Chapter 16
chapter sixteen
tom
I couldn’t stop smiling at how great this day had gone. Libe, like me, was smitten with Camilo. He was so good with her, too. Right now we were in her bedroom about to do the nighttime reading routine, and she was not at all interested in me.
She scrunched her face as she shook her head at my attempt to read her a book.
“No, Daddy, you’re going to watch today.
Pinkie and I want Milo to read us the story.
” She was in bed with her usual array of stuffed animals, but the place of honor right in the crook of her arm went to the little pink pony Camilo had brought her.
I was about to go and ask Camilo if he’d like to join us, but because she was half Dominican, Libe just yelled.
“Milo! You have to come here. Pinkie is waiting for you!”
I heard a chuckle from the TV room and soon Camilo was walking into the room.
“Hi, Miss Libe, you said Pinkie needed something?”
She nodded hard and signaled for me to pass her the book. I handed it to her and she gave me a distracted thank you. All her focus on her new favorite person.
“Thanks, Daddy. Milo, could you read me my bedtime story?”
“What do you say, Libe?”
“Please.”
Camilo gave me an amused look and sat down by the bed. He grabbed the book and read the title on the cover. “‘Tango Makes Three.’”
Libe nodded again. “Tango lives in the Central Park Zoo and has two daddies like me.”
Camilo gave me a look as he leafed through the book. “Gay penguins? Really?”
I laughed and put my hands up. “Hey, Priya was the one who got it for her, and besides, representation is important. Even if the dads and child in question are not of the same species as you.”
His face softened at that and then he leaned over to run his hand over Libe’s forehead. She nuzzled her head against it.
After a moment Camilo opened the book and started reading while Libe and I listened. The peace and contentment I felt in that moment was utterly complete.
I knew Camilo had been nervous about meeting, Libe, but just like I suspected she’d warmed up to him immediately.
With each passing day Camilo’s presence in my life was becoming more necessary. I just had to convince him that to me, he was not just a temporary thing.
“Thank you for today. I had so much fun. Libe’s a trip,” Camilo whispered to me as we lay on my couch watching TV. I tightened my arms around him and kissed the top of his head.
“Thank you. I loved having you with us all day. And yes, she’s a trip and you were wonderful with her. She usually gets on with people fast, but not this fast, and a dinner invitation is a pretty big deal. You were a hit.”
He gave me a shy smile as I mentioned the invitation.
After we’d taken the selfie Libe requested, she casually asked if Milo could come home with us.
I had never had Libe meet anyone I’d dated before, so my plan had been to part ways after the park.
But like me, my kid didn’t seem to want to let go of Camilo.
I was about to say more but I got distracted when he turned his head so he could kiss me.
He slid his tongue into my mouth and I felt the stir that took hold whenever I was with Camilo.
We shared some quiet kisses, our tongues tangling together, and our arms tight around each other.
After a few minutes Camilo pulled away with a satisfied sigh and laid his head on my chest. It felt so good and right, to have him in my arms like this.
Eventually Camilo spoke into the silence. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Uh oh. Should I brace myself?” He looked up and stuck his tongue out at me before asking.
“Seriously though, how are you this low-key? I mean you have all this money.” He raised a hand and waved it toward the lit fireplace, presumably to illustrate his point. “Yet you seem to do all your own stuff and watch your kid yourself. Like where’s the army of servants and nannies and shit?”
I chuckled because Camilo had a way with words. I thought about my answer for a minute, certain there was another question hidden in there.
“Well, to be honest, that’s partly why I love living in New York.
I can be completely anonymous here. I’m just another guy on the subway.
And I do have people who help me. I have a cleaning service, a property management company, and there’s someone who comes and cooks for me a few times a week.
I have a driver on weekdays, and a couple of assistants, too,” I said lifting a shoulder.
“They’re just not in my space all the time.
I like my privacy. And when Libe was smaller, I had a live-in nanny.
I still have someone who watches her regularly, she just doesn’t live here.
No one’s here on the weekends for the most part, unless I’m hosting a dinner party or something. ”
I exhaled, trying to get to what I thought he was really asking: why I wanted things this way.
“After the divorce, I promised myself I wouldn’t let money or business steal me away from my life.
I think that was part of the reason the three of us decided to sell Nuntius.
As much as we loved it, it was running our lives.
I guess I’m still recovering from that. I’m enjoying the freedom not having to worry about money gives me, and all the time I get with Libe.
I try to be mindful of it, and most of the time I succeed.
Although it can be tempting to just throw money at things that come up. ”
He stayed silent for a while, digesting what I’d said, then turned around with a look of genuine annoyance on his face.
“Someday soon,” he said, pressing a finger to my chest. “You’re going to have to do something completely asinine and enraging. Because it’s not fucking possible for anyone to be this well-adjusted and thoughtful all the time. It’s annoying, Thomas!”
I barked out a laugh. “You probably won’t be waiting too long. Believe me.”
He huffed in answer but gave me a kiss before settling against me again.
After a minute, I decided to ask something I’d been waiting on for a while. After the day we had, it felt like the right time. “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”
He shrugged in my arms. “Nothing, I’m on call.”
I knew he had weekends when he had to be available to respond to emergencies in the shelter, but it hadn’t really come up since we started seeing each other. “Do you have to be at home? What about your mom?”
He shook his head and shifted a bit so his back was flush against my chest. “No it’s not so strict.
I just need to be available on the phone in case one of the advocates has a question or something happens.
My mom is going to the Poconos with Patrice’s mom.
She’s actually there this weekend. We were finally able to convince her to go out of town for a bit.
” At the mention of his mom, his brow furrowed and I wondered if there was something going on.
He hadn’t said much about her lately, but I knew her well-being was a major priority in his life.
“Anyways, Ayako will be on call, too, so we’re planning to hang out at my place.
Get some take-out and binge-watch cooking competitions.
The parents will be back on Saturday, so I’ll see my mom Sunday. ”
I nodded at his answer, figuring out how to ask my real question.
“Why don’t you come here? Ayako’s welcome, too. I promise you’ll finally get a glimpse of my obnoxious rich-guy side then.”
He lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at me. “Will there be turkey? Because my people don’t do turkey.” I couldn’t resist that mouth. I kissed him again, smiling against his face.
“There will literally be everything but turkey.”
“Go on,” he said, sounding intrigued.
“It’s sort of a tradition at this point.
We started in grad school. Heni, Sanjay, and I were roommates and stayed in Boston for Thanksgiving since none of us had family close by.
Priya was in medical school at Yale and came up, too.
We invited all the international students who stayed in town and asked whoever wanted to bring a traditional special occasion dish from their country.
” By this point I had his complete attention.
“We ended up with this amazing meal and decided we’d do it again the next year, and we’ve been doing it together ever since.
We used to take turns hosting, but in the last few years, it’s been here.
The group has grown, too, now that people are married and have kids.
A lot of our friends are in the area, so we get a crowd.
I think there are about thirty coming this year.
I have some of it catered, but people still bring some dishes from home. It’s always a nice evening.”
Camilo had turned around while I talked and was now looking at me slack-jawed. “It’s not fair that you can be this geeky and cool at once.”
I grinned at how pissed he looked and went in for another kiss.
“It sounds amazing. I’m totally in. Ayako will love it, too; she’ll probably want to bring something.”
I smiled, pleased with myself for impressing him. “Good. Priya will be here so you can see the baby. She’s been asking about you.” He nodded and settled back into my arms again. It was time for Camilo to get to know my people.
Camilo
“I wish we could stay like this forever,” Tom whispered and I nodded, thinking again how good he made me feel.
We’d been watching a movie and dozing off after our talk about Thanksgiving plans.
I had my head on his chest and was falling asleep when my phone rang.
When I held it up, I saw Odette’s number on the screen and my heart immediately sank.
If she was calling this late, something was probably going on with my mom.
“Hey, Odette. Is something wrong?”
“Hi, Milo. I’m just calling to ask how Dinorah’s doing. I tried to call her this morning and she didn’t pick up.”