My heart sinks. “What? But we just built this. Don’t you want to?—”
“I’m just tired.” He stands. “Maybe later.”
And with that, he trudges upstairs, leaving me sitting alone in our blanket fort like a proper fool. Even Gus looks at me with something that might be pity.
Sighing, I crawl out of the fort, haul myself up, then head through to the kitchen. I flick the kettle on, and while it rumbles away, I grab myself a mug, toss in a teabag, and get the milk ready. I’ll give him a bit of time before I go up and see how he’s doing.
I carry my tea through to the living room, but I’ve only taken a few sips when the front door creaks open and a voice calls, bright but hesitant, “Hello? Lachlan?”
Frowning, I set the mug aside and get to my feet. Gus is first into the hall and I follow him to find Blair, rain-spattered and smiling faintly, with Finn at her side, his hair damp, his shoes leaving wee puddles on the mat.
What the—? When did he even leave the house? I didn’t hear a thing. Must’ve been when the kettle was boiling. The cheeky wee bugger actually sneaked out to see her.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Blair says, patting a very happy Gus, “but Finn turned up at my door.”
“Finn!” I run a hand down my face. “You can’t just wander off without telling me. And you definitely can’t bother Blair when she’s not working.”
“But I’m not bothering her! Blair said shedoeslike spending time with me.” He says it with pride, like he’s just cracked the case of the century.
“Of course I do.” Blair crouches to Finn’s level and ruffles his damp hair. “You’re a cool dude.” She glances up at me. “I told Finn that, yes, I do get paid to look after him, but some people are just lucky enough to get paid to spend time with their favourite people.”
Finn beams, delighted.
Didn’t I say near enough the same thing twenty minutes ago? Yet somehow whenshesays it, he gets it.
“Right, well, thanks for clearing that up,” I say. “But we should let you get back to?—”
“Can Blair come in?” Finn interrupts. “Blair, we built a fort and it’s the biggest one ever. You could be the princess!”
“Finn, no, Blair’s got her own things to do. We can’t?—”
“Honestly, I don’t mind.” Blair stands and brushes raindrops off her jacket. “I was just reading, and it’s pretty nasty out there anyway.”
“See, Da? She wants to come in.”
I find myself caught between my son’s pleading eyes and Blair’s amused smile. The smart thing would be to stick to my guns, maintain the boundaries. But Finn looks so hopeful and Blair seems genuinely happy to be here, and I’m starting to feel like a right bastard for trying to keep them apart.
“I suppose...” I say. “If you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“I’m sure.” Blair shrugs out of her damp jacket, and I take it and hang it on the hook next to mine.
“Right,” I say. “Er... can I get you a tea? Coffee?”
“Oh, that would be?—”
“Come on!” Finn grabs Blair’s hand and pulls her towards the living room. “Come see the castle!”
And just like that, any hope of normal adult conversation is gone. Blair lets herself be dragged away, laughing at Finn’s enthusiasm, and I follow behind like a spare part in my own house.
“Wow,” Blair says after taking in the fort. “This is incredible, Finn. It’s like a real medieval castle.”
“It is, isn’t it?” When Gus pads back into the fort, Finn adds, “Gus is the guard dog. Every castle needs one.”
“So what happens in this castle?” Blair asks, settling on the floor.
“Well, we could play knights and dragons.” Finn’s eyes light up with the spark that was missing earlier. “I’ll be the knight, you can be the princess, and Da can be the dragon. But not a nice one like Zog, Da. A scary one. Okay?”
Playing make-believe with my son? Fine. Normal. Expected, even. But with an audience? Withherwatching me crawl around on the floor making dragon noises? The thought makes my skin crawl.
