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“And the zoo on Saturday!” Parker said excitedly.
“Right, the zoo,” I nodded.
“Can Officer Pete come with us, Mama?”
This was one of those awkward moments where your kids got you in a situation that there was no easy way out of. Sure, I liked Pete, but I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. And Parker would get attached if we spent too much time with him.
“Honey, Officer Pete probably already has plans and?—”
“No, I don’t actually. I’d love to go to the zoo. That is, if you want me,” he said, winking at me before turning back to the road.
It wasn’t about whether or not I wanted him to. There was a way to handle this, and him volunteering was not it. I didn’t even know Pete. Yes, he was nice and charming, but I wasn’t ready for Parker to start spending time with him. He didn’t have a father, and I didn’t need him getting attached to a man who may not stick around.
We pulled into the restaurant parking lot before I had a chance to think of a good response. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Parker. He wouldn’t understand. And this was really a conversation I needed to have alone with Pete.
With my head lost in thought, I mechanically removed Parker from the car seat, then took his hand as we headed into the restaurant. Pete held the door for us, then asked for a booth as we waited to be seated. I was so uncomfortable now. I wished I could go back to when he showed up at the hospital and tell him this would neverwork. How did something so innocent turn into a day together at the zoo?
“Skylar?” Pete said, holding out his hand to me.
“What?”
“They’re ready to seat us.”
My eyes flicked to the waitress, who was already walking toward a booth. I gave him a tight smile and followed her, keeping Parker close to me. If I didn’t, he’d stop at every booth to see what they were eating. He jumped across the booth and I slid in beside him, ignoring the look the waitress shot me when she blatantly stared at my left hand.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only person that noticed the nasty look she was giving me. “We’re good for now,” Pete said to the waitress, staring at her until she scurried away. Shaking his head, he scoffed at her. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s not that unusual.”
“You know, you’d think with how many people get divorced nowadays, there wouldn’t be so many judgmental people out there.”
“Oh, they’re still out there,” I chuckled humorlessly. “That’s why I stay offline.”
“Tell me about it. We’ve turned into a society that feels it’s okay to belittle people online simply because they feel their identities are hidden.”
“I liked it better when we didn’t have all this technology,” I said whimsically. “Remember when you were a kid and the only thing you had to do was watch TV or play outside?”
“I never watched TV,” he laughed. “My parents didn’t allow it. If I was awake, I was doing chores or outside playing. In the summer, I wasn’t allowed inside unless it was to go to sleep.”
“It makes me sad that our childhoods were so much simpler. You know, everyone says technology is so good for business and growth, but my child will never know what it’s like to play baseball with his friends after school or catch lightning bugs with the neighborhood kids.”
He shook his head. “Not where you live. And I’m not criticizing. I just mean, that’s a rough neighborhood.”
“I know.”
His brows furrowed as he ran his fingers up and down the condensation on the water glass. “Do you mind me asking what made you decide to live there? I’m sure there are other areas of town that are better.”
This was one of those times that I couldn’t talk about my situation. I didn’t really know him, and he was a cop. If I told him who Parker’s father was, things would never be the same between us. That was a silly thing to even think about considering how I was just trying to figure out how to get him to back off.
“It’s a complicated situation.”
Luckily, he didn’t press the issue. He must have known it was a sore subject because he turned to Parker and started talking to him about what he was drawing. I took the opportunity to breathe while reading the menu. This felt like a date. Granted, not a typical date since my son was with me, but I still felt like he was feeling out where I stood on the dating scene and working up to the big question.
“Well, I think I’m getting the burger,” Pete told Parker. “A big, juicy one.”
“I like chicken nuggets.”
“Those are good too. What about you?”
