Page 50 of Savage

Dalton studied him for a moment, then turned to me with a soul-searching stare. He knew. I could see it in his eyes. He let out a breath, then muttered, “It’s him.”

"Yes, sweetie. It's him." I walked over and knelt in front of him as I said, "Malcomb is your father."

He had been waiting for this moment for years, and now that it had finally arrived, he was at a loss for words. We all were. I took Dalton by the hand and led him over to the sofa. Once we were seated, I looked down at Dalton and said, "Dalton, this is Malcomb."

"You're back."

Following along with the story I’d told him, Malcomb nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm back, and I'd really like to spend some time with you and your mom. If that's okay with you."

Dalton looked up at me with that same soul-searching stare, and I nodded. "I'd like that. What about you?"

I could see the flood of emotions flowing through him. Part of him was overjoyed to finally meet his father, but another part was scared and unsure of what this would mean for his life. I reached out and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze to let him know that everything would be okay.

After a moment, Dalton finally answered, "Okay."

“Okay, great,” Malcomb replied, sounding relieved. “So, what do you guys wanna do?”

“I’m open for anything.” I stood and started for the kitchen. “I just need some coffee first.”

“You and me both.”

“On it.”

I slipped into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. While it brewed, I slipped over to the doorway, and my heart swelled as I watched Dalton go over to his toy box and start pulling out his blocks. His voice was riddled with excitement as he suggested, “We could build some’ting.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“A castle... A really tall one!”

“Yeah, we could definitely do that.”

I was a bit surprised at how freely Dalton spoke. He was normally very standoffish with strangers, but their banter came so easily—like they weren’t strangers at all. It felt so good to see them together. It was something I thought I’d never see.

I smiled as I watched them start to build their little castle. Malcomb’s eyes twinkled with a mixture of pride and absolute adoration as he helped Dalton stack the blocks into a wobbly tower. He was so good—so calm and patient. He lowered himself down to Dalton’s level and spoke to him like he was an adult, not just a toddler speaking baby talk.

They both erupted into laughter when the blocks fell down. I thought that would be the end of their tower building, but they weren’t ready to give up and started all over again. I couldn't help but smile as Dalton encouraged Malcomb to keep a steady hand. It was a heart-warming moment—one that gave me hope.

I knew it was early, and we had many obstacles to overcome, but I liked the idea of thinking our family could be whole again. When the coffee was ready, I poured two cups and then carried them into the living room. I placed one on the table next to Malcomb as I announced, “If it’s okay, I’m going to take a quick shower and change.”

“Sure. We’re good.”

“I won’t be long.”

“Take your time,” Malcomb answered as he placed the next block on the tower.

I would’ve double-checked with Dalton to make sure he was okay with me leaving, but he was too busy with his blocks to care if I was there or not. I wasn’t sure how long the moment would last, so I carried my coffee to the bathroom and took a quick shower. As soon as I was done, I slipped on one of my more casual short summer dresses, then fixed my hair and makeup. When I made it back to the living room, Dalton had changed out of his pjs and into a pair of his favorite shorts.

His eyes sparkled with excitement as he announced, “We’re going to the park.”

“If that’s okay with you,” Malcomb added. “Dalton said there was one close by.”

“There is... It’s just around the corner.” I turned and started for the kitchen as I told him, “Just let me grab a few things, and we can go.”

If I’d learned anything over the past few years, it was to be prepared—for anything.Sometimes, I took the notion a little overboard, but always felt it was better to be safe than sorry. With that in mind, I grabbed my day bag and started filling it with snacks, Band-Aids, and various other necessities.

Clearly amused by all the stuff I was shoving into the bag, Malcomb snickered, “We’re just going for a couple of hours.”

“Just covering all our bases,” I shrugged. "You never know. We might get hungry or get a scraped knee.”

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