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“I did, baby.”
He frowns. “I not a baby anymore, Mommy.” I’m being scolded by a three-year-old. “ David promise to take me to his daddy’s farm.”
I turn to find David smiling at us. “I said someday. We need to ask Mommy first.”
Davi rolls his dark eyes. “Yeah, he said that.” Then his demeanor changes as he adopts the full begging pose, hands under his chin. “Can we, Mommy?”
“Hold your horses, kid. David will be helping Grandpa with the new church building for some time. We will talk about this later in the summer, okay?”
Davi turns to look at his father. “See? I told you, she always thinks abouteverything.” He ends the statement with a dramatic move of his little arms.
I’m being cataloged as the bad cop here. The boring police. Perfect. He’s here a few hours, and I’m the bad guy.
“Davi,” David says. “Mommy does all the work alone. It’s a good thing for her to be careful. She wants you to be safe. Do you think about your health and safety? How about hers? Do you think aboutallthe work she does every day?”
My son’s brows knit together. “No.”
“Give Mommy a little bit of appreciation, okay?” David continues, and my heart stumbles a little. “We will talk about going to meet my family in a few weeks. What if we order that pizza now?”
“Cheese!” Davi dances around the kitchen as if nothing has just happened. “Do you like cheese, right, David?”
“I do,” he replies then his hot gaze is on me. “What do you like, Ella?”
The question surprises me. I wasn’t expecting it. For the past years, I’ve shared whatever Davi is in the mood to eat.
“Supreme?” he asks again. “We could order two pies if you want.”
“One is fine,” I finally find my voice. “Half and a half would work perfectly.”
“As the lady wishes.”
“Let me get the phone.”
While we wait for the food to arrive, I take Davi’s albums to show them to David. Davi is entertaining him with stories about each image. He doesn’t care if he is too little to remember. He comes up with something.
After we eat, I pick up the kitchen, dismissing David’s help. They head to Davi’s room, giving me the chance to call my sister. But my phone is already full of messages and lost calls. People who haven’t called me in a very long time are now somehow interested in my life and the fact that David is currently at my home spending the afternoon with us.
“Hey, girly,” says the voice of Jenna, and my eyes close. Her tone is like nails on a chalkboard. Good thing the phone isn’t on speaker. This is the samefriendwho invited me to that weekend getaway. We haven’t talked since I got pregnant and decided to keep the baby. “Busy times, aren’t they? Let’s have coffee this week. We have a lot of catching up to do. You have my number. Call me.”
Then the next.
“I can’t believe it!” Kathleen, another of my oldfriends, screeches. The annoying singsong sound of her voice is like a fork scrapping over a plate “My mother said the guy is absolutely gorgeous,gorgeous.And he’s taken by your kid and you. You’re fast, girl. Way to go…. Anyway, I want to know everything. Call me!”
The next one is the worst. “Seems like you like Latino hunkies, don’t you?” Says another annoying female voice. “We never knew anything about your son’s father, but this guy is here, and my mother told me theyverylook alike. Is he the father? Or do you just have a type?”
I feel dizzy already. The arm supporting me over the counter starts to shake.
“I put him to sleep,” David’s voice causes me to jump. “He barely could keep his eyes open. I hope that’s okay.”
I can’t say a word. I just can’t.
“Ella, what’s happening? Something with your father?” Another message starts playing, and David keeps silent while listening, then angrily ends the recording by pressing the red button on the screen. “This is bullshit. You shouldn’t be wasting your time with it.”
His arm steals around my waist, holding me close to his hard body. “I’m sorry I put you in this position,” he apologizes, his breath warm over my skin. I tremble for a different reason this time. “But I’m not sorry to be here. This is the best thing that’s happened to me in a very long time.”
“It’s happening again,” I finally whisper.
“The school session is finished, right?” he asks me. “Let me take you to my home in Los Angeles. No one will disturb you there.”
