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“Why is miss Liv still here, dad?” Harlan asks, pointing at me.
“We, uh…” Alex tries, but looks at me for help.
“We had a sleepover, Harlan!” I say.
“Yes, a sleepover!” Alex agrees, liking my answer.
“But why didn’t you invite me?” the little boy pouts.
“It was a sleepover just for adults, dear,” I say, trying to look dissatisfied while I’m still seeing kittens and rainbows. “Would be boring for you.”
He seems satisfied with my answers, but tries to take a few steps forward, and Alex halts his pace with an outstretched hand.
“You still want cereal, right? Go wash up and wait in the kitchen. I’m coming,” Alex says.
“Alright!” Harlan says with cheer, running away at the exact same moment.
“No running!” Alex says. The kid’s footfalls slow in an instant and I hold back a snort.
“Good morning!”
He turns to me to say, and I know that my eyes are gleaming to see him again.
“Good morning!” I reply, then go in for a kiss. He hesitates on kissing me, likely out of fear of morning breath, but I don’t give a damn and just force myself on him. “He seems to take it well. Is he always like this?”
“I don’t know…” he turns awkward. “It’s the first time I’ve brought a woman here since his mother passed away. Stay for breakfast?” Alex offers with big puppy eyes.
“Um…” I squirm. “I think it’s too early for me to be around your son like the new woman in the house, Alex. But since you brought her up…”
I bite my lip and try to decide how to ask what I want, but it’s as if Alex can read my mind.
He just lets out a small sigh and sits up in bed.
“You are wanting to know about Rebecca, right? My late wife.”
My heart is beating fast in my chest as I nod, sitting up too.
And just like that, us sitting together with bedhead and morning breath and covered in blankets, he opens up to me.
“Well…” I see his eyes go vacant as if traveling back in time. “She…”
His eyes tear up a little and he coughs as if to regain his composure.
I rub his back gently and just smile at him, my heart breaking for him while also feeling so grateful that he’s sharing this with me.
After a moment, he continues, “She and I got married after I got back from the military. She had recently graduated from college in social work back then and we hit it off at charity event organized by a nonprofit she worked for. I went there because it helped veterans’ transition back into civilian life, and we crossed paths.”
I hold his hand as he composes his thoughts. As I wait patiently, it hits me that Rebecca’s influence probably plays a huge part in the deep philanthropic interest he has now.
“We got married a little over a year later and shortly after Harlan came along.”
I nod, leaning even closer to him.
He looks at me and smiles, his blue eyes shining with tears. Then his eyes go distant again.
“She was so young… Such a tiny little thing. Everyone would be taken aback to see my huge 6 feet 4 inches frame compared to hers, which barely topped 5 feet.”
He smiles wistfully and continues, “Four years ago… When Harlan was just two, she got sick that winter. We didn’t think anything of it, and thought it was just a common cold or allergies, you know, sneezing and coughing. But it wouldn’t go away and when she got a fever, we figured it was the flu or something.”
