Chapter Seventeen

~Rafael~

I yawned as I swung my feet out of bed, already hearing Saturday morning cartoons playing in the next room. It seemed that, despite our late night watching super hero movies, that Dominic was up and at ‘em.

Groaning, I stood and headed to my living room. After everything that had happened at work, and the delicate position I had put both McKenna and myself in, I decided to work from home for the rest of the week and enjoy time with my son. It was something I hadn’t done since he’d gotten pneumonia when he was three and I found myself enjoying all the quality time we had.

I always said how much I loved him, and how he was my world, but the week at home reminded me of just how much I took the time we had together for granted. He was already starting school and before I knew it he would be a senior about to go off to college. I needed to cherish each lunch we shared, every movie we watched. I would make sure he knew just how valuable he was.

“Hey there, little man. I see you got yourself some cereal.”

“Uh-huh,” he answered with a little nod. “Is good.”

“I’m sure it is,” I said, heading to the kitchen to pour myself a bowl. “So, what do you want to do today? Hit up the science museum? Go to the park? Maybe hit the movie theater?”

“I wanna play with McKenna!”

I froze at that, my eyes going wide before I was able to slide my expression back to neutral.

“What was that, buddy?”

“I wanna hang out and play with McKenna! I wanna show her my book collection, and I think she would like some of my figurines.” He tilted his head back so he could send me a piteous look all the way from the couch. “Please, Dad?”

“I’m sure that Miss O’Grady is very busy. She’s been working all week and no doubt wants to just stay home and be a bum for a bit.”

“But Dad,” Dom whined in a very un-Dom way. What was with McKenna’s ability to make Barbos men act so outside of themselves? “She’s the only adult I’ve ever talked to who was so cool. She even knew all about Godzilla!”

I pretended to be hurt at that, grabbing at my heart. “What, am I not cool?”

But he just rolled his eyes. My son was wising up to my theatrics at the grand old age of five. There really was no hope for me now. “You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t,” I said in the most fatherly way I could muster. Grabbing my cereal, I headed to the couch to see what my son was watching.

It seemed to be some overly dramatized show about card games. But there were also motorcycles somehow involved? I didn’t quite get the connection, but what mattered was that my little boy loved it and that was enough for me.

I was grateful, however, that he didn’t bring up McKenna again. I didn’t know quite how to tell him that we would probably never see the breathtaking woman again, or even if I could tell him that. I thought that everything had passed, but as soon as the show was over, Dom was looking up at me with wide eyes.

“Can we order pizza for lunch?”

“You just had breakfast, little man, and you’re already thinking about lunch?”

He nodded, his face guileless despite the fact that I could feel that I was about to have one put over on me. “But if I ask you right now, it will give you time to decide and order it.”

“Look at you, thinking ahead of time. That’s very mature of you.”

“Well I’m very mature,” he answered confidently, nodding his head. “Mature enough to pick what friends I want to have over?” He finished in a question and although I wanted to laugh at his try, I instead fixed him with a stern look.

“Dom.”

“Aw, please, Dad! She’s the only one who’d ever read the type of books I like and didn’t tell me I should try reading something else! She didn’t talk to me like was a little kid!”

“You are a little kid, Dom.”

“I know, but that don’t mean I like it when people treat me like I’m dumb!”

“Fair enough. But I’m not asking McKenna over.”

“Please, Dad! I’ve never asked for any friend to come over! Pleeeassse!”

Normally I never tolerated begging, but he did have a point. In his short five years he had never once asked for a friend to come over. In fact, I wasn’t sure that he really had any friends his age. Although he was plenty charming, he didn’t seem to get along well with little ones. I liked to blame his mother, but I was willing to believe some of it was me and my own trust issues.

“Alright. I’ll ask her. But I don’t want you to be surprised if she can’t make it.”

“I understand,” Dom said with a solemn nod. “I just wanna try.”

“Let me go grab my laptop and I’ll shoot her an email.”

“Why not just text her?”

“Uh, adult reasons.”

“Okay. Whatever you say.” I could tell that he didn’t really believe me, which lead me to wonder if he thought I was too old to know how to text. I would have to show him just how technologically capable I was, but that would have to wait for another time.

As I went off to grab my laptop, I was tempted to just pretend that I was emailing McKenna, but I had always taught my son that honesty was a requirement to relationships, not optional, so I needed to uphold my own teachings.

I booted up my computer and stared at it for a solid ten minutes, thinking of how I could compose this email. Did I acknowledge our tryst? Did I continue as if nothing had happened between us? Did I apologize for contacting her and tell her that I never would of if it weren’t for Dom?

I decided honesty was the best way to go as well. I told her that I wasn’t certain where things laid between us, but that Dom was begging to see her and that I promised him that I would at least try. I also put in that I had told him that she was most likely busy, so it would be no issue if she was occupied. Otherwise I wished her well and sent it off before I could second-guess myself.

Still, I cringed as I reread my email. For being a confident man, and someone who prided myself of being in control of most situations, I certainly felt off-kilter now. If I didn’t know better, I would almost think that I had feeling for McKenna.

But that was impossible. I had no idea who she was and almost all of our interactions started or ended with high levels of stress. That was not healthy by any stretch of the means. Maybe I just needed to start dating again.

After I had broken up with Dom’s mother, I had gone on a year and a half spree of bouncing from relationship to relationship. It had been fun, and certainly tabloid worthy, but ultimately it left me feeling more alone than I had been after the divorce. None of those women really cared for me. I was either another notch on their belt or a way to secure their station.

I sighed and rubbed my face, cursing the night that I had gotten so involved in my work that I had ended up staying late and seeing a strange woman dance.

I got up to head into the living room -I could already hear the next cartoon about mechanized dinosaurs playing, but as I stood, I saw a notification that I had a reply.

No, she couldn’t have responded so fast! Also, it was only eleven in the morning, as a night shift worker, I was pretty sure she usually slept in until after noon. But sure enough, as I sat back down, I saw that it was indeed her.

I clicked on it, sure that it was her saying to never contact her again, but instead it was a cautious acceptance and she said she could be there in an hour and a half. It was a completely unexpected offer, and I couldn’t help but marvel at her generosity. She was willing to cross the city and endure what was going to be a very awkward interaction between her and I just so my son could hang out with one of his few friends.

Or she was looking to get something out of it.

I shook that thought out of my head. After everything that had happened between McKenna and I, she had never tried to wheedle anything out of me. In fact, she had done her best to generally avoid me and never be person of note. If there was one person who deserved at least an ounce of trust, it was her.

…unless she was playing the long con.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself away from the desk. What was wrong with me? It felt like I could never be happy and that no matter what the red headed woman did, she would always have my suspicion. What a terrible way to live!

Oh well, if there was one person I could look to be positive, it was Dom. I headed to the living room and sat next to my little man.

“So?” he asked, eye bright.

“So what?” I asked, deciding to play out the moment a bit. I wasn’t often I got to razz my son; he was usually much to smart for any of that.

“Did she answer?”

“Did who answer?”

“Dad!”

I laughed, I couldn’t help it. “She said she’d be here in about an hour and a half.”

He literally jumped up, nearly knocking his cereal over in the process.

“See! I told you so! She’s coming!” Suddenly he stood stock still, his eyes growing wide. “I gotta clean my room!”

With that he took off, leaving me to pick up our breakfast dishes. His excitement was infectious, and I felt myself looking forwards to her arrival as well.

No matter what happened, it would be nice to see her face.