Chapter 13 #2
“Cam help,” Theo tells his mom, clearly happy to have the assistance cleaning up the mess.
She crosses her arms. “We’ll see,” Maren replies, nodding for us to follow. “Let’s go.”
Theo slides his little hand into mine as we make our way back to the kitchen. The scent of fresh pizza fills the air, causing my stomach to growl in hunger. Theo laughs hard. “Mommy, Cam’s tummy monster growldid.”
Maren chuckles. “It did? Well, we better feed the monster, huh?”
“Yep!” Maren helps him into his seat, and the moment he’s strapped in, he says, “Feed duh monster! Rawrrr!” Not only does he growl, but he curls his fingers like claws before giggling uncontrollably once more.
“All right, Mr. Monster, it’s time to eat.” Maren places a plate with a slice of pizza already on it, cut up into bite-sized pieces.
“Tank you,” he states politely before diving into his pizza.
“I took the chance you still like salad with your pizza.”
I turn my attention to the counter, where the homemade pizza is sitting, as well as two bowls of salad. “Love it.”
She squirts some ranch dressing on top of her salad and slides the bottle toward me. She remembers my preferred dressing—or it’s all she has and I either take it or leave it. While I add dressing to my salad, she grabs a slice of pizza and takes her food over to the table.
“Cam!”
I glance over my shoulder and find Theo’s little hand patting the seat right beside him. “I’ll sit by you,” I tell him, sliding two pieces of pizza onto the remaining plate and joining him at the table.
“What would you like to drink?” Maren asks, placing a lidded cup in front of Theo. “I have water, milk, apple juice, and Sprite.”
Before I can reply, Theo asks, “Apple juice?” He holds up his cup.
“I think I’m gonna have Sprite, little dude.”
He nods and returns his attention to his pizza.
Maren returns to the table with two cans of Sprite and finally has a seat. Without opening my drink or starting with my salad, I lift a slice of pizza and take a big bite. “Dang, Maren, this is good.”
She looks up, seeming a little unsure. “Really?”
“Hell yeah. Don’t tell my mom, but this might be better than hers,” I insist, not even joking a little bit.
She rolls her eyes. “Not possible, but I appreciate the compliment.”
“I’m not kidding, Shortcake. This is delicious.”
She shifts in her seat. “Well, thank you. It’s really nothing special, just some dough and sauce.”
“Not true. You made it from scratch and from memory. That’s impressive as hell. Not to mention the fact you had all those ingredients in your cabinet and fridge.”
She stabs at her salad with a fork and takes a small bite. “I, uh, make my own bread whenever I can, so I always have that stuff in my cabinet.”
Something tells me that’s one more thing she learned from my mom.
She’s always baking fresh bread, saying it’s healthier and cheaper than buying it from the store.
Of course, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t pick up a loaf when in a pinch, especially when we were younger.
Feeding four kids in the summer is a full-time job in itself, so she’d have to buy loaves from the store to keep up with our sandwich consumption, but she’d still bake loaves when she could, and it was always so damn delicious.
Theo talks while he eats, telling me all about going to daycare tomorrow.
Neither Maren nor I seem upset the conversation has shifted toward Theo.
He’s a joy to be around, and listening to his carefree chatting is frankly the best part of my day.
The high I always get when working on vehicles, especially diagnosing difficult problems, is the same I feel while hanging out with Theo.
And yes, Maren too.
After dinner, we clean up the mess all together, and I try to ignore my racing heart and the contentment I feel at completing such a simple, mundane task as washing dishes. Like a family. Theo helps me dry the stuff and together we put them away.
At first, he didn’t want to help. Instead, wanted to return to the living room and play with his blocks and watch TV.
But when I explained that it’s our job to do our part and help clean up, especially after his mom made such a wonderful meal, he eagerly agreed.
As long as I was helping too. The entire time, his wide, blue eyes have been focused on me, and I realize how closely he’s watching me, paying attention to my every move.
Watching and learning.
And for that, I feel like I’ve accomplished something impactful.
When the job is done, I’m prepared to leave. Even though I don’t want to. I want to stay, to engage in their beautiful little home life and the family they’ve created.
For the first time since I was eighteen, I feel hopeful, excited, and like that dream is within grasp all over again, and when it hits, it’s with the impact of a thousand bricks being thrust into my chest.
That’s why I should go.
No, that’s why I must go.
I open my mouth to politely excuse myself, but all that flies straight out the proverbial window when Theo beats me to the punch.
“You wead to me, Cam?”
Decision already made, I reply, “I can read you a book.”
“And pway bwocks?”
I chuckle. “I love to play with blocks.”
“Yay!” he says, throwing his arms up in the air in victory. “I go get ready,” he announces before darting off into the living room.
Maren clears her throat and meets my gaze. “If you need to skirt out of here, now’s the time to do it. I’ll make an excuse for you.”
“Do you want me to leave?” I ask quietly, knowing if she says yes, I’ll go without another word.
She holds my gaze, a mix of emotions swimming in those beautiful blue eyes. Finally, she slowly shakes her head. “No.”
The meaning of that single word lifts me up and causes an instant sense of relief, because even though I should walk away, I don’t want to.
“Okay. I’ll stay.”