Chapter 32 Moving Slow
MOVING SLOW
“Where’s Jayce?” Archer asked. They’d just pulled into Bull City for dinner. She didn’t like going out to eat during the week. There was just too much going on and Archer had school tomorrow.
“He’s on his way,” she said. “He’s meeting us here.”
They’d barely had time for her to get Archer from the after-school program, shower and change and leave again. Jayce was coming right from work.
“It’s my birthday dinner. No one can be late.”
“I know,” she said, turning to look at him in the back seat. “He’s not late. We are a few minutes early.”
Her son frowned. “But you said we were running late.”
“I said that to get your butt in gear.”
“So you lied?”
“It was a little motivational lie. It doesn’t count.”
“So I can do that when I want something?”
Crap. This was one of those parenting traps to bite her in the butt.
“Nope. Not until you’re a parent yourself.”
“No fair,” Archer said, frowning.
“Life isn’t always fair.”
“There’s Jayce,” Archer said, already fumbling with his seatbelt. She unbuckled too, knowing her son was seconds from bolting straight toward her boyfriend.
Boyfriend. The word slid easily enough through her mind, but in her heart…it was heavier, messier, deeper than that.
And yet she’d been the one to slam on the brakes and insist she liked moving slow.
How did you backpedal from that? How did you look at a man who had become your anchor, your safe place, and suddenly admit you loved him after you’d already dumped ice water on what could have been the perfect moment?
More than one perfect moment those words could have slipped out.
But she’d ruined it.
Then told herself there was nothing to ruin. The pace they had was great. It was working.
There’d be another opportunity.
“Happy Birthday,” Jayce said when he moved closer to them. She’d had her hand on Archer’s shoulder so he didn’t take off even though Jayce was only two cars over.
“Thanks,” Archer said. “I’m getting a massive burger and dessert. You have to get it too. The same as me. We all have to. It’s my birthday so I get what I want on that day.”
“You do?” he asked, looking at her.
She lifted an eyebrow. “It’s his special day. Everyone deserves a special day, even if we did celebrate with my parents on Saturday.”
“But that wasn’t my birthday,” Archer argued. “Today is. And Mom brought cupcakes into school for me too.”
“So you’ve had cupcakes and you want dessert again? You’re going to be wound up for your mother tonight.”
Archer was nodding his head up and down. “I am. But Dad will call me later. So I want to stay up for it so I can thank him for paying for basketball camp in Charlotte for the week. I’m so excited. I’m going to basketball camp!”
Tucker hadn’t said one word to her today about it being Archer’s birthday. He’d done what he always did, sent her a crazy amount of money to pick out her son’s gift.
So she got what her son wanted, and when Tucker found out, he’d probably throw a fit. But let him do that to Archer, which he wouldn’t. She’d deal with the consequences.
Was it petty on her part to spend the money on that? She didn’t think so.
There was no reason Tucker couldn’t pick out his own gifts for his only son. He said to get Archer what he wanted and that was it.
“I heard you were going,” Jayce said. “I think that’s awesome. I went to camps like that when I was your age for years.”
“So I can go again next year, Mom?”
She caught Jayce’s cringe. “We’ll see.”
“Dad will send me. I’ll just ask him.”
Jayce was frowning this time, but what was she going to say? Tucker probably wouldn’t pay for it again, unless Archer asked, and Tucker didn’t want to say no to his face.
Next year would be time enough to think about it.
“Oh crap, hang on, I’ve got something for you.”
Jayce jogged back to his car and then came back with a gift bag. “You gave me a gift,” Archer said. “On Saturday.”
Jayce had bought her son passes to the OC Ariel again and then a bunch of comic books. She thought that was a great gift, letting her son share in something physical and educational. Even if Tucker didn’t think comic books were educational.
Boo on him. Reading was reading and it expanded her son’s mind.
“Can I open it here?”
“Inside,” he said. “Once we are seated, but then your Mom can put it to the side.”
She didn’t know he’d gotten Archer anything else. “You did enough already,” she whispered to him.
“I would have given him this on Saturday, but I just got it yesterday.”
“Now I’m curious.”
“You’ll find out as soon as Archer does.”
They were seated, their drinks ordered, then Archer asked, “Can I open it now? I know what I’m eating and don’t need to look at the menu. Neither do you guys cuz you’re having the same thing.”
“Archer, Jayce can get what he wants.”
“But you always eat the same as me,” her son argued.
“I’ll do it too,” he said. “No worries. I could go for a big burger. Open it up.”
“See, Mom. I told you Jayce would say yes.” Her son was pulling out the tissue paper, then lifting the youth Nino Meyers jersey and squealing loud enough she had to put her finger to her lips to shush him.
“Turn it around,” he said.
“It’s signed!” Archer yelled.
“See what you did,” she said, laughing.
“He’s excited. Let him be.”
“Did you buy it signed or like did you get him to sign it yourself?”
“He did it for me,” he said. “I bought the shirt when I was in town. One of the assistants got his signature for me when he came in and then mailed it back. I wasn’t sure when I was going to get it. I thought I would have had it on Saturday.”
“This is the best gift ever.”
“There is a card inside.”
Archer reached in and pulled the card out, then opened it. “Mom,” Archer said. “It’s from Nino. He wished me happy birthday and everything.”
Her lower lip came out a little. “That’s so sweet.”
“Best gift ever!” Archer said again, climbing out of the booth next to her and moving to sit next to Jayce to get a hug.
Watching her son with Jayce was actually the best gift.
Which she needed hours later when Tucker finally called when Archer was in bed.
She’d texted him twice after dinner reminding him of the day and that their son wanted to thank him for his gift. That the least Tucker could do was be the one to make the call and wish their son happy birthday.
“Is he sleeping?” Tucker asked the minute she answered the phone. She wondered if he’d done that on purpose so he didn’t have to talk to anyone.
“No. I hear the TV on.”
“It’s late. He needs his sleep.”
“It’s eight thirty. He goes to bed at eight, and he’s allowed to watch TV for thirty minutes. Most times he falls asleep before it’s off, but he was excited. You know I take him out to dinner for his birthday.”
She wouldn’t say anything about Jayce. It was none of her ex’s business. Archer hadn’t said anything yet and it’s not as if Jayce moved in or was staying the night. They saw each other on the weekends and maybe one day during the week, if they were lucky now.
“Let me talk to him,” Tucker said.
She walked up the stairs, and Archer turned his head when she got in the doorway with her phone. “Is it Dad?”
“It is,” she said. “I know you were waiting for him to call.”
Which she wanted her ex to hear and know that was part of the reason Archer was still up. He hadn’t asked to call Tucker, but if he had, she wouldn’t have said no. Archer was used to the fact Tucker rarely answered his phone and it was just best to wait.
“Hi, Dad,” Archer said, sitting up.
“Happy Birthday, son.” Tucker’s voice was loud, she could hear it with her sitting on Archer’s bed next to him.
“Thanks for the week at camp. I’m so excited. I can’t wait!”
“Camp?” Tucker asked. “Which camp is that?”
She saw the smile drop from her son’s face. Typical Tucker couldn’t even play along. “Basketball camp. Mom said you paid for that for my birthday.”
“Oh yeah,” Tucker said. “I forgot. Things have been busy. You get some sleep and put your mother on.”
“I will. Thanks again. I really, really wanted to go and it’s so much better than the one in Durham.”
“You’re welcome,” Tucker said.
Archer handed the phone back to her. She leaned down to give him another kiss on the forehead and left his room.
“Get it off your chest,” she said when she was back in her room. She should have just hung up on him.
“Why the hell would you waste my money on basketball camp? You couldn’t send him to science camp? Or even math camp?”
“If you want him to go to those camps, then you can set it up and arrange it all on your own,” she said. “But you do what you always do. You drop money in my account and say get him what he wants. That’s what he wanted.”
“It will be the last time I do that if you continue to be irresponsible with the funds. What else are you doing with my child support?”
She growled. “I’m not wasteful in the least and you damn well know it. You’re the one who throws money around and always did. I don’t owe you any explanations on how I spend his child support.”
It’s not like she wasted any of it. Her salary supported them, and the money from Tucker went into a savings account for her son. That was what she used to buy him extra things. Like sports leagues and all the activities he was involved in. Including the Science Fair week last year.
That money went strictly to Archer and it burned her ass he would question her on that when she could use it for whatever she wanted, including food that her son plowed through nonstop.
“You know how I feel about this shit, Farrah,” Tucker said.
“I do know. And if you want to be part of your son’s life, then you should make the time for him.
Maybe spend it doing science projects or going to museums. Which we do and if you talked to him more, you’d know that.
He’s got a well-rounded education and is smart and doing great.
Remember that. Be a father your father wasn’t to you. ”
“Whatever.”
She wanted to cringe whenever she heard that word. “Are we done now?”
“Bye,” Tucker said and hung up on her.
She wanted to let out a growl and toss her phone across the room. When she turned around, Archer was standing in the doorway.
“What are you doing up?”
“Dad doesn’t want me to go to basketball camp, does he?”
She hated he’d heard what she’d just said. “Your father has different likes than we do. It’s fine and everyone is entitled to those things.”
“I know,” Archer said. “I should have realized it wasn’t from him but you.”
“It is from your father. He paid for it.”
“But you picked it out. Just like you did for Easter and probably for Christmas.”
“You spent time with your father at Christmas. He got you those gifts. You opened them there. I didn’t do it.”
“Oh,” Archer said.
Just because it wasn’t a lot of what her son wanted or asked for, Tucker at least put the effort in and Archer used the lab kit and had fun with it outside.
She’d made a point for Tucker to see that with pictures and then asked herself why she bothered.
“Let’s get you back to bed. You’ve had a long day. Only two more days left in the school week and then it’s the weekend.”
“You’ll call everyone tomorrow?”
“I will. Remember, you can’t bring it up at school.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
They returned to Archer’s room, she made sure the TV was off and hoped he got some rest. She knew she needed it.
Between her feelings watching Jayce with her son, to the conversation with her ex just now, she was mentally exhausted.