Page 25 of Baby for the Professor
I squeezed his hand. “It’s not your fault.”
Before leaving the restaurant, Jackson asked, “Can you send me some of Aiden’s baby pictures, please? And also pictures of you and him together.”
“Sure,” I said. “I’ll do it now. I have plenty in my phone.”
When we reached my street, it was only eight. Still early. After Jacson stopped his car on the street, we leaned toward each other for a goodnight kiss. When I opened the car door, Jackson looked at my house. "Is that Aiden?" he asked.
The living room window was open, and Aiden was waving at us. “Mommy!"
I waved back. "Sweetie!"
When I closed the car door, I saw Jackson's longing eyes and got an idea.
"Would you like to come in for a minute? It's close to his bedtime but you could play with him for a while."
"Are you sure?" He grinned.
"Yes."
Aiden threw himself at me as soon as I opened the front door. I held him up and kissed him. “Were you a good boy when Mommy was away?"
"Yes! I played Cat in the Hat game with grandpa and grandma, and I won," he said. And then his eyes fell on Jackson and widened. "You're Mommy's teacher Dr. Hale!"
Jackson was all smiles. "Hello, Aiden! I see you haven't forgotten me. Call me Jackson."
My parents were watching TV in the living room, but they both came out to meet our guest. My dad was using crutches. He had a minor injury on his leg and would take a few weeks to recover.
“Mom and Dad, this is Jackson, and Jackson, my mom Sophia, and my dad Peter.”
"It’s nice to meet you, and I'm sorry about my surprise visit," Jackson said to my parents.
"No problem, have a seat." My mom pointed to the sofa. "Would you like anything to drink?"
My mom was measuring Jackson up and down, but she couldn't hide the satisfaction on her face.
Within minutes, Jackson was sitting on the sofa with Aiden on his lap, playing a game with him on my iPad. It's a simple game of counting and clicking the right number, but Jackson was intrigued. The two were laughing when Jackson seemed to have miscounted and Aiden pointed out his mistake. "You're a teacher. You aren't supposed to make mistakes!"
"No, teachers make mistakes, too. That's why you have to pay attention."
I left the two alone and went up to my room to change, and my mom followed me.
"So, how did the dinner go?" she asked me as soon as we were inside my bedroom.
"It went well," I said. "He wanted to be part of Aiden's life."
"Did he say anything about getting custody?"
"No he didn't mention it."
"Good."
I went back to the living room and watched Jackson and Aiden for another minute, hardly able to stifle the emotions churning in my chest. I had never imagined a moment like this. I hadn't even known any man as good with kids as my dad.
As much as I hated interrupting them, it was close to Aiden's bedtime.
"Aiden," I said to him while getting hold of the iPad. "It's time to go to bed."
Aiden pouted right away. "But I don't want to. I want to play."
