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“Papa does it well, too.”
“But I’m better.”
“No, Mommy. You’re the same.”
“I gave birth to you, Jer. Your papa didn’t.” I smirk at Adrian.Beat that, mister.
“But you did it together.” Jeremy frowns. “That’s why I have Mommy and Papa.”
“He just did something easy and I’m the one who was pregnant with you for nine months, then gave birth to you.”
“Something easy?” Adrian drawls.
“Shut up,” I whisper-hiss.
Jeremy stares between us, eyes widening like whenever he figures out something. “If it’s easy, do it again and give me a baby sister.”
“It’s notthateasy,” I blurt.
“But you just said it is, Mommy. Can’t you do it again? I want a baby sister.” He pulls on Adrian’s coat. “Papa, please?”
“We’ll see, Malysh.”
“Yay!”
“We will?” I murmur.
“Why?” Adrian asks. “You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just…I never thought about it.” Well, that’s a lie. I have and I’ve often wondered why he’s never insisted on having another child or why he didn’t comment when I went back on birth control after Jeremy’s birth.
But I thought he only needed one heir and didn’t want to deal with another child.
“You can start now,” he says ever so casually, then addresses Jeremy. “Let’s build that war zone, Malysh.”
“Yes, Papa!”
I follow them into the living room, removing my coat on the way. Now that he’s planted the idea of another pregnancy in my mind, it’s the only thing I can think about.
Do I want another child?
The answer to that is so muddled by other facts, starting with who Adrian is and the many secrets that I’m still keeping from him. I’ll need to sort those out before I can even think about bringing another innocent existence into the equation.
Both father and son get busy building the war zone and I barely help. I really don’t like anything that has to do with assembling. My mind is simply not wired that way. However, I love being a part of this little family and having the privilege of watching Adrian and Jeremy up close and witnessing their bond.
It’s a subtle one, only visible when they’re doing an activity together, like right now. They’re both quiet and they understand each other without talking sometimes.
While Adrian is too busy to have a lot of time for Jeremy, he’s there when it matters. And our son is such an understanding angel. He never bothers Adrian or demands things from him. However, he always looks up to him and my husband is never too busy to look back.
The view of Adrian in his casual shirt and pants, muscles relaxed and face serene while holding Jer on his lap, is an experience. I love watching him this way, out of his office and away from his mafia business, and just…a father.
I could watch him like this for an eternity, even though I’m slightly jealous of the effortless connection he has with our son.
“Can you please give me that piece, Mommy?” Jeremy points at the one beside me.
I pass it to him and he grins, snuggling in Adrian’s lap. I continue observing them for a bit, fingering the Lego container. “Why did you bring us to Russia of all places?”
Adrian remains in his element, assembling a few pieces together. “Jeremy needed to come here sooner or later.”
