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The show ends shortly after. Tyler and Maisie are out and down the aisle before anyone else. By the time Dad, Izzy, and I get to the parent pickup area, they are already hugging Hunter and showering him with congratulations.
“My man!” Tyler lifts Hunter in the air, his hat falling off his head. “You were awesome!”
“I was!” Hunter beams and hugs his dad so tight that Tyler’s face reddens from the lack of blood flow. “Will taught me everything! He’s my best friend.”
Tyler slowly pulls away. “Bud, he’s a grown man who helped you with magic. He’s not your best friend.”
“Pretty close. We bond. Like men do.”
Hunter is finishing that sentence as Will rounds the corner from backstage, wheeling a crate with the equipment they used in their performance. He’s still dressed to the nines, except the top button of his shirt and his tie are undone, hanging loosely around his neck. Maisie does a double take when she sees him, probably because he looks absolutely delectable. I blame the tie. It’s giving him a total swoony effect.
I shoot my invisible daggers at her up-and-down of Will.Down, girl. You can’t have this one too.
Izzy gives Will a high-five. “You guys were awesome. It was even better than your practice.”
Will, as modest as ever, gives a curt smile and thanks Izzy. “We couldn’t have done it without your pointers.”
“I’m not impressed by much, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out how you got that kid in the air. I’m gonna start looking up how to do that,” Dad states.
Will takes my dad’s offered handshake and accepts his accolades as well. “Maybe I’ll show you how to get Melissa up in the air. You can wow your buddies over at the diner.”
“Good luck getting Melissa to do a trick like that. She’s afraid of heights,” Tyler adds with a sarcastic gleam.
“I think I can manage being five feet off the ground. I can fly in a plane; I can handle a small levitation,” I quip.
“Yeah, right. Remember that tree house in your neighbor’s backyard, the one we used to sneak into when we were teenagers and make out? I could get you up, but you would cry the whole way down.”
Tyler thinks his story is amusing when, in actuality, it’s awkward. Bringing up teenage rendezvous in front of the kids, my dad, even his new girlfriend leaves an uncomfortable sting in the air. It’s like if you move, you’ll combust, so we just stand still and look around, hoping for someone to say something more prolific.
“Hunter, I had an awesome time working with you. Thank you for letting me be part of your show,” Will says kindly to my son.
Hunter moves away from Tyler and wraps his arms around Will.
“You’re the best, Will. When I grow up, I want to be just like you.”
The words are like a tug to my already-bursting heart after what the two of them did tonight. Will kneels down and hugs Hunter—really hugs him. It’s tense and frightening. All that fear I had of Hunter growing close to Will has just come to the forefront of my brain. They’ve bonded, and there’s no going back without heartache.
“What’s a grown man doing, spending so much time with a kid?”
“Tyler,” I admonish him as Maisie nudges him in the arm for his rudeness.
“What? No one’s going to question why this guy put on a penguin suit and dedicated his time to putting on a magic show with a little kid he doesn’t know? Unless he’s working his magic in other ways,” Tyler continues, but Maisie steps in front of him and takes Hunter’s hand.
I jut my face out at Tyler and give him the mom eyes even though he’s not my child. “Don’t be crude, Tyler.”
“Don’t be so gullible, Lyss.”
“Come on, kids. Let’s go take a walk.” Maisie places a hand on Izzy’s shoulder and guides the kids away from us.
For the first time in two years, I’m grateful for her presence.
Will elongates his six-foot-two frame and looks down at Tyler. “What do you mean by that?”
“I don’t like you being alone with my son.” Tyler squares his blazer-clad shoulders, trying to make himself appear as large, if not as tall, as Will.
“What’s your reason?” Will asks coolly.
“Your relationship isn’t normal. What do you do when you’re together? Because if you’re not sleeping with his mother than you have some other motive in mind.”
