My life with Max went into cruise control. He showed up on my doorstep every evening at six o’clock to ravage and pillage my body. Sometimes it was sweet, like two lovers that just wanted to enjoy each other, and sometimes it was rough, like a savage caveman who had discovered pussy for the first time. I was too much of a coward to ask where it was going. I didn’t want him to tell me it was going nowhere and the end was around the corner. I enjoyed living in the moment with him—even if I did have to look back on him as Mr. Mistake before it was all done. He never stayed the full night, but he held me until I was asleep. It became so routine that several weeks passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.

***

“THE FAIR IS HERE TOMORROW!”  Mary-Katherine had clearly had too much coffee as she bounced around my kitchen with excitement.

“I know.”  I stared at my laptop and looked over some final proofs for the Energy Enhanced launch. “We can’t go the first day though; there will be a million people there. We’ll go later in the week.”

“Why aren’t you more excited?  Hey, do you think Max would want to do a double date with me and Rolando?”  Mary-Katherine leaned against the counter. “I haven’t even met him yet.”

“I don’t think he’s really the type to go on dates—especially double dates.”  My face twisted into a scowl and I shook my head.

“Maybe I’ll just show up here one night when you’re not expecting me and meet him then.”  She grinned.

“Don’t you dare.”  I looked at her and narrowed my eyes. “I’ll send Sebastian after you.”

“Sebastian loves me.”  She giggled and looked at my laptop screen. “Isn’t that the company that made that kid in Ohio sick?”

“What?”  I turned towards her quickly. “Energy Enhanced?”

“Yeah, I think...”  She shrugged her shoulders. “Or maybe it was some other energy drink. I remember something about vitamins...”

“I think we would have heard about it...”  I dismissed her concerns and closed my laptop. “Okay, I need to get to work.”

“Working on a Sunday?  That’s no fun.”  She tapped her fingers on the counter.

“The launch is tomorrow. I need to make sure things are in line.”  I picked up my phone and saw I had a text message from Max.

Do you want to go to the Fair tonight?

“Are you sure the Fair starts tomorrow?”  I looked over at Mary-Katherine who was gathering her things to leave.

“Yeah, I’ve been waiting a whole year.” She smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “Why?”

“No reason...”  I shrugged and started typing.

I said goodbye to Mary-Katherine and got dressed in some fairly casual clothes for a Sunday visit at the office. I knew a few members of the team were working through the weekend, so I wanted to at least stop by. I sent a message to Max asking if he was serious about the Fair and he assured me that he was. When I suggested that it didn’t start until the following day, he told me I should just trust him and offered to send a car. His whole demeanor seemed to be off, but I had too much going on with the launch to focus on it, and I knew it was hard to read emotions through a text message. I finished my visit at the office and headed home to get ready for whatever the evening held.

“Mommy has a real date tonight, Sebastian.”  I poured him some food after changing my outfit for the fourth time.

I really wasn’t sure what I should wear to the Fair. If it was a date, I wanted to look presentable, so I couldn’t just throw on a t-shirt and jeans like I normally did when I went with Mary-Katherine. I finally settled on a summer dress and a pair of shoes I could walk in. They didn’t perfectly match the dress, but none of the shoes that did would be appropriate for the Fair. I was still applying make-up when I heard the car outside. I rushed through the last bit of it and grabbed my purse. It was getting dark and I could see the last line of the sunset on the horizon. I climbed into the passenger seat and stared out the window as the driver carried me towards my destination.

When we got close to the Fair, I could see that all of the lights were on, but there were no cars in the large plots of land they normally used for parking. The driver took me to the gate and when I stepped out of the car, I saw Max standing by the entrance. He was dressed down from the suit he normally wore with a pair of dress slacks and a button down shirt that was opened at the top. He looked hot as hell and I walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He kissed me and I felt the same tingle I always did—a literal explosion of bliss that made me immediately desire something more than just his lips. When he finally pulled his lips from mine, he kept his hands around my waist.

“So, what did you do here?”  I looked around the fairgrounds and saw a few workers checking equipment.

“I spoke with some local officials and convinced them—for a nice donation—that they should let me have the place to myself for the evening.”  He released his grip around my waist and took my hands.

“Did you seriously do that for our date?  I don’t mind going during business hours.”  I tilted my head towards him.

“No, I have a bit of a confession and it’s a big one.”  He let out a sigh. “I have a son.”

“A...”  I stammered over my words. “A son?”

“His name is Benjamin and he’s five years old. I probably should have told you sooner, but I’m very protective of my family and my personal life.”  He squeezed my hand as I tried to absorb the news.

“Okay...”  I looked down as I let that roll around in my head.

“There’s more.”  He sighed again.

“More kids?”  I looked back up at him and opened my eyes wide in shock.

“No, just one child. Benjamin is autistic. He has a lot of trouble with crowds and he doesn’t always react very well to meeting new people. It’s why I’ve never invited you back to my place and it is why I don’t like to spend the night.”  He put the edge of his finger under my chin. “I want that to change. I want you to start coming to my place, and I want you to stay the night.”

Holy shit. Two bombshells at once.

“I’d...”  I stammered over my words again. “I think I’d like that, but what about your son?  You said he doesn’t like meeting new people?”

“I sat him down earlier today and I told him there was someone very special to me that I wanted him to meet. He’s been so excited about coming to the Fair that I thought this would be the perfect time.”  He turned and started walking towards the entrance with our hands still joined.

“So, you convinced them to give you your own private night at the Fair for your son...”  It started to make sense.

“Yes, he’s been seeing the commercials on television and he didn’t understand why it would be so bad with hordes of people around. I didn’t want it to be a terrible experience for him, so I made it happen.”  He squeezed my hand and pointed at a woman who was holding a little boy’s hand. “That’s him.”

“Who is with him?  Are you about to tell me you’re married too?”  I cut my eyes towards him.

“No.”  He laughed and the older woman waved as well, talking to the boy. “That is his teacher slash nanny slash everything, Ms. Ruth.”

Benjamin was smiling ear to ear when we started walking towards him. He looked like the spitting image of his father and was so cute I wanted to just squeeze his cheeks. Everything started to fall into place in my mind. The existence of Benjamin answered questions I didn’t even know to ask and finally made me realize why Max was the way he was. He had talked about his ex-wife once and how terrible the marriage had been. It was hard to imagine it being that terrible when such a beautiful boy came out of their union. When I got close, Benjamin extended his hand.

“I’m Benjamin Martin. You must be Daddy’s special friend.”  He was extremely well-spoken for a child his age. I reached down and took his hand.

“Hi, Benjamin. My name is Abby Grant. Your father is very special to me too.”  I squatted down in front of him. “So, this is your first trip to the fair, right?  What do you want to do first?”

“Funnel Cake!”  His eyes lit up.

“Really?”  Ms. Ruth grumbled. “Hi, my name is Ruth Ayers. They both just call me Ms. Ruth.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”  I stood and shook her hand. “I have to agree with Benjamin though; I want Funnel Cake too.”

“Let’s go!”  Benjamin pulled on Ms. Ruth’s hand and pointed at the Funnel Cake sign.

Benjamin was so excited. He reminded me of a simpler time when all I had to worry about was what was directly in front of me. I really couldn’t tell he was autistic based on our interaction. He seemed a little apprehensive when we approached the people at the stands or the ones operating the equipment, but his excitement definitely seemed to overwhelm whatever hesitations he had. By the time we had went on a few rides and eaten what felt like our weight in Fair food, Benjamin had let go of Ms. Ruth’s hand and taken mine. I looked at Max, who smiled and shrugged his shoulders. I let Benjamin lead me to each ride, explaining everything he knew about it before we climbed inside. There was no way we could do everything, but we kept going until Benjamin was exhausted and Max had to carry him.

“I’ll get a separate car tonight.”  Ms. Ruth dug in her purse. “I’ll be by early tomorrow morning so you can get to work.”

“Thank you, Ms. Ruth.”  Max leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

“Take care of them.”  Ms. Ruth squeezed my hand. “They’re wonderful.”

“I know.”  I smiled and watched her walk away.

“Ready to see where I live?”  Max motioned for the driver.

“If it’s smaller than my place, I’ll be very disappointed.”  I grinned at him as we walked towards the car.