Page 82 of Call it Fate

She tipped her head toward the duo as they headed through the kitchen. “Let Zach handle it, man to man. Iain will never accept him as an authority if you always interfere.”

“But—”

“You were worried about Zach just being a playmate in Iain’s mind. Don’t interfere when Zach is stepping up into his role. It’s not easy on him, either. But he needs to do it.” She gave me a warning look. “Without your interference.”

“Fine,” I huffed, knowing she was right.

Still, nothing said I couldn’t spy on them. I grabbed the coffeepot and hurried into the dining room. Fortunately, there was only one couple still eating, so I filled their mugs and pretended to check on the warming trays while I kept an eye on Zach and Iain, who were in a corner of the living room. Zach was sitting in a chair, leaning forward and talking to Iain, who stood in front of him.

I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I noticed a slight slump to my son’s shoulders while Zach spoke. Iain nodded, and Zach placed his hand on Iain’s shoulder. Suddenly, Iain launched himself into his dad’s arms, who immediately embraced him for several seconds before placing a kiss on his head. I scurried back to the kitchen before they could see me.

I was placing a couple of bowls in the dishwasher when the pair returned. Iain walked over to me and wrapped his small arms around my legs and rested his head on my belly. “I’m sorry, Mama. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I don’t really want you to lose the award.”

I knelt in front of him and brushed his soft hair back from his face. “I know you didn’t mean it, but you must remember words still hurt. I appreciate your apology. And I’m really sorry I won’t be able to go on the field trip with you and your friends. I was looking forward to it, too. You’ll still have lots of fun, and you can tell me all about it when you get home.”

His face was still sad, but he nodded. “Okay.”

“Now, we’ve already had our moment of being mad, so tell me something good.”

He scrunched up his nose as if he had to think really hard. “I got Loopy Fruits for breakfast instead of eggs.”

I laughed. “Okay, that’s a weak one, but we’ll let it go.”

“Your turn, Mama. It better be a good one, though.”

“Well, I’d been saving this one for zoo day, but I’m going to go with it anyway. What do you call an alligator who solves mysteries?”

Iain tapped his jaw pretending to be deep in thought. “I give up.”

“An investi-gator!”

He rolled his eyes, but his frown turned into a silly grin. “That’s not too bad,” said my little critic. “I’ll tell my friends that one.”

That was the biggest compliment he could offer. “Okay. Breakfast and then school, mister.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He headed back to the table but paused and turned back toward me. “And Mama? I really hope you do win that award. You work really hard. You deserve it.”

“Thanks, baby. That means a lot.”

He looked at his dad, who nodded his head and smiled back.

Once Iain was settled, I grabbed Zach’s hand and pulled him back into the living room. “What did you say to work that miracle?” I demanded.

He smirked. “Oh, you mean you weren’t spying on me?”

I crossed my arms. “Well…I just wanted to make sure you weren’t in over your head. So far it’s been such smooth sailing since you came into his life.”

“You’re going to have to trust me, Em. I know life with a kid isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

“Well, whatever you said, thank you.”

He chuckled. “It’s killing you not to know, isn’t it?”

I rolled my eyes and held my fingers up with some space between them. “A little bit.”

“I just asked him how he’d feel if someone was rude about a project he’d worked on. Then we talked about how it’s okay to be disappointed, but as a family, we’re a team and should always cheer for each other. I think he got it on his own level.”

He said that as if he knew what it was likenotto have that. Remembering my one and only encounter with Zach’s dad, I had a sense that his dad didn’t accept anything less than perfect. I suspected it fostered Zach’s drive to be the best. But I wondered if the little boy still inside him longed for his own paternal teammate to cheer him on.

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