Chapter 24 Nate
NATE
I heard the door swing open, and Gilly yelled, “Daddy! Daddy!”
My heart was in my chest as I ran out of my office. “Gilly, what is it?”
“Look.” He shoved a paper under my nose.
“You scared me there for a second.” I glanced at what he had.
“Oh.” I looked over the paper again to be sure it was actually what I thought it was.
His uncle agreed to sell the company to him.
“This is amazing news.” I picked Gilly up and swung him around.
“We need to celebrate, and you need to move in with me.”
Jesus, Nate, way to ruin a moment.
His feet landed on the floor. “At the end of my lease. I have four more months, but I’ll talk to Rob and then put in my notice.”
“Why don’t I pay it up, and you can just move now?” I wanted him here as soon as possible—like yesterday.
“I can’t.” I did not like that frowny face at all.
“Yes, you can. You’re my boy, and I take care of you. I said I love you, and I meant it.” I tweaked his nose.
Gilly sighed, but I could tell how upset he still was. “I get you think that, Daddy, but I have a responsibility to Rob. I can’t simply walk away.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Gilly.” I pulled him into my arms and kissed the top of his head.
“I love that you honor your commitments and wouldn’t want you to change a thing.
I’m proud of you.” I should have known better, but I got caught up in the excitement and wanted nothing more than to spend more time with my boy.
I was being selfish, but Gilly was quick to point it out, which meant I needed him as much as I thought he needed me—probably more.
“Thank you, Daddy. And also…” He stood up on his toes and kissed me. “I love you too.” Just like that my sweet boy set my mind at ease. “Can I paint my room too?” He moved on quickly to happier things.
“You can paint any room you want.” I totally trusted him where painting was concerned.
“Yay! I’m not an artist, but I think I can do clouds on the ceiling and blue walls.”
“I bet you could.” I gave him a quick hug. “Let me know what supplies you need, and I’ll get them.”
“We can go shopping this weekend.”
“Good plan.” With that settled, we started figuring out everything else.
He would tell Rob in the morning, and we would move his stuff over the next few months so he would be settled in completely by the end of his lease.
My heart pounded, feeling warm and content.
Everything was moving in the right direction and falling right into place.
Instead of ordering out, I decided to make spaghetti with French bread and a salad.
While I worked in the kitchen, Gilly brought his crayons and coloring book in and sat at the bar.
“I’m making a picture for you, Daddy. It’s Ellie and Monty the Monkey King.
He was mean at first, but Ellie is so special, she made him a friend.
She’s friends with all the aminamals.” He mispronounced animals in the most endearing way.
“She sounds very nice.”
“Can we watch the Monkey King episode again?”
“After dinner if you want. Is your belly grumbling yet?” I loved how easily his Little came out. We had gone through tremendous growth in that area, clearly making progress with it.
“Mmhmm…can’t wait for s’getti. Smells yummy-yum in here.
” He colored more, and I took a glance at it.
He was very precise, staying in the lines.
As a Little, he could do whatever he wanted, even making a mess of it, but not Gilly.
I wasn’t sure if he simply didn’t have it in him to not be neat and tidy, or if it was from all his years as a painter.
He’d complained a few times when he had to go back to a job to fix sloppy work from his employees, and as a building contractor, I understood that frustration.
When he finished, he held up the book to show me. “Look, Daddy.” Gilly held up the picture of a scene with his favorite character that I happened to know came from one of his favorite episodes of the cartoon. He simply loved the sweet elephant and her friends.
“I see, that’s very nice. You’re such a good boy. How about I cut that out and put it on my fridge? Would you like that?”
“Yes. Very much, Daddy.”
After struggling to cut the page out, I vowed to buy the kind with perforations to make this job easier next time. But eventually, I managed and hung it with a magnet on the fridge. “Looks good there.”
“Yay!” Gilly cheered, but then his face morphed to a frown.
“What’s wrong?”
“My belly is grumbly, Daddy.”
“Hungry boy. Good thing dinner is ready.” I fixed a plate with plenty of pasta, a slice of garlic bread, and a small helping of salad, sliding it in front of him, and he dug in with abandon.
It pleased me greatly to see him eating, and sometimes he was a bit of a bottomless pit.
He even ate a second helping of everything before declaring himself full tonight.
The rest of the evening passed quickly in front of the TV watching his favorite episode of Ellie.
He loved how she turned her enemies into friends and seemed to get along with everyone.
I wondered if he liked it so much because he didn’t have that many friends himself and might like to have more.
In fact, Rob was the only one I knew of, but I thought that was something I could help him with since I had connections at the club.
Maybe we could set up some play dates so he could make new friends.
After tubby time, we finally made it to bed. We were both tired, but Gilly insisted on his Daddy-binky, even after his big dinner. Who was I to deny him something that we both enjoyed so much?
But nursing almost always led to sexy time, and I wanted to end with reading him his story. “Wait, Gilly. Let’s play around first.”
“Uh…sure. This time can be what Daddy wants.”
He made me entirely too happy. “I always want what you want or what’s best for you.”
“Sometimes you should have more, Daddy. I’m not a greedy boy.”
“I know. You’re a good boy.” I stuck my nose under his ear and scruffed his cheek. “You’re the best.” I meant every word of it, and I spend the next half-hour proving it to him. With both of us spent, we’d be asleep in no time. “Get your book, and I’ll read while you nurse.”
“Yes, Daddy…” He crawled over the mattress and pulled the book out of the nightstand on his side of the bed. “Here.”
I repositioned us for our session with him on my lap.
He latched on, and I opened his book to read.
We made it halfway through the book before he yawned and closed his eyes, and two more pages later, he was asleep.
Easing him down beside me, I spooned him from behind.
This had been a great day, and hopefully we would have many more just like them. Or even better ones.