Chapter 7
John-Michael Kennedy
It was five-thirty when he took a short break from the interview to talk to Sadie. He saw from down the hall that she was in the kitchen with Ethan, and he quietly backed away and hollered at her from a distance. He waited in a nook that was between his bedroom and office. She couldn't see him when she came down the hallway, and she jumped back a little when he came out unexpectedly.
She had been swimming. Her hair was still damp. She was naturally beautiful. Her face was delicate and exquisite. The doors were closed and the lighting was dim in the hallway. She was only a few feet away from him, and he felt himself being drawn to her, attracted to her.
Sadie's brown eyes mirrored his. Staring into her eyes made him feel vulnerable, and he had to look away.
"Hey, I, uh, wanted to touch base with you," he said. "I know I told you six o'clock, but there's just no way we're going to be done with this. It's taking a really long time. These guys are… I'm trying to be patient. Everything's taking forever. I was thinking I could call one of my sisters to come over and help me get Ethan to bed if you need to go. He usually gets tired by 8 o'clock if he doesn't have a nap. He'll need someone who can do the whole… bath, story, bedtime stuff."
He was reluctant when he said that, but none of it seemed overwhelming to her. "I got that," she said. "I'm caught up on my work this weekend, which is usually what I'd be doing right now."
"So, you don't mind staying? It might be like two to three more hours."
"I'll do it," she said easily.
"Thank you so much. I'll make it worth your while. And I'll come out in a little bit and talk to him and say goodnight. I would have come out there just now, but I didn't want to ask you in front of him and make you feel obligated to stay."
"I don't feel obligated. I'm having fun. Can I have a slice of that pizza? I already took it out of the box."
He grinned. She was adorable. "Yes, I'd love for you to have some pizza. Take all you want. I wish I could eat a slice right now."
"Come eat one."
"If I do, this is all just gonna take longer."
"I'll heat up a slice for twenty seconds. You can come scarf it down. You could tell Ethan I'm going to help tuck him in tonight."
"That's a good idea."
"Do you want me to warm it up now? I have the pizza out. "
"Yes, definitely, thank you."
He opened the door and yelled inside to tell the guys he would be back, and then both of them headed toward the kitchen.
"Hey, my baby boy… are you having fun with Sadie?"
"She farted in the pool."
"Oh, my gosh, seriously? Ethan! I can't believe you ratted me out." She looked at John-Michael with a pleading expression. "I faked it to make him laugh."
"She farted, and it was sooo loud," he said, laughing and causing us all to laugh.
"I promise I made the sound with my mouth," she said, shaking her head and blushing as she laughed. She stared wide-eyed at Ethan as she popped a slice of pizza into the microwave. John-Michael loved their dynamic.
"It's okay, ladies have to do it too," John-Michael said, causing them all to laugh again.
"I didn't," she pleaded, hoping he would believe her.
He gave her a reassuring smile and wink and she shook her head at Ethan again. The microwave was set to thirty seconds, and she reached up and opened the door with eight seconds left.
"Twenty-two's perfect," she said.
"Sadie said there's a frog at the bottom of the pool," Ethan said to his dad as she handed John-Michael the plate .
"There is?" John-Michael asked, glancing at her as he took it from her.
"It's the song," she said with a smile. "The frog, on the log, in the hole, and so on and so forth. I said it was at the bottom of the pool instead of the bottom of the sea." She turned to regard Ethan with a serious concerned expression. "I hope that didn't freak you out or anything. It's just a silly song. The real song says the hole is in the bottom of the sea. There's no frog in your pool."
"I’m not scared," he said. "Sing it for my dad, please, okay?"
She smiled and shook her head and seemed reluctant. "Your dad has about one minute to scarf down his pizza before he has to get back to work."
"Yes, and I have to be busy in my office for long enough tonight that Sadie will have to help you with bath and bedtime. I'm sorry, y'all. I really thought we'd be wrapping up by now."
"It's fine if Sadie stays here," Ethan said. "Now, she'll sing the hole in bottom song."
John-Michael made a relieved expression since breaking it to Ethan about his bedtime routine was an easier conversation than he expected. He smiled at the two of them and then he took a big bite of the pizza, folding it in half lengthwise and eating a third of it in one bite.
"Let's hear it," he said chewing and smiling.
"Yeaaaa!" Ethan cheered .
Sadie widened her eyes and stalked toward Ethan. He was at the kitchen table and John-Michael was a few feet away, at the island. She sang slowly, being funny, and approaching Ethan, not caring if John-Michael was watching them. The sight of her made his heart race.
" There's a… frog on the bump, on the branch, on the long, in the hole, in the bottom of the… pool. " She made a silly expression and jumped at him when she said pool , and he squealed with delight. "And it goes on and on," she said, laughing and turning to John-Michael who could not take his eyes off of them.
"Tell hiiim the rest!" Ethan said laughing and kicking his little feet like he was paddling in the pool.
"She will sometime, buddy. She's probably still got a tummy ache." John-Michael said it to tease her—to get a rise out of her. It worked. The instant the words came out of his mouth her eyes grew huge with urgency and embarrassment. He laughed, and she knew he was teasing her. She shook her head and smiled at him, and he gave her a mischievous smile as he finished his pizza.
"Do you know there's fleas on the frog?" Ethan asked his dad, still focused on the song.
"I did not know there were fleas on the frog."
The boy looked at her. "Tell him."
"Are there really fleas on the frog? Does this song say that?" John-Michael asked .
She shrugged and nodded. "There is a flea on the frog in the song." She looked at Ethan. "You know it's just silliness, though, right?"
He giggled and nodded, leaning back in his chair.
"Thank you for the pizza," John-Michael said quickly taking a sip of water from a glass that was on the counter.
"It's yours, but you're welcome."
"And thanks for hanging out with E. Usually, we start winding down by eight. He can watch a few cartoons, then bath, and story, and sleeping by eight-thirty—no later than nine. I'm hoping I'll be done before then and I can do all that."
She could tell he was worried about it, and she gave him a reassuring smile. "It's fine if you're not done in time. We're chillin'."
He wiped his mouth and then flashed his teeth at her. "Do I have anything in my teeth?"
"No," she said, inspecting his mouth.
"What about my nose or face?"
She stood in front of him and looked him over. "N-no."
"Why'd you hesitate?"
"I-nothing. If you were one of my brothers, I'd reach up and mess with your hair in one spot."
"My hair? Do it. Just adjust it." He leaned in, and she did one thing, smoothing part of his hair right above his right ear. He felt her cold fingers touch his ear as she tucked a stray section of hair behind his ear. He smiled at her. She was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.
He caught himself feeling attracted to this woman, and that caused all sorts of confusing emotions.
She stepped back, looking apologetic for messing with his hair.
"Thank you," he said. He straightened his posture and smiled. "How's this?"
"Uh, you can stop at a mirror if you don't want to take my word for it, but to me, it's great, wonderful, no bad things, all good." She made a gesture with her hands as she spoke. She was being funny and it wasn't awkward at all.
"Am I good, Ethan?"
"At what?" he asked, looking up.
"Do I look handsome?"
"Oh, yeah," Ethan said smiling.
"Thanks, bud. I hope I see you before you fall asleep, but if not, I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
Ethan nodded and the two of them hugged before John-Michael made his way toward the office.
He turned and looked at her before he rounded the corner. "Thanks again, Sadie."
"You're welcome," she said, smiling at him.
It was a weight off of his shoulders that she was willing to stay. This whole ordeal with the interview and photoshoot was not going according to plan. John-Michael was impatient and eager to get on with his life. He had agreed to do this, but it had already taken a lot longer than he anticipated. He did his best to not seem perturbed on camera since the interview would be seen by a lot of people. Everything they did took a long time, though, and John-Michael used forced patience.
***
John-Michael left the two gentlemen in his office once they were finally finished and began packing their things. They thanked him and promised they'd be out in a few minutes.
He went through the kitchen, scanning the downstairs for any sign of Sadie and Ethan. Ethan always slept with his dad in the master suite downstairs, but he had glanced in there when he left his office, and no one was in there. He also had a queen-size bed set up in the playroom upstairs. He and Ethan slept up there sometimes. Sadie would have assumed that was Ethan's room, and she would have probably tucked him in up there. John-Michael took the stairs two at a time.
He could hear the white noise machine running before he could see in the door. He slowed his pace and got quiet as he approached.
"Pssst," he whispered, announcing himself as he walked into the room. They were both lying on the bed, and Sadie didn't move. "Pssst," he said again as he walked toward the bed.
The room was a mess. It was fairly dark in there, but he could clearly see the evidence of a good time. They had been building forts and playing trains, and everything was out. John-Michael loved it. He grinned at how things were set up, and he loved the idea of how much fun they probably had.
He could see as he came further into the room that Sadie was sleeping. She was on top of the covers, lying next to Ethan who was tucked into the other side of the bed comfortably.
John-Michael was careful with her camera. It was on the floor next to her bag. It was dark in there aside from the nightlights and light from the hallway, but his eyes had adjusted. He moved it so that he could approach her without waking Ethan.
There was a note on the table next to her, and his eye fell on it. His name was written at the top, and he sat down on the floor next to the bed to read the note. There was a nightlight nearby, and he could easily make out the handwriting when he tilted it that way.
John-Michael,
Your son is the coolest! I think I'm an expert on dinosaurs by now. We swam, ate, sang, watched cartoons, built forts, played trains, and played with puppets. It was pretty much the best night of my life. Haha! No, seriously, he's really great. Also, I took some photos of him while we were playing tonight, and a few of them might have come out amazing. I should have asked first, but I didn't want to interrupt you, and he was too dang cute to resist. I wanted to make a note about it so I didn't forget to ask you if you're okay with it. If not, I can delete them, no problem. All went well tonight. Ethan is a precious gentleman. He ate two of those bread knots, an apple, and some string cheese. We also shared a slice of cake.
She signed her name at the bottom. He loved the note. He smiled at her handwriting. He caught sight of her bag and her camera. He couldn’t wait to see the pictures. This woman gave him a feeling of anticipation. He turned and looked at her while she was sleeping… her face… the curves and lines of her face were like a work of art. She was beautiful.
Finding love was not on the agenda for John-Michael, but he knew there was no harm in taking a second to enjoy these warm, fuzzy feelings. His heart raced as his gaze reached her mouth. He would never act on it, but he would love to kiss her. He was definitely attracted to Sadie, there was no denying it.