Chapter 26 Calliope
CALLIOPE
The invite to ice skating just burst out of me before I could consider all of the consequences, but Elijah’s eager agreement sticks with me for the rest of the week, and when the weekend rolls around, I’m beyond excited.
Pressing him about work is still my main goal, but as he sat there with his eyes lighting up, talking with such passion about his work and how his mother’s death fuels him, something felt different.
It was like he was letting me in, giving me a glimpse of his true self, and that kind of honesty is what I want to nurture.
It’ll make it easier when I do try to pry real information out of him.
But before all that, I need to think about Nick. Mom’s slip up and his growing curiosity about his father have my head in a spin and this was the only thing I could think to do. If they spend time together and it goes well, then maybe that hurdle will be easier.
“Nick! Be careful!” I call as he whizzes past me on his skates going full speed as he chases after his friend Samson.
The cold pinches my cheeks as I lean against the railing, so I cover them with my hand and watch Nick expertly weave in and out of the other people on the ice.
Thankfully, he keeps to the rules and doesn’t get too close to anyone until he collides with his friend and they fall down together, laughing.
“Be careful!” I yell, leaning up against the railing. “Are you okay? Sam, are you okay?”
“We’re fine.” Nick giggles as he climbs to his feet. “Don’t worry, Mom!”
If only it were that easy. Back on his feet, he helps up a laughing Sam and together they skate off while patting one another in an apparent game of rapid tag.
“Kids are resilient," comes a familiar voice next to me. “I can’t tell you how often I’ve fallen on the ice.”
“Elijah,” I say as my mouth gives away my delight with a warm smile. “I didn’t know you could skate.”
“Not for a long time.” He leans against the railing next to me while his eyes lock onto mine. “But when I was a kid, I used to skate with my dad all the time.”
“That’s sweet. I used to skate with Nick but…” On cue, he races past once again, laughing wildly. “He’s much faster than me now and I can’t quite keep up.”
“I’m sure we could fix that,” Elijah replies. “How are you?”
“I’m good! A little stressed, but it is what it is.”
“Work?”
“Partly. And planning.”
“For?” Elijah presses slightly and then smiles. “Though if you don’t want to think about it, just tell me to shove it.”
“No, it’s nothing bad. Nick’s birthday is next weekend, the tenth, and I feel like nothing is ready.”
“Oh, wow. How old is he going to be?” Elijah casts a glance out at the ice and locks onto my son.
“Six,” I say with a smile before adding hurriedly, “But what about you? Busy day?”
“Nah. Some office stuff and my friend from New York needed me to go over the same plan about three times before he’d believe that I know what I’m doing, but it’s one of those things, y’know? Someone only trusts you until they don’t understand you.”
“Is he a hard ass, your friend?”
“He’s my CFO, so kinda.” Elijah laughs. He focuses back on me with a warm smile, and his eyes crinkle at the corners. “But enough about work. Care to skate with me and we’ll show these kids a thing or two?”
My heart skips a beat and I can’t stop myself from smiling. “We’re going to show them something, aren't we?”
“Oh, yes.” Elijah slaps his hands down on the railing and pushes back to a standing position. “Easily.”
After Elijah secures our skates from the vendor while I keep an eye on Nick and his friend, we lace up and join them on the ice.
“Hi!” Nick beams up at Elijah as he skates between us. “You’re the man from the shop!”
“I am.” Elijah smiles. “I’m Elijah. What’s your name?”
“Nick! And that’s Sam.” He points to the other side of me, where Sam has grabbed onto my hand and clutched tightly. “We’re racing! Are you going to race Mommy?”
Elijah chuckles. “I might be a bit old for an ice race, but we could certainly try.”
“I’ll show you!” And just like that, he’s away again with his friend in tow.
“Be careful!” I call after them, then my heart jumps as Elijah’s warm hand encircles mine.
“For support?” he offers.
My smile widens and I slowly lace our fingers together. “For support.”
The guise of support keeps any questions at bay and Nick doesn’t question it when he skates by the first time, or the second.
Watching him and Sam laugh and giggle with one another soothes my soul in ways I can’t decipher, and having Elijah here gives me a little bud of hope.
If they’re getting along, that’s definitely a good thing.
“Are you giving up much on your weekend?” I ask Elijah as we skate around the bend and bypass a couple.
“Hardly. I’ve spent most of my weekends working or jogging, or just watching cable in my hotel room because I don’t know the city.”
“Seriously?” My brows lift. “You haven’t gone out anywhere?”
“Nope.”
“Not even for dinner?”
“Does takeout count?” He grins at me and his eyes light up. “I guess I don’t get out much.”
“Clearly.” I chuckle. “Then let this be the start, okay? You gotta go out and live a little.”
“Depends. Will you come with me?”
His hand tightens in mine for a moment just as my skate slips in the wrong direction. I lurch but just as my balance goes, Elijah is right there with his arm around my waist to catch me. He plants both feet into the ice and brings us to an immediate stop as I gasp and clutch at him.
My heart pounds like missing a step when going down the stairs and fearing you’ll fall all the way down.
“I’ve got you,” Elijah says softly.
“Thanks,” I gasp, gripping his arms with all my strength until I get my legs back underneath me. “I’m okay.”
“Good.” Elijah’s smile morphs into a smirk. “Because we have to beat your kid.”
“Mommy!” Nick comes skating past and slides to a stop next to me, then he grabs my leg. “Did you fall?”
“No, baby. I’m okay, I just slipped.”
“You’re okay?” He looks at me with such intense concern that I release Elijah, turn, and kneel down to his level.
“I’m fine, baby, see? All okay.” Bitter cold soaks through my jeans and bites at my knee as I kneel there, cupping Nick’s face.
“I fell once,” gasps Sam as he stops next to us, panting. “Flat on my face! Lost my tooth, wanna see? His hand is already halfway in his mouth as I catch his wrist and pull it free.
“It’s okay, I don’t need to see. And don’t put your glove in your mouth. It’s all dirty.”
“It’s not!”
“Trust me, kiddo, it really is.”
“Can we race now?” Nick butts in, sniffing as the cold attacks his nose. “I wanna win!”
“Oh, you think you can win?” comes Elijah’s voice above me.
“Yeah!” Nick challenges, looking up at him with a grin. “I’m fast!”
“Bet I’m faster.” Elijah’s eyes twinkle as he skates away a little. “We do teams? I’ll race you and your Mommy can race Sam?”
“Okay! Let’s set go!” Nick’s already skating away as fast as he can. Elijah looks back at me, searching for permission that I give him with a smile, and then he’s off in controlled movements as he skates after Nick.
“Alright, kiddo, prepare to get defeated,” I growl playfully as I stand. “Should I give you a head start because you’re slow?”
“I’m slow but you’re old!” Sam bursts out laughing and as he skates away, he yells, “Three, two, one, go!”
Keeping to the edge so we don’t disturb other skaters, we race in our respective teams and despite the desperate, trying efforts by me and Elijah, Nick and Sam secure their victories and spend ten excited minutes laughing, cheering, and mocking us with their tongues and fingers.
“Oh, no!” Elijah gasps dramatically. “ I can’t believe you beat me!”
“Eat my dust.” Nick giggles, sticking out his tongue.
“Your Mom is slow.” Sam laughs, clutching at his friend.
“That’s okay, Mommy. I still love you.” He lunges at me and hugs my legs as I laugh, and Elijah gently nudges me with his elbow.
“He’s a great kid.”
My heart swells as I ruffle his curls. “Thanks, baby. Now, are you two hungry?”
“Yes!” Two grinning faces beam up at me, cheeks pink from the cold and excitement.
“Dinner?”
“Yes!”
As they skate toward the exit of the rink, I turn to Elijah. “Do you want to join us?”
“I wouldn’t be intruding?”
It’s a simple comment but it warms my heart even more. “Not at all. You’ve no idea how rowdy these two are about to get.”
Dinner is just as chaotic as ice skating with the added warmth of being behind closed doors.
Pizza and pasta are demolished at a frantic rate and Elijah spends a good ten minutes explaining to Samson that it’s really not a good idea to cover his pizza slice in chili flakes no matter how pretty it might look.
As I watch them, listening to Nick’s laughter and their conversations, my heart swells with love.
Under the fuzziness of such a good day and the fact that Elijah slots in without issue, I can almost pretend we’re a real family.
Almost.
Dessert ends up being a big bowl of ice cream shared between all of us, then fifteen minutes of Nick and Sam running around the ball pit to burn off their sudden energy. But as the night drags on, excited squeals quickly morph into overtired whines and complaints and it’s time to get them home.
“Sorry about this,” I murmur to Elijah thirty minutes later as we both carefully walk up my icy path toward the front door. Nick’s almost asleep in my arms while Sam’s pretending to be wide awake in Elijah’s. His slow blinks say otherwise.
“I don’t mind at all,” Elijah reassures me.
“But you had to leave your car.”
“I really didn’t see you managing to get both of these rascals home and into bed all by yourself.”
“It’s doable.” I chuckle softly as I reach the door.
“But an extra pair of hands is always welcome.” Nick grumbles in my arms as I shift him around to get my key in the door, then we all stumble into a cool house.
I want to call out for Mom, but given that the house is in darkness, she must already be in bed.
“Alright, baby,” I say, gently waking Nick in my arms. “Time to brush your teeth, baby.”
He whines and yawns, which sets Sam off, and soon I have two whimpering kids barely able to keep their tears in. Bribery gets them into the bathroom to wash their faces and brush their teeth, and then a promise of waffles in the morning gets them both tumbling into bed.
“Goodnight, sweetie,” I say, kissing Nick’s forehead. He’s already fast asleep and doesn’t make a sound as I step away. Sam’s the same in his padded sleeping bag, so once I check that he’s secure and comfortable, I leave the room and close the door softly behind me.
Mission success.
“Wow,” I huff out, walking into the kitchen where Elijah patiently waits against the island counter. “I don’t know what I would have done without you today.”
“It was fun.” His smile is wide and genuine. “I actually can’t remember the last time I had fun like that.”
“It’s cool, isn’t it? There’s something so freeing about playing with them, like it unlocks your inner kid or something.”
“Exactly.” Elijah’s gaze locks onto me and he doesn’t look away.
I’m instantly reminded of our kiss in the snow and my stomach flutters. “Can I get you something to drink? As a thank you?”
“I’d love to,” Elijah replies, but as I walk past him, he continues, “but I have to get back to my car.”
Shit. He’d come in my car so his is still parked at the rink. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. But I’ll put a pin in that drink.” He pushes off the counter, but as soon as he takes a step toward the door, I suddenly reach out and clasp his wrist which makes him stop.
“It’s late,” I say. It’s like my exhaustion from the day has melted away my walls and the only things left inside me are my unfiltered thoughts. “And cold. Why don’t you stay the night?”