2. Chapter 2 #2
“Hey, bud? You fancy going bowling today? We can work on your swing!” I suggested with raised eyebrows, watching him grab his little chin, thinking about it. I didn’t get the wholehearted yes that bounced off the walls that I hoped for; instead, his response was a simple nod of his head.
“…Are we going with April?” He suddenly asks, knocking all the air out of my chest as I do my best not to show how surprised I am.
“H-how did you know that?” he tilts his head and allows me to hear him laugh for the first time in twenty-four hours.
“Because last time we went Ice Skating it was with March, so now April’s turn,” he proudly points out.
Son of bitch.
“And when did you get so smart?” I respond, pretending his discovery didn’t make my stomach churn and fluff up his hair.
“This week at school, we were learning the months of the year, and I told my friend Joseph I already knew all of them because my big brother has girlfriends who have the same names as the months,” Theo reveals with an innocent smile, with no clue his words felt like a punch to the gut…
at least I’d solved the mystery of why Joseph’s mother started glaring at me with disapproval during morning drop-offs.
I thought I was being smart, but here I was caught red-handed and outed by a six-year-old. I may need to rethink things. I no longer think bringing a date to our day out is a good idea anymore, and I offer him another suggestion.
“You know, how about you and I just go?” I suggest, trying not to sound like I didn’t have the words ‘prick’ written on my forehead.
“No! I want to go with April. I like her; she’s not my favourite, but she holds the bowling ramp for me, and I always get strikes.” Theo chimes in with a bigger smile.
It dawned on me that knowing these girls off by heart meant Theo was getting too attached to these girls; that can’t happen cause our arrangements have only and will only ever be casual, but I went with the more pressing matter.
“…you have a favourite?” Theo hums in response as I pull him out of my lap and set him on my desk in front of him.
“Who’s your favourite?” I ask with a tight smile, feeling nervous about who he was going to pick.
Not that any of the girls were bad; they all seemed like decent human beings, all great with kids, and the sex was satisfying.
They all had their own quirks in that area, but the fact that my brother had been keeping some kind of score unsettled me deeply.
“None of them are my favourite.” Theo giggles, treating me as if I’m the one being ridiculous here.
“None?” I prod gently, wanting to make sure.
As much as I didn’t want him to grow attached, if I could avoid disrupting his already scrambled routine, maybe I could talk to Nigel about looking into making his favourite his new nanny.
But the exaggerated nod he gives me tosses that idea out the window.
“I like spending the day having fun, but I only want to spend time with my ultimate favourite,” he states, gesturing his arms out wide in a dramatic way.
“Your ultimate favourite??” I repeat, mimicking the same action he just did.
“And who’s that?” I whisper, leaning in close.
Theo lets out a little giggle, then leans in too.
Leaving me in suspense for a few seconds.
I grow grumpy because I could bet money that he’s going to say Min-Joon, since the two of them did spend more time together than Theo and I did.
“His name is Ollie,” he reveals with another giggle.
A form of shock washes through me, and my chest suddenly feels a lot tighter than it did a moment ago, and I embrace him in a tight hug. Both taken aback and overwhelmed with happiness that he picked me.
“Love you, buddy.” I rasp out, knowing it was just the two of us.
“Love you too, Ollie,” he beams, patting my back. Ever since he turned six, he made it clear he had to hug like a big boy, like Min-Joon and I do. I could feel the brightness around him returning, making me feel a lot better, too.
“Okay, bud, if we’re gonna meet April for bowling and then lunch, we better have breakfast and get ready, huh?” I declare, pulling away from the hug. “What do you want for breakfast?” I add, nudging his knee with my knuckle because I knew it made him feel all tingly and always made him giggle.
“I want Beans on toast!” He belts out in excitement.
“Beans on toast it is!” I nod, rising from my chair and lifting him off my desk.
“I’m going to pick out my clothes!!” he says, not even waiting for his feet to touch the ground, and runs out of the room.
I shake my head, knowing picking out his clothes just meant picking which Mario shirt he planned on wearing because he had everyone under the sun.
I then updated April via text, asking if we could rearrange to meet today.
She replies a minute later, then I head into the kitchen to make Theo and me some breakfast.
Forget what I said earlier; taking Theo bowling was a great idea. He had an absolute blast. He made us play four rounds, having lunch halfway through, and it was right up his alley. Chicken nuggets with chips and a quarter of my burger.
Of course, being my brother, he had my appetite.
The two of us made a deal that if he finished all his food, we could play another round.
Then he ended up making friends with a child his age in the arcade area, so we spent a few hours there too.
While he was busy, I ended up getting locked into a conversation with Diamond.
Something I usually didn’t like to do, as talking too much always gave the impression I was interested in more than what we already agreed on, but Diamond, out of all the girls, knew that wasn’t the case. Relationships were never my thing, and they probably never will be.
I mean, I already have a child, a career, and a quickie if need be.
I’m more than content; Diamond would never push for more than what we have, and she respects my views on relationships.
While we spoke, she told me that she’s thinking about going back to school.
Due to the background check Nigel she still had plenty of time to turn her life around, and I knew it was only a matter of time before someone as smart and hard-working as Diamond would grow bored of being a dental receptionist. I didn’t add my opinion on the matter, but I did wish her luck.
When it was time to leave, we shared a short kiss on the cheek when I was sure Theo wasn’t looking. I hated all forms of PDA, but this was an exception. She then whispered how she’d thank me for such a great day the next time we met up, when I didn’t have a six-year-old attached to my hip.
Before offering Theo a big high five - and that was that - after a small wave, she walked in the opposite direction.
I never allowed any of the girls to touch Theo unless it was necessary, so hugs were a fat no-no, and my little brother felt the same, as he didn’t tend to hug anyone he wasn’t comfortable with, but if he were to, I think it would be Diamond.
She was the most laid-back out of all the girls and surprisingly opposite of what you’d think of someone with a stripper name. That being said, as much as we both enjoyed the day we had, Theo and I’s little conversation earlier in my mind lingered in my mind again.
We were on our way home when Theo declared he wanted Chinese for dinner during our car game of I Spy.
Wanting to continue the great day we were having.
I couldn’t say no, and it was only a matter of time before he started thinking about Min-Joon again.
He called at 2 pm, 11 pm his time, during our third bowling session.
Theo smiled the whole time and only got sad again once they hung up.
Being the pushover I was when it came to Theo, that’s also why I agreed to one more round.
I dialled our local takeaway and ordered our favourites to be ready for pick up. Given that we were about ten minutes away from home, we would pick it up and make it home while it was still hot. I was just about to pull up at the Chinese shop when Nigel’s caller ID came up on the car monitor.
I accept the call, slipping in one of my AirPods while Theo plays the mobile version of Mario Kart on his tablet, something he barely uses unless I’m on the phone around him, which I try not to do that often for as long as I can help it.
I could already tell it wasn’t going to be good news, knowing Nigel was calling on my supposed day off at almost 5 pm.
He never called when I was spending time with Theo unless it was urgent.
I answered the phone with “What is it, Nigel?” Ignoring his little huff and puff about me being impolite and not greeting him first. It was almost scary how he was aware that I rolled my eyes in response.
Now parked outside the Chinese shop, Nigel explains there was additional evidence on the opposing side that was just submitted for an upcoming case, something that didn’t work in our favour.
It meant we had to do a lot more digging if we were going to win this case - something I really didn’t want to hear right now because Nigel and I were already working overtime to try to blend into a new routine.
Kaine and Buckley agreed to give me time to find childcare before starting my new position. But that didn’t make my workload any lighter, and with Min-Joon gone, I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to attend this case in a few weeks, not without finding someone to care for my bud.