information.

“He does a lot more. And I’m sure he’d share that with you if you were more open and accepting of his hobbies. He might not be a brainiac like Lucy, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t smart.”

“I never said he wasn’t smart,” he said curtly, every muscle tense. “That’s what was frustrating. Ari has great potential. I didn’t want to see him wasting it.”

“He’s not. I promise you that. But maybe Lucy is.”

“What’s wrong with Lucy?” Leo plopped down on a rock.

“Maybe calling her a brainiac is putting all this pressure on her. As the son of a preacher man, I know the stress of trying to live up to a certain image.” It was stress I learned to alleviate in high school with bong hits and cheap beer.

Leo rubbed his hands through his hair. I could feel the weight pressing down on him. “It gets harder as they get older. When they’re young, they tell you everything. They won’t stop talking. All their hopes, all their fears, all their strange thoughts. It all comes pouring out nonstop.” He laughed to himself. I had a pinch of jealousy that I never went down the path of fatherhood. I remembered how chatty the twins were. “But then there’s a turning point. They hold back. I have to pry information out of them. They become mysteries, and I go from knowing everything to being constantly in the dark.”

I squatted beside him and placed a supportive hand on his knee. “You’re a great dad, Leo. Really.”

“Am I? Has all this mayor shit ruined everything? I’ve tried so hard to keep balance, to be there as much as I can for my kids. It’s so hard. As a single dad, I feel like I’m constantly playing catch up, and one day, it’s going to be too late.”

His dark eyes clouded over to the gray side, whole and vulnerable. This was a Leo most people never saw. Hell, I barely saw it. He made juggling balls in the air seem effortless, but there was always effort involved.

“Hey, it’s never too late. And thinking back to when I was their age, I wanted to feel heard more than anything. My parents didn’t listen to anything I wanted or cared about. It was their way or the highway. I’m not saying you have to agree with everything they do, just listen.”

Leo patted my hand. “For a lifelong bachelor, you seem to know a lot about kids.”

“I guess I never grew up.” I stood back up and shook out my legs. Squatting was painful. My quads were very mad with me.

“The twins love you. Uncle Dusty.”

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