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Again, the anger at Chess swelled.
The following day Synovent, H-Street, and Le Stride had a meeting to discuss the progress of their show. Now that they were getting closer to the event, more stuff needed to be discussed and done. The meeting took about two hours before everyone retreated to their various bases to work on their various tasks… everyone but Tazeem. He stayed behind to talk to Chess.
“So about me seeing Jay,” he said once they were in her office alone. “What do you think about this Saturday?”
Nervousness jumped into Chess’s eyes. “This Saturday?”
He was extremely offended by the fact that the thought of him seeing their son was enough to make her anxious. But he kept his voice even he said, “Yeah. The sooner the better, right?”
The nipped at her bottom lip fretfully before nodding. “You’re right. The sooner the better. What were you thinking?”
“Maybe we could do something together,” he proposed. “Doing something fun will make things less awkward.”
“He’s been itching to go to that new amusement park downtown.” She offered, “Maybe we can do that.”
“We can do that,” he agreed.
They spent the next few minutes discussing the logistics of the date. But as soon as they were done, Tazeem headed for the door. He didn’t want her thinking that there was anything between them other than their son.
On Saturday, Tazeem woke up feeling both anxious and excited. He couldn’t wait to spend his first day with his son. Even picking what to wear was a difficult task because he wanted to impress his son. He decided on a white tee, denim jacket, army green joggers, and his freshest kicks.
By ten-thirty a.m., he was at the gates that led to Chess’s home, waiting for someone to open up, even though they’d agreed to meet up at eleven. When the gates opened, he saw Chess and Jay already waiting for him outside their building. His heart leaped in delight. Were they so eager to see him too that they’d gotten ready earlier than planned?
The mother-son pair had dressed for a day out in the sun. Chess was wearing a flowery, off-shoulder, maxi dress with wedge heels and a sun hat that matched her straw purse. She looked sexy as hell, and for a second – just a second – Tazeem felt a familiar rush of desire overwhelm him. He quickly shoved it away. She was the devil’s wife and he’d be damned if he ever let himself get trapped in her web again. He turned his attention to his son.
Jay was wearing a navy-blue avengers’ t-shirt that matched his blue baseball cap and khaki shorts. He looked adorable. If they knew each other better, Tazeem would’ve rushed up and hugged him. But alas…
Oh, well, they had time to get to know each other.
“Good morning,” Tazeem greeted as he got out of his car.
“Morning.” Chess answered. Jay only watched him keenly.
Tazeem asked, “Are you guys ready to go?”
Again only Chess answered, “We’re ready!”
The three piled into Tazeem’s car. Chess sat upfront with Tazeem, while Jay sat in the back. They were the picture of a happy family heading out for an enjoyable Saturday date… that is if one ignored how their son was just silently and sulkily staring out at the passing cars.
“Hey, Buddy.” Tazeem tried to draw his attention. “What kind of cars do you like?”
Most boys liked cars so it should’ve been a safe and interesting topic to break the ice with. But Jay didn’t even turn his head let alone respond.
Chess prodded, “Jay, your dad is talking to you.”
Her intervention drew a shrug and a sulky, “Dunno.”
Tazeem watched the child through the rearview mirror. “So you don’t like cars?”
Another shrug.
“Jason Khan Winters,” his mother reprimanded. “A shrug is not an answer.”
“Leave him.” Tazeem met Chess’s gaze. “He’ll talk to me when he’s ready. I don’t mind waiting.”
That drew a shake of the head from Chess, but from then on she didn’t force Jay to interact with Tazeem.
Tazeem kept on trying to draw their son into a conversation as he drove. But all he got were shrugs, grunts, and the occasional ‘dunno’. It was a painful interaction, but that didn’t bother Tazeem. Any kind of interaction was better than no interaction.
