Page 41 of Single Teddy
I studied him for a bit, and he glanced at the parents around us sheepishly. More specifically, all the moms.
“Do you miss your mommy?” I whispered.
He nodded, avoiding my gaze, staring at his cup instead.
“That’s perfectly normal, sweetheart. Do you want to make something pretty for her?”
That got his attention.
“What?” he asked.
I lifted the paper candle holder in front of him and smiled.
“We can put all the things you want to tell her on this cup, and then we’ll light them up so she can see them from above and know you’re thinking of her. How does that sound?”
Bear bit his lip, and I couldn’t help but think how much he looked like his uncle. He took the cup from me and the pencil he’d thrown and started drawing.
“There you go,” I whispered and ruffled his hair as I stood up.
“Thank you,” Teddy mouthed at me, and he stood up too.
“Don’t mention it,” I said.
“I’m so out of my depth.”
I looked into his icy blue eyes and pressed my lips together. He looked like he needed a hug, but that would be wildly unprofessional, so I did the next best thing. I took his hand and gave it a squeeze before I let go.
Even that was a mistake because as soon as I touched him, my whole body awakened and it became hard to breathe. There was just something about him. Something I hadn’t felt with anyone in all my life. Too bad I couldn’t explore what it was. I would have to be content with having him visit me in my fantasies, when I was all alone at home and he could do anything he wanted to me and I to him. That was my only consolation.
“Come on. You’re not doing so bad.”
“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I feel like I’m getting worse at it. He doesn’t eat. Doesn’t talk. He’s scared of everyone. He follows me everywhere. I…I don’t know what to do.”
I turned from him to look at the top of Bear’s head. He was so absorbed in his drawing that he wasn’t paying attention to anything else.
“Maybe you should try a therapist? It’s pretty clear he misses his mom, so maybe it’s all a result of his grief. He’s so young.He probably doesn’t know how to deal with it. Or maybe it’s something more neurological. Has he ever been assessed?”
“Assessed? Assessed for what?”
“Autism, ADHD, learning disabilities?”
He shook his head.
“I didn’t even think of that. God, I’m so hopeless.”
“Hey! You’re not hopeless,” I said, touching his arm. “Start with a therapist and see how you get on. A therapist will be able to help determine if it’s grief or something else.”
He ran a hand over his face and let out a deep breath.
“See? I’m so out of my depth. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he said before he stuttered and added, “Without all of you on this island.”
Oh boy, would my fantasies have a field day with that particular wording later on.
God. I’m so pathetic.
I probably needed to get laid. I’d sworn off hookups and dating, but maybe it was necessary to keep this thing for Teddy at bay before it came out and embarrassed me beyond compare.
“We’re all here for you,” I said, and the way he seemed to hang on my words made a knot form in my throat.
