23. Henry
23
HENRY
M y heart stopped. It skipped a beat as I heard the scariest news a parent could ever be told.
“He ran off, Henry. One second, we were at your place so he could change his shoes, and then he took off while I was in the bathroom!”
“Calm down, Laura,” Mia said. She lost her aloofness, twining her fingers with mine and holding my hand tighter. I clung to this support she offered, aware that I hadn’t earned any right to have it anymore. I’d hurt her. And still, she put me and my son first.
“Mia?” Laura asked.
“Calm down and explain what happened,” Mia said, taking charge while I locked down in temporary panic. Jason was all I had. He was my son, and I loved him more than the earth itself. The thought of his being gone , in any capacity, nearly knocked me over.
“I took him to get ice cream, and then we went to the movies. He asked to go home in the middle of it, saying he wasn’t in the mood for a movie. So we came home, and I suggested going to the park even though it was late. He likes that splash pad. We got here, and he said he wanted to change from his shoes to his sandals. I went to the bathroom, and when I got out, he was gone. He left a note that said he wanted to find you, Mia, and to bring you back in his life.”
She covered her mouth, worried and moved. “When was this?” she asked.
“Did you call the police?” I asked.
“I called the building’s security. They’re searching now.”
Mia shook her head. “When did he leave the note?” she asked.
“Maybe ten minutes ago,” Laura replied.
Mia let go of my hand and hurried to unlock the door. While she looked worried, she also seemed confident.
“It’s arcade night. I bet he went there,” she explained.
I nodded. Relief washed over me. She had to be right. But still, Jason was only seven, far too young to be out on his own in the city at all.
“Let me change, and we’ll go look.”
“Okay.” I waited at the door as she ran in, leaving the door open. “Laura, we’re going to go look.”
“Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I should’ve?—”
“You couldn’t have predicted this.”
“He was acting so down. It totally slipped my mind that tonight would’ve been your arcade night.”
Last week, on the first arcade night without Mia, he’d cried all evening, so upset until he fell asleep.
Mia rushed back out, and we ran toward my car together. She wasn’t panicking but was determined to find him. She wasn’t hesitant, just full speed ahead to help me get my son back.
I felt sick to my stomach, clenching the steering wheel tightly as I drove to the arcade. Traffic wasn’t gnarly like usual, and I sped as much as I could. It still felt like too long.
“He’s got to be there,” Mia said, comforting me despite the grimace lining her face.
I hope. I pray. He’ll get a stern talking to about taking off like that, no matter how distressed he was, but I was grateful that Mia was here with me now, to assist and offer support.
This was the woman I knew. This was the Mia I loved. She wasn’t a criminal. She wasn’t a lowlife to be a dancer. She was a strong, generous, and fiercely loving woman I wanted to keep in my life forever.
“There,” she said moments later, pointing out a parking spot.
I careened into it, slamming to a stop. We ran out, frantic to reach the arcade’s entrance. Once we did, we spotted Penni, one of the regular workers, waving at us and smiling from behind the counter.
She pointed to the left, and I saw the back of Jason’s head.
My heart slowed. I nearly fell over with relief. Mia held my hand, noticing how I immediately crashed at seeing him.
Penni came out from behind the counter. “I saw him show up and have been keeping an eye on him.” She glanced at how I held Mia’s hand.
“Thank you.” Mia leaned over to give her a side hug. She blew out a big breath, also calming down at seeing Jason unharmed.
“I was gonna look you up and call y’all if no one came in ten more minutes.”
“Thank you,” I told her, planning to tip her generously for looking out for him.
Mia let go of my hand as we walked up to Jason. The second he turned his head and saw us, he lit up. A huge smile crossed over his face at seeing Mia. Then the expression crumpled and he burst into tears as he ran toward her.
“Mia!” he cried out for her as he jumped at her, and she caught him in her arms.
I wasn’t mad. I wasn’t hurt. He’d done what he set out to do—find Mia and bring her back. I wasn’t happy that he’d done something so careless as taking off, but I realized that he’d missed her. Of course, he’d run to her. Not me.
I was his constant. He could know that I’d always be there for him, but Mia had given a different impression.
Because of me.
“Oh, Jason.” She closed her eyes as she hugged him tight. His small arms squeezed around her, and I damn near lost it, so touched and moved by their close bond.
“I’m sorry, Mia. I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry for whatever I did that made you not want to be there anymore.”
“What?” She reared back, still hugging him but peering down at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m sorry I made you mad. I didn’t mean to spill juice on your phone.”
Mia’s brows shot up high. “ What ?”
“It was an accident.”
She nodded. “I know. But what does my phone have to do with?—”
“Isn’t that why you didn’t want to be around anymore?” Jason glanced up at me, confused. He’d asked me where Mia was, and I gave him such vague answers, not sure how to explain any of this. The decision not to be clear with him was kicking me now.
“No.” Mia shook her head. “No way. That phone was just a phone, a thing I can replace.”
“Then why didn’t you want to be around anymore? Isn’t it because I broke your phone?”
“No.” Mia sighed. “That’s not why.”
“Then why?” he insisted.
“I just had some… things to concentrate on.”
He sniffled. “But… but you aren’t even at the office anymore!”
She hugged him close again until his round of tears faded.
“Jason.” I crouched lower to where Mia knelt and hugged him.
He tucked his face against Mia but rolled his head to face me.
“Mia and I had… an argument. It’s my fault— only my fault—that she’s been away.”
Standing straight, he furrowed his brow and scolded me. “That’s stupid. Why would you want to make Mia go away?”
“You know what?” Mia looked around, noticing as I did that we were attracting attention. “Instead of making a scene here…” She stood, taking Jason’s hand. “Come on. Let me walk you home and we can explain.”
Jason smiled up at her like she was the mightiest person in the world. His eyes were still glossy with tears, but he gazed up at her with complete adoration and love.
“Will you tuck me in bed?” he asked in a small, quiet voice.
My heart cracked at how much he loved this woman, how much she meant to him.
“Of course,” she promised him, holding his hand.
Jason lifted his other hand to me, and I took it. He was due for a very stern scolding of his own, to hear me out about how stupid it was for him to run off like that. But it could wait. I imagined Mia would lecture him as well. That was how much she cared about him.
We walked, hand in hand, like a little family.
I glanced at Mia, who looked off to the side like she was fighting tears. And I hated all over again that I’d made her upset. Both of them.
I had a lot of fixing to do.