Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
Riley
I’m sitting at the coffee shop across the street from my apartment nursing a wicked hangover. Last night, I visited with Jack, Jim, and that Dos Equis guy until I passed out on my couch. I haven’t drunk like that since college, and now I’m paying for it.
“Unh,” I groan as I thunk my head on the table.
Something pulls at my sleeve. “Mister! Hey mister, are you dead or somfin’?”
“No, buddy! Leave that poor man alone.”
I look up through slitted eyes and see a little blond boy standing next to my table. “Oh good, you’re a’wive.”
I smirk. “Yep, I sure am.”
A woman runs over to him and grabs his arm. “I’m so sorry. He has no sense of personal space.” I meet her eyes, and she glares. “You! I take back my apology. I don’t say sorry to assholes.”
It’s the redhead from Monday night who came into the bar with Devyn. “Rainey, is it? Nice to see you again.”
“Uh-huh,” she scoffs.
“Why is he an ath-hole, Aunt Wainey?”
She gasps. “Shh! Don’t say asshole. Your mom will kill me!”
I laugh and give the foul-mouthed little boy a good once-over. So, this must be Devyn’s son. He’s a cute little guy.
“Hey, mister, you have holes in your cheeks like I do!”
Huh? Holes in my cheeks? Oh, he must mean my dimples. I study his face more carefully. He has his mommy’s hair, but that’s where the resemblance ends. The little guy has big brown eyes, a medium complexion, and yep, two giant dimples just like me.
“Yep, buddy, I sure do. Trust me, they’ll come in handy later in life. The ladies love ’em.”
Rainey rolls her eyes. “Nice. Any more lessons in womanizing you’d like to give today?”
“What’s womanizing?” the boy asks.
“Shit!” Rainey says under her breath. “Don’t repeat that either, Nathan.”
I crouch down on the floor so I can be eye level with him. “Hey Nathan, do you like chocolate milk? Would you like me to get you one?”
He does a fist pump in the air. “Yes! I LOVE choc-wit milk!”
I stand up. “One choc-wit milk coming right up.”
“No, really you don’t—” Rainey says .
I pick up the carton from the refrigerated case and hand it to the cashier. “Too late.”
I poke the little straw through the top and hand it to him. “Here you go, buddy.”
Nathan climbs up and sits on the chair at my table. “Thanks, duth-bag.”
“Nathan!” Rainey scolds.
I laugh. “Did he just call me a douchebag?”
She bites her lip. “He sure did. We’re working on extracting Uncle Drew’s potty mouth from his vocabulary. It’s a daily struggle.”
I gesture for her to take a seat. “Care to join us?”
She begrudgingly sits down and takes a sip of her coffee. “Don’t think this means I’m okay with the stunt you pulled the other day.”
I hold my hands up and take the chair next to Nathan. “Don’t worry, I’ll pretend you’re dying to kick me in the nuts.”
“No pretending necessary,” she mutters.
“Uh oh, should I go back home and get my cup?” I joke.
She raises her eyes and smirks. “I’ll control myself for the kid’s sake.”
Nathan puts his little hand on my cheek. “Hey, mister, you have brown eyes like me, too. Mommy says they look like choc-wit pools of yummy-ness.”
This kid is a riot. I glance over at Rainey while I laugh again. She’s staring at our exchange, completely frozen.
“Holy shit,” she whispers .
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
She slams a hand over her mouth. “Oh my god, we have to go. She stands up and quickly scoops Nathan into her arms. Come on dude, we have to go get Mommy.”
“But Mommy’s posta’ meet us here!” he whines. “I want my choc-wit milk, Aunt Wainey!”
What the hell is going on? I look at them trying to figure out what’s making her freak out so suddenly. I glance at Nathan again as he’s squirming in her arms. His eyes are starting to water, totally tugging on my heartstrings. Oh fuck, his big brown eyes . His dimples. His skin tone. I think I’m a little slow from the hangover, but there’s no denying the fact I’m staring at a living picture of my four-year-old self.
“Holy shit,” I echo.
Devyn
I walk into the coffee shop across the street from Jackson’s condo. Rainey is toward the back holding a squirming Nathan in her arms. She’s talking to some guy as she spots me and gives me a panicked look. Nathan sees me at the same time, and she sets him down so he can run to me.
“Mommy!”
I pull him into a hug. “Hey, big guy! Did you have fun at the zoo this morning?”
“I did!” he answers excitedly. “I got to see hippos, lions, and a bunch of monkeys that were dancing all funny!”
I laugh. “Dancing monkeys?”
Rainey joins us. “Yeah, they were dancing . You know how monkeys like to dance a lot?”
Humping monkeys. Got it.
“Ah, dancing . Yeah, that’s really cool, bud. What else did you see?”
“I saw?—”
“Devyn, we need to have a big talk,” a deep voice interrupts.
I look away from my son who’s still talking up a storm. My jaw drops when I see his furious father standing right behind Lorraine.
“Aw, crap.”
Time to face the music, I suppose.