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I tell him, “I promise that I won’t do anything to hurt her, and I’ll do my best to treat her like the queen she is.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “Are you going to tell my mom I said shit?”
“I don’t think she needs to know anything about it.”
That gets a smile out of him. “Maybe you’re not so bad.”
Before he walks out of the room, I ask, “Hey, Chris, have you ever told your mom your feelings about how your dad treats her?”
He shakes his head. “What’s the point? They got divorced.”
Before I can say anything else, he walks out of the room. Probably a good thing. It’s not my place to get in the middle of all that. And I should follow Erin’s examples and not talk badly about the kids’ dad in front of them.
An hour later, we all sit in the living room, playing Monopoly and watching Harry Potter. It didn’t take much convincing for them to want to watch it with me. Chris said he had watched the first one in school a few years ago, and he liked it. They’ve been entranced ever since. We’ve talked a little as I try to get to know them a little better.
Not only are they smart, but all three of them are hilarious. Erin was right. They’re all great kids.
When a scary part comes on the movie, Joey climbs into my lap.
A month ago, I was prowling the bars in whatever town I was in and looking for someone to take home for the night. Now, I’m hanging out with my girlfriend’s kids while we watch Harry Potter. I’ve dreamed of something like this for so long. Maybe it’s not exactly in the way that I imagined it, but damnit, it’s still perfect.
We all get so into the movie that we completely forget about the boardgame in front of us. When the credits roll, I realize that it’s getting late, and I’m pretty sure the kids have school tomorrow.
Looking at Chris, I say, “What time do you guys normally go to bed?”
He looks at his phone. “About twenty minutes ago.”
When he looks back at me and sees the fact that I’m not really sure what to do next, he says, “Come on guys. Let’s go get ready for bed.”
He picks a sleepy Joey up out of my arms and carries him upstairs. The way Chris is with his brothers reminds me a lot of Duke when we were younger. Although he was so much older than us, and he typically was always busy with his own stuff, he would watch us sometimes when our mom would go out. Half the time, he was more of a parent than she was. I’m glad Chris doesn’t have to carry that burden because Erin is one hell of a mom.
As I’m cleaning up the living room and kitchen, Joey comes back downstairs. He’s dressed in footy-pajamas and is carrying a stuffed rhino.
“Hey Joey, you okay?” I ask.
“I came to ask Momma to read me a story.”
“Well, Momma’s still sleeping.”
His face falls. “Oh. Can you read to me?”
“Uh, sure.”
He grabs my hand and leads me upstairs to his bedroom. Once there, he grabs a book about a friendly shark off the shelf, and I start reading to him. I’m so into doing voices and having fun with it that I don’t even realize that Joey has fallen asleep. It isn’t until Erin peeks her head in the doorway and points to him that I notice it.
As quietly as I can, I get up off the bed and shut off the light before exiting the room. Erin takes me by the hand and leads me to her bedroom. She still looks pale as a ghost and moves pretty slowly.
She lays down on the bed, and I climb next to her to pull her close.
“You’re cold, babygirl,” I tell her, reaching for the blanket to cover us both up.
“You’re going to get sick,” she says.
“Eh, worth it.”
She nuzzles into my chest before saying, “Thank you for tonight. You really didn’t have to come here and do all this. I don’t know how to repay you.”
“You don’t repay me, beautiful. This is how this works. We have each other, no matter what. We help each other out when we need it.”
