Chapter Sixteen
Chloe was sitting at the kitchen table going over flash cards with Mattie while Dayton studied his spelling words when the front door crashed open and Tommy came running inside screaming.
“Guess what, guess what, guess what!”
All at once she and her boys asked, “What?”
“I got Lady Gaga tickets!” He waved two tickets in the air. “You can’t tell Adam though. It’s a surprise.”
“He’ll love that, Tommy.” She hid her disappointment that this meant they wouldn’t be able to watch the boys Saturday.
“I know! I would’ve gotten you a ticket, too, but they were like a bazillion dollars and I didn’t think Paul Bunion would be too gaga for Gaga.”
“No, it’s fine. I wouldn’t have a sitter anyway.”
“Oh, right.” Tommy pursed his lips. “I forgot about that. Are you going to be able to go out with him this weekend?”
“She doesn’t have to be with him all the time,” Dayton snapped.
Tommy put his hands on his hips. “Your mom likes him. Cut her some slack, Dayton. There’s nothing wrong with her spending time with a nice guy.”
She cringed as Dayton slapped his notebook shut and left the room. A second later his door slammed.
“Sorry,” Tommy apologized.
He meant well, but sometimes she wished Tommy would just shut up. Adam understood. He often complained to her about his husband not having a filter. She loved Tommy and typically trusted him with her children, but in terms of her delicate situation with introducing her sons, he was pushing for too much too soon.
“It’s okay. Just do me a favor and don’t bring up Trenton around him for now.”
After he left, she finished studying with Mattie. Dinner was uneventful. Dayton didn’t crack a smile until he was zoned out on the couch eating a bowl of ice cream. At least television made him laugh.
There was a light knock at the door and Adam walked in, his eyes serious. They went to the kitchen for privacy and he whispered, “Hey, honey. You okay? Tommy told me what he did.”
She took a deep breath and pointed to the kitchen door. “Back porch?”
“Yeah.”
They sat at the patio table as she collected her thoughts. “I know he doesn’t mean any harm, but I’d appreciate it if he didn’t poke at an already angry beehive. I feel bad even saying that because you guys do so much for me and the boys.”
Adam leaned forward and grabbed her hands. “Look at me, love. Those boys in there are your children. Nobody on this earth knows them better or loves them more than you. We love them too, but we’re not the ones who have to raise them. At the end of the day, you’re the parent. Tommy doesn’t always know what’s best.”
“I know, and I want your opinions, just not always in front of the boys. Sometimes I don’t know how to tell him he crossed a line.”
“We’ll always be there for you and the boys, but it’s okay to have boundaries. We enjoy the kids and we love you guys. You aren’t going to lose us because you tell Tommy to shut up once in a while.” He laughed. “I tell him almost every day.”
Chloe leaned back in her chair and moaned. “Am I asking for too much with Dayton? Is this moving too fast?”
He sighed. “Honey, that’s a call only you can make. You’ve been single for six years and even when you were married you were mostly alone. None of us want to see you miss out on something that could be great, but it’s not always going to be easy. You’re ready, I think, but the boys are young and they might not be. Dayton’s got a lot of emotion trapped inside of him right now.”
She gave a humorless laugh. “I studied plenty of cases and journals about kids going through the same things as my son, but as a mother, I can’t think of a single useful theory. And for the record, Adam, if this was something Dayton truly couldn’t deal with, I…”
Wow, she didn’t expect saying the words would be so difficult. She tried again. “I would let Trenton go.”
Adam looked genuinely sad. “Oh, sweetie, I think it’s just new and boys tend not to handle change well. So don’t get yourself all worked up for nothing. Dayton will come around. He just needs a little time. There’s no need to rush things. I’ll talk to Tommy and tell him to back off. Everything will work out. You’ll see.”
“I hope you're right.”
He smiled then looked serious again. “Chloe?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you love him?”
She groaned. “Why do you always have to ask the difficult questions?”
“It’s not a difficult question. You either love him or you don’t.”
She sighed. “I don’t know, Adam. He’s nothing like Marcus. He’s gentle and sweet, and he likes me, not just pieces of me. He likes all of me. He makes me … happy.”
“Okay, well, first of all, Marcus is a terrible measuring stick. The guy was a brute and a creep. Second, there’s nothing about you that’s not to like. You’re sweet, generous, caring, and always trying to help others. You’re fun and silly and great for flashing people at parties.”
She laughed.
“But, Chloe, most of all, you’re perfect just the way you are because you’re Chloe. If people expect you to change, that’s their problem, not yours.”
She smiled at him. “I love you, Adam.”
“I love you, too. And don’t worry about putting a label on what you feel for Trent. You’ll realize it when it’s time.”
“Thanks.” She took a deep breath. “So, you’re going gaga this weekend?”
He laughed. “That’s me. Do you think I’ll be the only forty-year-old there?”
“No, I’m sure some parents will be there with their kids,” she teased and he swatted her knee.
“Bitch.”
* * * *
Saturday morning Trenton came over for brunch. Chloe made French toast with homemade whipped cream and fresh cut strawberries. After breakfast, the kids played and she finally told him a little bit about what was going on with Dayton.
“Is it me?” he asked, his brow creased and his eyes worried.
“No. I think he would be this way with anyone. He feels like his dad’s being replaced and I think he’s confused about a lot of things.”
“But there was the episode over at Ty’s. Do you think my part in that made him dislike me?”
She hated the look in his eyes, knowing he regretted that day. “Trenton, I told you I was wrong to fly off the handle at Tyson’s. I saw your hands on my son and I just reacted without thinking. I know you were only trying to protect the kids.”
He glanced away, carefully choosing his words. “With Marcus, did he ever … hurt the boys?”
She swallowed hard. “No. I worried if I stayed he would’ve started with Dayton, or worse, Mattie, who was still just a baby.”
“I guess it’s for the best he has no interest in seeing his boys.”
Chloe let the false assumption lie. Truth was, six years down the line, she didn’t know if Marcus thought about her and the boys at all anymore. He might’ve moved on to be with someone else, possibly have another family to worry about. She’d always believed if he wanted to find them he would have by now.
She understood Trenton’s misconception. Like many people, he assumed she had a tidy little court-approved arrangement, maybe even one where Marcus’s support checks came twice a month and he could visit his sons upon request. But it could never be like that.
She considered clearing up the misconception but feared another man would try to tell her how to handle her life. Not that Trenton typically did that, but at the moment, after the disagreement with Tommy, she was tapped out on other people’s advice about how she should raise her children.
“I told Dayton there’s no chance of his father and I ever living together again.”
“How did he react to that?”
“He blames me.”
He gave her a sympathetic smile. “He’s still young, doll. He doesn’t understand.”
“I know. It doesn’t make it hurt any less though.”
“I’m sorry.” He pulled her into his side and kissed her head. “I don’t know much of the details of your marriage, you’ll tell me about it when you’re ready, but I’m pretty sure your marriage fell apart because of Marcus, not you.”
After Trenton left, the day continued under a shadow of melancholy. She wasn’t up for anything. The guys were excited about their concert and she tried to listen to their cheerful plans, but her heart wasn’t in it. She ordered pizza for dinner and decided to catch up on the novel she was currently reading.
“Mom?” Dayton stood hesitantly in the doorway of her bedroom.
“Hey.” She closed her book.
“Are you okay?” he asked, taking a small step in the room.
She scooted up and patted the mattress beside her. “I’m fine. What’s up? Something you want to talk about?”
He slowly walked into the room and lay on the other side of the bed in silence for several minutes until he finally said, “Mr. Cole’s nice to you.”
She smiled. “I think so.”
“He holds out chairs for you and always brings you stuff.”
She thought about the gallon of orange juice he’d brought that morning. “He’s very thoughtful.”
“Did Dad used to do that kind of stuff for you?”
Her son, despite his rigid walls, was very fragile lately, so she treaded carefully. “Your father would buy me flowers on holidays sometimes.”
“Did he used to hold doors for you?”
“Sometimes. In the beginning.”
“Why did he stop doing that stuff?”
“I don’t know, Dayton.” And that was the truth. “Your father was a tricky man to figure out. He could be having a perfectly average day then, out of the blue, he would be in a rage. It would happen so fast I had a hard time figuring out what triggered it. Eventually, he just seemed angry more than he seemed happy.”
“What would you do if I saw Daddy again?”
Her blood ran cold. She’d prayed she’d never have to face such a situation. “I… I don’t know, sweetie.”
“I’m sorry I gave you a hard time about Mr. Cole.”
She blinked in surprise. “Thank you, Dayton. It’s very mature of you to try to see the situation from my angle.”
“I like that he does nice things for you. If I… I mean, when I’m a grownup and girls aren’t gross anymore, I would want to treat them like Mr. Cole treats you.”
Pride overflowed her heart. She was so afraid of the ways Dayton resembled his father. With his fairly new moodiness, her concern had doubled. To hear him make a statement like that… It was an immeasurable relief. “That would make me very proud, honey.”
“I think—” Chloe’s phone rang on her nightstand. “Are you going to get that?”
She picked up the phone and silenced it. “No, you go ahead, honey.”
“Was it Mr. Cole?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you want to talk to him?”
“Right now I want to talk to you. Go ahead.”
He seemed a little surprised. His grin trembled. “I was just gonna say I think Mr. Cole would make a good boyfriend for you.”
They lay there for a while longer and the conversation turned to school, video games, and who they thought should be the next winner on a reality show they watched. Eventually, they grew quiet and her son fell asleep with his head on her shoulder. Just before she shut her eyes, she smiled, thinking how nice it was to finally have her Dayton back.