Page 53 of Knocked Up by Mr. Grump Lawyer

I sighed, feeling sad for my son. But there was nothing we could do about his mother.

You can give him a new mom, though…a voice hissed in my head. I ignored it.

“Hey, Jaynie,” I greeted. “What brings you here?”

She turned toward me in surprise. “Oh, hello, Robert. I just wanted to stop by and give Riley something.”

She actually looked proud of herself, probably thinking that material things were enough to compensate for her absence.

Riley had gone to the living room and was opening his present. He was out of earshot now.

I stepped closer to my ex. I couldn’t deny the fact that she looked fantastic. And naturally, her signature clothes and bag made her appear like a wealthy socialite.

“So you’re not traveling now? How long are you staying in Hollywood?” I said dryly.

“Don’t be silly,” she said with a wave of her hand, as if brushing off my comment. “I live here. Hollywood is still my home.”

“Doesn’t feel like it,” I said with a shrug.

She scoffed. “Well, my husband is not feeling so well, so we’re not traveling at this time.”

“Glad you thought of stopping by for Riley,” I replied sarcastically. I couldn’t help it. “Maybe next time you won’t just drop off a gift, but you’ll spend some real quality time with him. That’s what he needs, you know.”

“All children love gifts,” she insisted. “Besides, I have a salon appointment in an hour. But of course, I’m planning to spend some time with him. I will surely come back tomorrow.”

I nodded, though I didn’t really believe her. She had made promises like that in the past, but usually broke them. She just didn’t consider her child a priority in her life. It was so sad, but I’ve learned to accept and deal with it. However, Riley didn’t deserve it and I couldn’t help hating her for it.

“You only do what’s convenient for you,” I said in a bitter tone.

“You seem to be in a really bad mood this morning,” she said, walking out of the kitchen. “That won’t be good for your health or for Riley’s well-being.”

She then went to kiss Riley on the forehead. At least he looked excited to see the new expensive gadget she’d bought for him.

“I’ll see you again tomorrow, darling,” she said to him.

“Thank you, Mom!” he said, his eyes lighting up when she mentioned she would come back again.

I watched him closely. In the short time that Kayla had stayed with us, the two of them had developed a far deeper and more positive relationship than what he had with his own mother.

She made him happy. But it would be unfair to her if I pursued her just for that. Indeed I was incredibly attracted to her. I knew I deeply cared for her, which is the main reason I’m holding back. I didn’t trust myself enough to commit to her because I did not want to end up hurting her.

You’re hurting her either way,the voice in my head persisted.

I brushed it off and decided to take a shower so I could officially begin my day.

Because I was feeling sorry for Riley and felt a bit guilty too, for not spending so much time with him myself, I decided to take the morning off. I didn’t have to be in the courtroom until the afternoon, and Riley didn’t have school today.

He was ecstatic about the chance to teach me how to play his favorite computer game. I was kinda miserable at it, though. But it didn’t matter. Seeing the smile on his face and hearing his laughter made me very happy.

I never realized it could be so fun to just let go of work for a little while. It was energizing to be with my son and just do things spontaneously.

For the first time in months, we grabbed our bikes from the garage and went around the neighborhood. I felt like a little kid who’d just been freed from a trapped existence.

“Way to go, Dad!” Riley cheered when I was able to follow his lead through a dirt path behind some houses.

“Yeah!” I shouted too, feeling proud of myself.

When we got back home, we were both exhausted but in high spirits.

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