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When he caught up, he yanked his son into a sitting position on the curb. “What in heaven’s name was that?”
Mathew still scowled at him. “What?”
“We were getting along so well. What happened?”
His son looked away. “I want that pocketknife.”
“Yes, I understand that. But that’s no excuse for how you behaved. You can’t act like that in public.”
Mathew let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine.”
“Try again.”
He groaned. “What?”
“An apology would be a good start.”
“Why? You didn’t say sorry.”
Tristan dragged a hand down his face. “What did I do that requires an apology? I didn’t make a scene and drop someone’s belongings on the ground.”
Mathew’s eyes darted in his direction, then away. His voice softened. “You hurt my feelings.”
Tristan let out a puff of air he’d been holding in his chest. He had a feeling that’s what this was about. Carefully, he settled down to sit on the curb beside Mathew. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I didn’t say you had to.” He rested his elbows on his knees and peered up at the bright blue sky in order to gather his thoughts. One wrong statement could have his son running off again. “What I meant to say was that we have different rules in our family. If you were capable of showing the maturity required to own that knife, then I would have been happy to get one for you. But there are sometimes when you don’t know how to control your emotions. People who get easily angry or upset need to learn how to regulate those emotions before they can own something like a knife.”
Mathew didn’t say anything. He still stared at the road in front of them, the frown on his face deepening. “That’s notfair.”
“I’m sorry, kiddo. Life isn’t supposed to be fair.” This wasn’t the first time he’d said that, and like all the other times, Mathew made a face. “Come on, let’s get back to Dianna. I’m sure she’s worried about you.”
Mathew continued to glare into the pavement.
“Mathew, I said let’s go.”
“I don’t want to.”
Tristan let out a sigh. So much for a good thing. It had been ridiculous to even think that things had changed for good. Of course Mathew would have regressions. He’d just hoped it wouldn’t be until they were done with the therapy sessions here. He clasped his hands in front of him and peered down the street that had been blocked from traffic for the weekend. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Mathew didn’t respond.
“It’s about Dianna and me.”
This got a small reaction, though his son didn’t meet his gaze. He shifted and his features softened a little.
“I love her.”
Now, he looked up. “You do?”
“I do. And one day, I’d like to marry her.”
Mathew’s eyes rounded.
“But I wanted to see what you thought about it first.”
He turned his focus back to the road. “Would she be my new mom?”
