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I roll my eyes, then let out a yawn. “Don’t mess with me. I’m tired. Someone decided to wake up three times last night.”
“Who?” Andy asks, tickling his little chubby hands. “This innocent little boy?”
A huff escapes me. “Innocent until it’s three in the morning, and he’s crying for no reason.”
“So, coffee then?”
“Yes, please.”
Andy passes the hot beverage over, the smell lingering in the air so deliciously. As soon as the warm liquid hits my throat, I instantly let out a sigh.
“That good?”
“So good, heaven… almost.”
“It’s good.” He nods, then wrinkles his forehead. “Different is perhaps the word more suited.”
I laugh. “Let me guess. You’re still used to our coffee back home?”
“Yeah, odd, I guess since everyone raves about European coffee.”
“You get used to it.” I raise my eyes, watching the clouds begin to hover. “Much like the weather.”
Andy drinks his coffee with a sly grin on his face. “C’mon, how can you pick this over the Californian sunshine?”
I place my cup down to remove Bentley from his stroller so he can sit between us and play with the leaves scattered on the grass. He loves to be outdoors, playing with nature and things he probably shouldn’t be touching. Although he will be soon, he still isn’t walking but can pull himself up if he wants something.
“Sometimes…” I add to the conversation, “… change is good.”
It’s a more straightforward answer than admitting the truth. Of course, I miss home and everything about it, but this place is my home now.
“So, how is the job with my dad coming along?”
Andy shrugs. “Some days easy, some days hard. When it’s difficult to focus, it takes me a while to get the images right. The last few days have been hard…”
His words trail off at the same time he glances in the opposite direction. When it comes to his creativity, Andy needs to be focused. It’s how he has always performed best.
“You’re such a perfectionist. Much like Uncle Lex.”
Andy chuckles softly. “That man is a next-level perfectionist.”
“How is he?”
“Knee-deep in grandchildren.”
“Seriously, Millie and Ava are crazy. Just one child is hard enough. I can’t imagine two or even three in Millie’s case.”
“Hmm,” he murmurs, passing a leaf to Bentley as he scrunches it up in his hand. “You know Will and Austin, they’re like our dads. They make it look so easy.”
I lower my head, knowing how much it hurts that Bentley doesn’t have the same experience. Having children or how they would be raised was never a discussion Benedict and I had when we decided to get married, which is why the pregnancy took us both by surprise. In hindsight, I realize just how meaningful these conversations are, or you can end up in my shoes. Married to a man who thinks providing money is the same as being a dad.
“What’s wrong? You’ve gone quiet for minutes.”
“Nothing.”
“Okay, say I pretend it’s nothing and move on from the conversation. You and I both know it will come up randomly in the middle of another conversation, and I’m supposed to remember what we spoke about.”
He knows me too well, of course.
