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The level of jealousy this caused was probably unwarranted.
I noticed Candace taking in the scene from the doorway.When Sergio finished the story, he said his goodbyes, and I took the phone from Wyatt, giving him a kiss to the forehead.“Night, buddy.”
“Night, Senator,” he replied, snuggling under his blankets.
I cringed and walked out of his room, meeting Candace in the living room.I dropped into the chair next to the couch.“So, that’s Wyatt.”
“I hope I’m not out of line here, but I noticed he calls you Mason,” she said, playing with her hands.
I took a deep breath.“Yes.Indeed, he does.Sometimes he calls me the Senator.What he has never called me is ‘dad’ or any form of the honorific.”I heard the frustration in my voice.She looked confused, so I continued.“Wyatt was only recently told that I’m his father.I’ve always been Mason to him.”
I waited for a look of horror that never came.Taking a deep breath, I said, “Look, I’m sure you saw on the news that I was married to his aunt until recently.We were Auntie Elle and Uncle Mason.It was just easier for him.”
She nods as if that makes some kind of sense.I know it doesn’t.I keep talking anyway.“Wyatt lived with his mom, Catherine, and her boyfriend Eli, full-time until a few weeks ago.Unfortunately, Eli died.It’s been hard on Wyatt.He doesn’t really understand.And Catherine—
well let’s just say she’s in no shape to be a parent right now.”
“She’s on tour with the band she works with, doing god knows what, but she calls every night.So does the drummer, Sergio.He typically calls at bedtime to read Wyatt a story.”
“Were they together for a long time?”Candace asks.
“Yeah.Been friends since high school.Wyatt doesn’t understand why we can’t call Eli, even though I’ve tried to explain it.But how do you tell a toddler that someone he loves is never coming back?”I asked, not expecting an answer.
“What do you tell him?You know, in case he asks about him while you’re at work?”
“That Eli died, and we can’t see him anymore.If you have any sage advice, I’ll take it.Catherine has always handled explaining things to Wyatt, but this isn’t something I wanted to leave to her.She has enough to deal with.”
Candace nodded her understanding.“Would it be okay if I explained Eli lives in people’s hearts now?That’s what someone told me when I was little, and it always made me feel better when I was sad.”
Well fuck, why didn’t I think of that?“That’s perfect, actually.”
Chapter5
Candace
Things in the Davis household weren’t as I expected.Most of the kids of politicians I knew followed carefully orchestrated routines, especially at Wyatt’s age.Out of bed at a specific time, activities planned for the day ahead to occupy the whole day.I was relieved I would not be a glorified chauffeur, but I was out of my depth with the lack of structure.
Things here revolved around Wyatt, not around Mason.If today he wanted to run around without pants, he was free to do so.Mason’s exact comment was, “We just want him to be a kid.”
I heard that all the time, but no-one ever meant it like this.Honestly, kids do well with some structure, and it seemed like Wyatt may have had it before because he followed an unconscious routine of sorts, but it was clear this wasn’t a routine set by Mason.He seemed oblivious.
The fact Wyatt called his father by his first name was one of those things.Mason had offered an explanation, but it didn’t make a lick of sense.It was clear Mason loved the boy, and Wyatt loved him back, but he did not know what to do with him.
Maybe his ex-wife did the parenting when Wyatt visited?
Wyatt and I were on our own when we woke up.He requested pancakes with Nutella for breakfast.“Nutella is a snack, buddy.”
He gave me a dubious look.“No.It’s breakfast.It’s over there.”He pointed to a cabinet.I didn’t want to interrupt Mason at work with such a silly question, so I redirected Wyatt to other options.
“Hmm.Do you like eggs?”
“Eggys?”He tapped his chin in contemplation.“With toast?”
“Absolutely,” I agreed with the small person.He cheered and asked if he could help.I didn’t see a stool, so I set him to work at the table with a whisk, and some water in a bowl.I wasn’t sure he’d accept these as ingredients, but I didn’t want to let a toddler play with raw eggs.
While I scrambled him up some eggs and dropped bread into the toaster, Wyatt diligently stirred his water.“Needs seasoning,” he mumbled with a shake of his head.I slid the saltshaker toward him, and he happily dumped some into the bowl.I hope he doesn’t want to consume this later.
The toast popped up, and I put it on a plate.I brought it to Wyatt with a butter knife and the butter.“I do it!”he said, excited.
