Page 97 of Possessed By You
Daniel’s small hand clenches my dress. “Any new words today?”
“Mama. Mama,” he says.
It’s not a new one, but one I’m still unused to hearing. He wiggles, trying to be free of my embrace, pointing to his toy on the ground. I watch him go with Doris, admiring the bouncy black curls on the top of his head. His eyes are a soft green color now, only another thing that reminds me of his father.
“You look wonderful. Is that a new dress?”
I run my hands down the length of the cherry-colored number I bought months ago, when I was still attempting to rid myself of baby weight. “You think? It’s not too tight?”
“You look sensational as usual, darling. Anyways, there’s no time to change. Look at the time.” Everyone’s on a time clock but me today. I scoop up Daniel, who is mumbling incoherently to his G.I. Joe. Doris throws her purse over her shoulder. “Have fun. Send me pictures, all right? Lots of them. I want to see Danny in the swim trunks I got him.”
“Wait, where are you going? I can take you home.”
“I’m going with Kevin to interview a new caterer…last minute wedding changes. He told me to tell you to have fun also and be ready to be worked to death.”
“You know, I’m beginning to regret maid-of-honor responsibilities. I mean, how many different cakes can you choose from?” I flick my chin toward the elevator doors, arms too full to hug her myself. “I’ll let you walk out before me so you don’t get mobbed.”
She kisses both of us on our cheeks and steps through the doors, which close after a few seconds. Hovering as I wait for the elevator to return, I remember something. On the table in the middle of the foyer, beside a large arrangement of lilies, lies a small hat, with the wordsScott Industriesplastered along the front. I place the cap over his wild curls, smiling along with him.
“You’re going to rep Daddy today, yeah?”
Just hearing his father’s name, Daniel kicks restlessly, anxiously looking around the room for Benjamin to appear.
“Yeah, Daddy,” I hum. “We’re gonna go see him now. Let’s go see Daddy.”
Buckling him into his car seat is a feat, but after I hand him the noisy rattle Benjamin gave him days after his birth, he immediately puts it into his mouth, hardly noticing me strapping him in. I run my fingers through his soft locks, pushing his hair back from his face.
As young as he is, Daniel seems to know the layout of Scott Industries pretty well and the staff even more so. I follow closely behind him as he insists on walking himself onto Benjamin’s floor. Tiffany gasps upon seeing him, one of his biggest fans.
“Oh! He’s wearing the hat!” Tiffany crows. Daniel has won the heart of every woman in this building. The hat was a gift from her, one she made herself with Benjamin’s logo. She gave it to Daniel on his first birthday a few months ago.
Tiffany melts when he grips her index finger. “You can totally tell he was made by the most beautiful people in the world.”
I blush.
“Go on in. He’s done for the day.”
Tiffany retreats into her office to pack up for the day. I pull open the door, and the minute Daniel catches sight of his father, he’s making himself known with a loud exclamation.
Benjamin is seated at his throne of power, the backdrop of Manhattan behind him, along with a colorful sunset. At the happy sound of our son, he shuts his computer, standing with a megawatt smile. It spreads across his face even further at Danny’s excitement, the way he bounces, laughing wildly on his way over to him.
“Danny boy!” Benjamin kneels, scrunching his tailored three-piece suit. Daniel tumbles into his outstretched arms, and Benjamin lifts him up into the air, placing multiple kisses to his chunky cheek. “Bud, how ya doin’? I like your hat.”
“Dada.”
I’m transfixed as Benjamin sets him down, murmuring to him, pointing to the mountain of toys set neatly in the play area he had set up in his office just months after Daniel’s birth. The entire office, once a daunting, intimidating place, is now childproofed, usually scattered with blocks and musical contraptions. My heart triples in speed when Benjamin rises from his bent position, turning his attention to me. Like a moth to flame, the moment his hands are sliding around my neck and his mouth is against mine, I’m drawn in, melting into his touch.
“You look stunning, baby.”
“So do you.”
The phone chimes on the desk. I plan to heave his phone into the water if it rings even once this weekend. It’s the first vacation we’re taking as a family, and I’ll have no distractions. With a braced inhale, he presses on the speaker button.
“Yes, Tiffany?”
“I know you’re preparing to go, but Alexander is on his way in to give you the documents you requested.”
There’s a knock on the door, and after one brief look between us, Benjamin crosses the room to greet his brother. When Daniel turned six months old, Alexander finally reached out to Benjamin. It had been over a year since they’d spoken, but when Alexander informed his brother that he’d stopped speaking to his mother upon learning of her treachery, her complete disregard for Benjamin—and the loan she asked for in the hospital room—Benjamin didn’t have it in him to hold a grudge. I don’t even think he wanted to in the first place. Forgiveness was easy for them. Trying to build a relationship with each other was another thing entirely. That was proving more difficult.
