Chapter Four
Ollie
Christopher climbed into the back of the car and plopped down in his booster seat.
“How was your day, buddy?”
“Good,” he said.
“All right, buckle up.”
He let out a long, dramatic sigh, but put his seatbelt on. I couldn't help but smile at that, then my heart clenched at the thought of the conversation I was about to have. I had known that it would have to happen sooner or later. I didn't think that I'd ever actually introduce Christopher to Philip, but I always knew that I would have to tell him about his Alpha dad someday.
“So, what did you learn about today? What was your favorite part of the day?”
“Oh!” Christopher perked up. “We’re going a field trip to the fire station in a few weeks.”
“Really?” I said. What were the odds of that?
“I got a permission slip for you to sign.”
“All right. Do they need volunteers to chaperone?”
Christopher shrugged.
“Well, I'll get ahold of your teacher and I'll see if I can come along.”
“Dad, you don't have to go to every field trip.”
I grinned. “Maybe I want to learn about the fire station.”
“Okay,” Christopher said.
“Hey, buddy, how about after dinner tonight we go to the park for a little bit? I've got someone I want you to meet.”
“Who is it?” Christopher cocked his head to the side as he spoke.
“It's a friend of mine from high school. You know that I went to high school here in Millerstown, right?”
He nodded.
“Well, a friend of mine named Philip is still around. And—”
“Is that who came over last night?”
I fought back a grimace. I’d hoped he would think that had been his imagination. Christopher had been nervous to sleep in the new house the first few nights and he kept waking up. “Yeah,” I said. “He did.”
“Did he stay the night?”
I swallowed thickly and gripped the steering wheel. “Sort of,” I said. “He fell asleep on the porch and I didn’t want to wake him, so I just let him sleep.”
“Oh, that seems kind of silly. He didn't even have a tent.”
“No,” I said. “He didn't even have a tent. So, Christopher, you know how most of the kids you know that have an Omega dad also have an Alpha dad?”
“Yeah,” Christopher said. “You said my Alpha dad couldn't be around all the time, but that he was a very nice man.”
“Yes,” I said. “Well, the man you're going to meet tonight. Philip. He's your Alpha dad. He helped make you.”
“Oh,” Christopher said, and he bit his lip, a habit I knew he’d picked up from me.
“Look at me, buddy. Talk to me. What do you think? We don’t have to meet with him tonight if you don’t want to.”
“I want to,” Christopher said. “Do you think he likes fire trucks?’
Oh boy. Such simple things to a five-year-old to determine if someone was worthy of being a friend or not. I’d leave out the fact that Philip was a real-life fireman for now. Philip could tell him.
“Yeah, dude, I think he likes fire trucks.”
“Cool.”
***
I walked with Christopher across the park from where we parked the car to the bench where we’d meet Philip. My phone pinged with a text message alert and I opened it up.
Should I bring anything?
I smiled at that. What could he need to bring to a park?
I texted him back. No. I have his ball glove if he wants to play catch, but other than that, we're good.
Okay. Be there in five minutes.
Christopher and I sat on the bench.
“You want to go play on the swing set for a little while?”
“No,” Christopher said. “When do you think he'll be here?”
“Couple more minutes,” I said.
Christopher had his hands folded in his lap, kicking his feet wildly as he sat on the bench.
“What are you thinking about buddy?”
He shrugged. “Nothing. Do you think he likes baseball?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I'm pretty sure he likes baseball.” Philip had been first baseman on the high school team, and I was pretty sure he’d played on his college’s team as well.
“Can he coach my T-ball team?”
Whoa. That was territory I wasn't ready for. “I'm not sure. But maybe he'll come to some games.”
Christopher turned to look at me. Concern etched on his young features. “The other kids have dads that come to every game.”
I knew that wasn't true, but I wasn't going to point that out.
“I make it to every game.”
“I know,” Christopher said. “But the other kids have two parents that come to every game.”
“Christopher, we've talked about this. Not every family has two parents. Families aren’t the same. Some have a mommy and a daddy, some have two mommies, and some have two daddies. There are many families where the parents don't live together. There's even a few that we know that have three parents. All families are different. It doesn't mean you're loved any less, though.”
“Okay,” he said. But I knew the topic wasn't done. If I knew my son well, the first thing he would ask when given the opportunity would be for Philip to coach his T-ball team.
I spotted Philip from across the field and waved him over to us. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a T-shirt with the Millerstown Fire Department logo blasted across the chest.
Christopher spotted the helmet on his shirt right away recognizing it as a fireman's helmet.
“Is he a fireman?”
I laughed. “Yeah, buddy. Didn't I tell you that?” I knew I hadn't. I wanted Philip to tell Christopher about himself.
Philip’s gaze flickered between me and Christopher as he approached.
“Hi.” His voice shook.
“Hi.” I stood and reached for Christopher's hand. He grabbed it, pulled himself up and stood in front of me. He eyed Philip with a curious gaze. Philip just stared at him. Absolute wonder in his eyes. It reminded me of what I looked like, or what I imagined I’d looked like, when they’d placed Christopher in my own arms just after he was born. I had been alone in the delivery room, so there had been no one to snap a picture, but the moment was forever ingrained in my mind. Our first look. Absolute amazement at the life I had created.
“Philip,” I said. “This is Christopher. Christopher, this is Philip.”
Christopher turned his head and looked up at me. “Do I call him Mr. Miller? Or what do I call him?”
Oh, damn. I hadn’t thought about that. “You can call him whatever you're comfortable with, sweetheart. Or perhaps Philip has a preference.”
Philip cleared his throat and got down on one knee, so he was eye-to-eye with Christopher. He held out a hand that shook slightly. “It's nice to meet you, Christopher. You can call me Philip for now. But someday, I'm really hoping that you'll call me dad.”
“That would make the most sense,” Christopher said. “You're my Alpha dad, right?”
Philip smiled his award-winning smile that always got me weak in the knees. “Yeah. I am. Your Omega dad told me you brought your ball glove. Do you want to play catch?”
“Yeah,” Christopher said, and he grabbed the ball glove off the bench and took off running. “I can throw from all the way over here.”
“Wow,” Philip said. “That's pretty impressive.”
I chuckled and smiled at Philip. “You're doing great.”
“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you for letting me do this. I spent all day worrying.”
“Did you…?”
Philip nodded. “Yeah. I went to my parent’s house. I swear my dad's gone off the deep end.”
“And he’s still the mayor? The people in town haven’t realized he’s less than awesome?”
“Yeah, it’s his last term or so he says. There's been a lot of talk in recent years about putting in term limits for the mayor position. He's done six four-year terms now. I'd say that's plenty. He may have done terrible things to keep us apart, but he’s done good things for the town. Let’s not talk about all that, though” Philip said. “Not around Christopher.”
“No, of course not,” I said. “Did you bring a glove?”
“No,” Philip said. “I figured I'd be able to catch with my hands. I didn't have time to look for mine and I didn't want to be late.”
I grinned. “All right, well, be prepared to run. His aim needs some work.” I sat back on the bench and watched as Christopher threw the ball again and again at Philip. Sometimes it was a ground ball, sometimes it was wildly to the left, other times it was wildly to the right. Every so often on a rare occurrence it went straight. The two of them played like that for thirty minutes or more. Philip’s patience was endless, and his enjoyment was infectious. I found myself laughing at the two of them and their antics. It was easy to see now, watching them play, just how much my son had inherited from Philip. His easy laughter, his mannerisms. I let myself think for a moment about what could have been had Philip’s dad not interfered the way he had. What would have become of Philip and me? Would we have actually gotten married, had Christopher and even more kids? Possibly.
Philip plopped down next to me. “Hey Omega-mine, what's got you looking so serious?”
I sighed, soaking in the old nickname he’d used for me. “Nothing. I just… It's amazing to see the two of you together and I never imagined it would happen. Just makes me a little sad about what could have been.”
Philip nodded. “I know. I thought about that quite a bit today as well.” But he shook his head. “We can't let that stand in our way right now. Things are different. They weren't ideal, but I'm going to be here now. I have no reason to leave and every reason in the world to stay. If you'll have me, I'd like to be a part of your life and Christopher's.” Philip laid a hand on my knee.
I knew what he was asking, what he was suggesting. I bit my lip looked away. “I don't know, Philip. It's been a long time.”
He took his hand away and nodded. “Of course,” he said. “I just… I still care about you, Ollie. A lot. I've never forgotten you and seeing all that you've done for Christopher and yourself. You're amazing.”
I closed my eyes and choked back some emotion. “Thank you,” I said. I'd always wanted to hear my Alpha tell me those wonderful things. But I had to be strong for Christopher now. I couldn't just lay my heart out on the line. It wasn't just mine to gamble with. My actions affected Christopher as well. “Let's just see how things go, okay?”
Philip nodded. “Of course. Can I come for dinner Friday or something? I'm working the next three days, but I have Friday off.
“Sure,” I said. “That’d be great. Friday is pizza night.”
Philip grinned. “That sounds amazing.”