Page 26 of Baby for the Professor
"Come on, Jackson has to go home, too."
"We can play another time," Jackson said to his son. "I'll be back."
Aiden let me close the program, but when I held him, he pushed me away. "I want Jackson to put me to bed."
My jaw fell, but I agreed and watched Jackson carry the child toward the bedroom with mixed emotions. I liked what I saw, but I was also a bit envious. Aiden had only met his dad twice, but he behaved as if he had known him since he was born. How could it be possible?
Chapter 15
Jackson
Sabrina followed us into her and Aiden’s bedroom. She made the bed for Adien, and then pointed to the stack of books at the night table. “He’s heard most of the stories already, but he likes listening to them over and over.”
“Okay, I got it,” I said to her while glancing around me.
There were two beds. Sabrina’s queen-sized bed had many pillows, making me guess the meaning. Had she really been alone for all these years? I stopped my thoughts from derailing further and focused on the books. “Hmm, let me see what you’ve got, buddy,” I said to my son.
“I’ll leave you two alone, then,” Sabrina said, taking a deep breath as if forcing herself to be calm.
“Don’t worry,” I said to her. “We’ll be fine.”
She smiled and closed the door behind her.
Aiden took a minute to pick his favorite book because he seemed to like all of them. In the end, he decided on The Monkey and the Lion, telling me his granddad had bought it for his last birthday.
I cleared my throat and started, and my voice trembled as if I was giving a keynote speech. This was the first time I had read any child a bedtime story. I had seen it often on TV but had never pictured myself doing it. And the amazing thing is, I enjoyed it. Seeing Aiden's happy face brought such immense satisfaction to me. The feeling was similar to what I felt when I saw students learn but more powerful. I was not teaching the kid any sophisticated theory, just a simple story about a lion and a monkey making friends. Kids were so trusting, so easy to please. I wished to go on longer, to bring more smiles to his innocent face, but his eyelids started to drop, and eventually, he fell asleep.
I stroke his hair lightly, unable to contain my need to touch him. My son. How about that? I was proud of having a four-year-old already, yet at the same time, I regretted missing four years of his life, not to mention the nine months he was inside his mom’s belly. Again I wondered how it was it like when he was a baby. Did he really cry a lot like Sabrina said? It was hard for me to picture it at the moment when he was so tranquil. Imagining Sabrina getting up in the middle of the night to feed him made me mad. I was such an asshole not to have been there for her.
I closed the bedroom door quietly and went out to the living room, where Sabrina was sitting in front of the TV. Her parents weren’t there with her.
She stood up and came to me, "Is he asleep?"
"Yes," I said, and then held her. "Thank you."
She didn't struggle. "What for?"
"For giving birth and raising him, everything."
Her eyes turned red. "You're welcome."
I kissed her again, restraining my lust and keeping it chaste. "It's late and I should get going."
“Let me walk you to your car.”
I didn’t refuse because I wanted to be with her for a moment longer.
I put my arm around her shoulders as we walked slowly.
"Listen," I said before opening the car door. "I would like to see him again if you're fine with it."
"Of course I am," she said, her expression hard to read. She seemed glad and wary at the same time.
"I know I'm new to the daddy thing, but I love it so far. I'm sorry I've let you handle it alone all these years, but if you'd give me a chance, I promise I'll make it up to you."
She sniffled. "You don't have to feel sorry about anything. Aiden is the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life."
"Same here," I said.
