Page 85 of Three Not-So-Little Words
Drew says, “Why don’t you go wash your hands, Colton, before we eat?”
With that, the kid runs out of the room.
Drew sets the boxes on the counter and pulls me in for a kiss. It feels good being in his arms again.
When his lips leave mine, he looks at me, “Stuffed breadsticks? Excellent choice. How’d you know he would love it?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I love them, and sometimes, I eat like a kid. So, I figured it may be a good choice. I mean anything is better stuffed—including me.”
He laughs. “Can’t wait until I can do the stuffing again.”
I want to ask when he thinks that will be, but we are joined again by Colton. Drew gets us some plates, and we fill them with pizza and breadsticks.
He asks if I want a beer, and I reply with, “God, yes.”
We all sit down at the table, and Drew asks Colton about his day at school. The little boy starts talking, giving every single detail of his day. I half listen and half get distracted looking around the room. If I wasn’t drunk and horny the other night, it would have been obvious that a kid lived here. There’s a basket of toys in the corner and a dinosaur blanket on the couch.
I look at Drew and watch him interact with his son. It’s crazy that the same guy who was just recently railing me is being so calm and patient with Colton. I guess that kind of comes with the territory of being a parent, though. I’ve never thought about it much.
I never was one who really wantedkids,but when I was with Aaron, I wasn’t opposed to the idea. We talked about iton occasion, but it was only something we wanted after we had gotten done seeing all of the places that we wanted to go.
Who knows if that list would’ve ever truly been finished. Knowing me, probably not.
Stop it, Ronnie. Stop thinking about the past. Focus on what’s right in front of you.
Speaking of what’s right in front of me, Drew and Colton are both staring at me. I’m pretty sure they asked me something, and I wasn’t paying attention.
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask.
Drew said, “I asked how your day was.”
“Oh, um, it was alright. I met with one of my sisters because I’m doing a project for her. And uhm, I saw a dog on the way to the pizza place. Stopped to pet him, so that was fun.”
Colton chimes in. “I want to get a dog, but Dad said no.”
“Yeah, dads can be a real buzzkill.” I smile.
Drew looks at me. “Thanks for that. Look, I wouldn’t mind a dog every once in a while. Just not full time. We need a rent-a-dog service or something.”
I lean toward Colton. “Keep trying. You’ll eventually wear him down.”
That gets a giggle out of him.
Okay, I think I’m off to a good start. He doesn't seem to hate me.
Drew says, “Ronnie is a travel photographer.”
“What’s that?” Colton directs the question at me.
“It means that I get to go to all different places in the world and take pictures of all the cool things.”
“Have you ever been to Disney World?”
“I have actually. Both Disney World and Disneyland. I didn’t go to take pictures, though. I just went for fun. Have you been?”
He nods. “It’s my favorite place in the whole world.”
“I get that. It’s areallycool place.”
