AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yummy-yum-yum,” Elliot chimes in from the edge of his plate, his high chair smudged with dry polenta and hanging strings of soft cheese.
“Yummy-yum-yum indeed, little man,” Todd replies, then looks at me. “I suppose we’re going to have a diaper-changing session at some point tonight?”
I can’t help but laugh. “The way you said it makes it sound like some kind of sexy Argentinian tango dance, not a diaper change.”
“Anything can be made sexy if you try hard enough,” Todd quips, and I’m giggling like a love-stricken teenage girl. Elliot joins in, cheering and chortling delightedly. He loves to feed on the good humor of those around him.
“All jokes aside, though… I’ll tell you something,” Todd adds, switching back to his more serious demeanor. “I have nothing but respect and appreciation for you, Becky. I want you to know and remember that in the long run. Just for choosing to work with me on this, you’ve made a lifelong friend in me. I mean it.”
“You’re too kind. You don’t need to do that…”
“Do what, be a decent human being?”
I blink a few times, slightly confused by the tone of his voice. There is a depth there that I didn’t hear before. A warmth that makes my skin tingle and my stomach churn, even though I’ve just had some of the best cheese and grapes and crackers I’ve ever tasted in my life.
“I… I don’t understand,” I tell him. “You’re this successful businessman with a particular social circle and Silicon Valley connections. You’re… you’re the type of guy who hangs out in the Hamptons during the summer.”
“Or Puerto Vallarta,” he chuckles dryly. “Cut it out, Becky. I’m not some uppity king of the hill. I’m a college dropout who had to make a name for himself when his whole family turned their back on him, that’s all. I’m a hard worker, just like you. In fact, you and I are more alike than you might think.”
“I doubt it…”
“Really? You’ve got the multiple-baby gene running through your family, don’t you? You and your sisters are triplets; I’m guessing some of your grandparents have twins, too?”
I give him a startled look, but the rebound is pretty quick. “I guess you googled me?”
“Not a hard thing to do, though Piper deserves all the credit. Point is, I’m from a similar family. My dad’s a twin, grandparents and cousins too,” he says. “You started your career from scratch, and so did I.”
“Yours wasn’t the real ‘from scratch,’ though, was it?” I narrow my eyes for a moment. “You had the Connors name. The grand American pedigree. Sure, you’re nothing like your family. Not a doctor or a court judge or a senator or whatever… true. But you’re still a Connors. Don’t tell that name didn’t help push you through some important doors along the way.”
The shadow of a smile flutters across his lips. “You’re right. The name has helped, yes. But in some cases, it’s pulled me back, too. Plenty of investors didn’t think I had what it takes to make it in this field, specifically because none of the Connors had any experience with a business startup of any kind. It’s part of the reason I had such a hard time getting the funds for the global switch. Why I ended up lying about meeting my wife on HeartMatch.”
It hits me now.
The point he’s making. He’s right. I get it. I understand the trials and tribulations of a great name as I would the trials and tribulations of an unknown name like mine. Both operate under similar tenets—either you’re an asset or a potential liability. You win or you die. This duality haunts every aspect of our existence in the end. And all Todd ever did was try to keep his head above the water and prove himself to both sides of a world that wasn’t sure he could hack it.
Damn, the whole thing makes him even more attractive. Couldn’t he be just another insolent and superficial dude? Damn, damn, damn!
* * *
After dinner, I walk Todd through a usual putting-to-bed routine, complete with a surprisingly compliant Elliot. My money is on the full tummy keeping him pleased and malleable, along with the fact that he’s pretty sleepy and likely to drop as soon as I put him in his crib. Todd keeps us company while we change diapers and apply some powder, having agreed that we would try another run at the potty training tomorrow.
“It’s a process, I get it,” I tell Elliot like he’s a grown man. “But I believe in you.”
“I believe in you,” he replies.
I put his cowboy jammies on and let Todd help him with his kiddie toothbrush in front of the mirror. “Look at those big teeth,” Todd praises him. “So big and sharp. You’re gonna chomp me down like a shark, I’ll bet.”
“I’m not a shark, I’m a tiger! Rawr!” Elliot growls as Todd finishes brushing and rinses the toothbrush under a stream of warm water in the sink. “Rawr! I’ll eat you!”
“You’d better run, he ain’t playin’!” I pretend to cry out in horror.
We’re all laughing by the time we reach my bedroom. There’s a storybook resting on my pillow. I started reading it to Elliot last night, but I have a better idea for tonight’s ending scene. I hand Elliot over to a surprised Todd—he doesn’t hesitate, though. Instinctively, he puts his arms around my boy and holds him close with such ease, I can’t help but swoon ever so softly.
“You can read him his bedtime story if you’d like,” I say, offering the book.
Todd gives me a long and tender look, then settles on the edge of my bed. It’s a strange image for me to witness. I’ve always slept alone here. The few dates I’ve had since I gave birth to Elliot never got far enough to consider a moment in the bedroom. Yet a gorgeous and remarkably capable man has taken over my bed and my son tonight. “It would be my pleasure,” he says.
“Here, here… with the purple dinosaur…” Elliot is half-asleep already, but he uses the last of his strength to help flip the page over to page five, where he remembers we left off.
