7. Kiley
CHAPTER SEVEN
KILEY
The rest of the week flies by, and because of my hectic schedule with school and the bar, I barely get to spend time with Zander. With it being the weekend, I promise him that he can pick whatever we do today. A decision I’m already regretting with his request for a slushy for breakfast.
“Zander, you cannot have a slushy for breakfast.” The kid has only been up for an hour and already my patience is wearing thin.
“You said I can have whatever I want today,” he claims while running around the living room like the little lunatic that he is.
“No, I said you get to pick whatever we do today, meaning activities outside of the house. Not whatever food you want to eat.”
That stops him in his tracks and he pouts, but soon a new idea lights up his face. “What about at lunch?”
I smirk, loving how his little mind works.
“Ready to make a deal?” I ask, and he nods vigorously.
Zander loves making “deals” and is pretty good at negotiating.
Maybe being a lawyer is in his future. “If you make good decisions today and listen well, you can have a slushy at lunch. Deal?” I put out my hand for him to shake.
“Deal,” he confirms, shakes my hand and then continues running around the apartment. “I’m going to make the best decisions ever today!”
“I bet you will,” I respond with a hint of sarcasm. “Now go get ready so we can go to the museum.”
He runs straight to his room, and a few seconds later, I hear his dresser drawers opening and closing.
Zander picked to go to the Museum of Wonder.
It’s his favorite place with its immersive, interactive art exhibits.
It’s pricey, so we don’t go as much as he would like, but I try to make it a point to go every six months since they change exhibits usually around that time.
While he gets ready, I open my laptop to check my bank balance and then review my budget spreadsheet.
Money is extra tight this month due to saving for Lyra’s bachelorette party.
Since tickets for the museum are so expensive, I decide to pack up a picnic lunch in a cooler for us to have at the park after we go to the museum.
My plan of attack is to wear him out at the park so that he falls asleep in the car.
I want to come right home for a peaceful evening of cuddling on the couch and watching movies.
“Mom, I’m ready!” He comes out of his room wearing his new Chicago Phoenixes shirt that Jax gave him and a pair of shorts.
Tucked underneath his arm is his new stuffed animal.
He has slept with that thing every night since he’s gotten it.
He has also named it ‘little dark birdie’ even though I told him the mascot’s name is Ashe.
I point to his toy and tell him, “No toys. Leave that here.”
“But I don’t want to.” He pouts, and I close my eyes, praying for some extra patience today since I’m so tired and running on fumes.
“You’ll be very upset if you lose it or some other kid steals it while we’re at the park.” I give him a look and after some consideration, he turns around and puts it back in his room.
“That was a good decision, bud.” I grab my purse, keys and cooler, and take his hand. “Let’s go have some fun,” and we set off for our adventure.
My plan isn’t working.
After having a wonderful time at the museum, we went straight to the park, where we ate lunch first and then played hard for the next four hours.
I wasn’t planning for us to be there so long, but Zander made friends, and he ditched me for them.
They just kept running around the playground, climbing the jungle gym and swinging while I sat on a bench and talked with the other parents.
Now I have a very hangry five-year-old who not only cried because we had to leave but who is also begging for pasta.
“Please, Mommy,” he whines, with one of those crying/screaming pleas. “Can we go to the yummy Italy place for pasta?” I look at him through my rearview mirror and see big ol’ crocodile tears running down his cheeks. “My tummy hurts, it’s so hungry!”
The “yummy Italy place” he’s referring to is a very expensive, Michelin star rated restaurant that I took him to by accident last year, thinking we could split a pizza pie after one of our museum outings.
We couldn’t because they don’t even serve pizza, but we did split the most delicious pesto gnocchi I’ve ever had in my life.
How Zander even remembers how good that was is not only astonishing but also very inconvenient since I’m on such a tight budget.
I only have thirty dollars left out of my one-hundred-dollar budget for today.
The tickets for the museum were sixty dollars, and then I bought him a slushy and a snack there, which was way overpriced.
That leaves only thirty dollars left, and most of the entrées at this restaurant start at twenty dollars.
My head is starting to pound from his crying.
I can feel my blood pressure rising, and my body’s fight-or-flight mode kicks in.
I can either go straight home and pray that Zander’s temper tantrum won’t last the whole car ride or figure out a way to pay for the gnocchi to feed my kid and keep the peace for the evening.
Peace is winning out.
I find some street parking and parallel park.
Once I’m done, I turn around and give Zander a stern look.
He has started to calm down since he sees we’re no longer driving home.
“Ok, Zander, now you need to listen to me. We will go in and get the yummy pasta, but that’s all we’re getting.
We are drinking water, and there will be no dessert, so do not ask for any.
You can have ice cream when we get home. Do you understand?”
“Okay, Mommy,” he answers meekly and then hiccups.
“Okay,” I mutter and take a deep breath. I turn the engine off, get out of my car and then walk around it to get him out of his booster seat.
The atmosphere in the restaurant is relaxed, and I feel more at ease when I see a couple of families with kids the same age as Zander already eating.
The hostess takes us to a table, and Zander decides he wants to sit on my lap instead of sitting in his own seat.
A server comes by with water, and I immediately place our order.
I can tell Zander is fading fast: we need to eat and get out of here.
I always carry a coloring book and crayons with me, so I pull them out of my tote bag and encourage Zander to color with me in order for him to stay awake.
Since it’s not peak time for the restaurant, we get our food within fifteen minutes.
Zander and I dig in. Because we’re so famished and it is that good, we finish our meal within ten minutes.
I’m wiping Zander’s mouth with a napkin when the waiter comes and places a big slice of chocolate cake in front of Zander.
Panic seizes me as I watch Zander’s eyes go wide and fill with lust for the dessert.
“Excuse me,” I say to the waiter. “I think you have the wrong table because I did not order this.”
“It’s compliments from the gentleman in the back, who also paid for your dinner.”
I move Zander off my lap and stand up since I can’t see who the waiter is referring to past the other customers sitting down.
I follow the waiter’s arm and my eyes immediately connect with Jax Morrow.
He smiles and raises his glass at me. He’s sitting at the head of a very long table with a lot of people who are now staring at me.
I give him a tentative smile but am groaning on the inside.
While I appreciate his generosity, I don’t like people paying for my things.
It makes me feel as if I’m viewed as a charity case because of being a single mom.
As if I can’t take care of myself and they have pity on me, so therefore they feel the need to help out.
I’ve been taking care of myself long before Zander was in the picture.
Knowing that I have no choice but to accept, I sit back down and thank the waiter. Zander is practically drooling over the cake. He gives me a questioning look, and I smile. “Yes, buddy, you can have some cake.”
We both pick up our forks, and I let him take the first stab at it. I grab a generous amount and take a bite. I close my eyes and moan as the richness of the chocolate cream explodes and crashes against my taste buds. God, this is so good.
I open my eyes and almost choke at the sight of Jax standing right in front of us. He’s watching me with an intense expression in those blue eyes, and I realize he heard me moaning over the cake. I grimace and gulp down what I was savoring.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had your eyes closed when I was approaching.” His gaze goes over to Zander, and I see his smile deepen.
“Nothing to apologize for. I was actually going to come over to thank you once we were done.”
“I thought it was best to come to you since my table over there looks a little intimidating.” Even though I wish I wasn’t seeing him at all, I will admit that the thought of going over to his table and thanking him in front of all those people was a little mortifying.
“I noticed you were keeping court over there.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, my family is in town for opening night and this is where me and some of the guys come for pre-game dinner, so we just thought it would be more fun combining the two tables together.”
“That’s really great that your family came into town.” Jax has never brought his family to the pub, so I’m kind of curious to see which parent he got his good looks from. Instead, I fight my internal curiosity and stay seated.
“Yeah, it’s a nice family tradition, and I’m grateful they always bring my daughter with them. She hasn’t missed an opening night since she was born.”
Now my curiosity is really heightened, wondering what his child looks like, but he draws my attention away when he asks, “Who’s this cute young fella you’re on a date with?”