Page 129 of Three Not-So-Little Words
He uses his finger to lift my chin so that I’m looking at him. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“Because I overstepped a boundary with your kid. I shouldn’t have said any of that stuff without talking to you first.”
“Baby, I’m not mad or even remotely upset. You took a sad six-year-old and helped him find a way to process his grief a little better than he ever has before. I think that’s incredible.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I still shouldn’t have stepped in like that. I just knew it was a hard day for him, and I didn’t want–”
He stops me by pressing his lips to mine. “I wanted to say thank you. I don’t know what all you said and did, but when we talked about it a few days ago, he seemed to have a much better outlook than I’ve ever seen him have before.”
“You’re welcome,” I say. “I spent so long being sad, and Aaron was just my boyfriend. Colton lost his mom. I didn’t want him to get stuck in that same sad spiral.”
He looks into my eyes as his thumb strokes my cheek. “You’re amazing. I know you think you’re not a kid person, but you are wonderful with my son. He’s crazy about you, and I’m right there with him.”
“Speaking of Colton, I have something that I want to ask you. Feel free to say no, but I just thought–”
“Ronnie, spit it out.”
“I have something special that I wanted to do for him. Well, for both of you, I guess. The problem is that it would have to be on a weekday,” I say more nervously than I expected.
The other day when Colton told me he wanted to go see penguins, I thought maybe there was something I could do that would make him happy–something that would remind him of his mom. In all of my travels, I’ve made a lot of connections, and I cashed in a couple of favors. Now, I just have to get Drew to jump on board.
He looks confused as all get out.
“Are you going to tell me what the special something is?” He asks.
“Would you be mad if I told you I wanted it to be a surprise?”
He ponders for a moment before his features soften. “Of course, I wouldn’t be mad. It makes me so happy that you want to do something nice for Colton like that.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to overstep any boundaries.”
“You’re not overstepping anything. Ronnie, a couple of months ago, you looked at Colton like he was from another planet. Now, you are wanting to surprise him with something. I think that’s amazing.”
I feel a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry for the way I acted when I first met him. I realize I didn’t handle it very well.”
“Baby, have you ever dated someone with a kid?”
I glare at him. “You already know the answer to that.”
“Okay, have you been around kids a lot?”
I shake my head. “Just my nieces.”
“Then, it’s okay that you weren’t all warm and fuzzy right off the bat. Before I had Colton, I wouldn’t have considered myself anywhere close to a kid person. I thought that they were greasy, sticky, little monsters. Then, I had one of my own, and my thoughts changed. You seem like your thoughts have changed being around Colton, too.”
I smile. “Nah, I still think he’s a greasy, sticky, little monster. But I guess he’s cool for the most part.”
He’s right about not being warm and fuzzy toward kids, but it’s not just kids. I’m usually not warm and fuzzy around anyone except my family. Sometimes, that’s even rare. I’ve always been a loner, and it’s never bothered me. But over time, I’ve grown as a person.
Maybe it’s solely because of Drew. Maybe Colton has something to do with it too. Or maybe it’s also because I’m back home for more than just a few days.
It’s probably a combination of all of the above. The point is that I don’t even feel like the same person anymore.
Drew says, “I think Colton and I can play hooky from school and work for a day. Just let me know when, beautiful.”
I grin. “Thank you. I promise he’s going to love it…or at least I hope he will.”
He pulls me close to press his lips against mine. “I’m sure he will love it.”
