“Was he holding a sign that said ‘Tuckers are Fuckers?’”
“No,” Virgil said.
“Was he holding a sign that said, ‘Store clearance, everything must go’?”
“No,” Emmett said.
“Was he doing anything besides just sitting innocently in the chair?” I asked.
“No,” they admitted.
“Good, then if you can handle yourselves appropriately, you have permission to take on the responsibility of placing the gnome next. Harmlessly. Without any kind of vandalism or criminal activity.”
Virgil sighed. “Fine.”
“Good,” I said.
The rest of the day progressed calmly, with Thaddius standing next to the register, adding a bit of spooky charm to the place to honor the approach of Halloween.
That night, Addison was waiting for me at the house with lasagna, garlic bread, red wine, and the most beautiful smile I could imagine.
“This is nice,” I said, accepting the glass of wine she handed me once I’d dropped my messenger bag.
“It’s our first night alone in a while,” she said, and it felt so good to know she’d been anticipating it just as much as I had.
I sipped the wine, feeling all the tension wash through me and away as the lush flavor coated my tongue.
This.
Addison waiting, warm and smiling, this beautiful house, the smell of home cooked food in the air. This was everything I wanted. This feeling of happiness welling inside from a place I hadn’t heard from in years, maybe ever. This idea that my life could still take a turn, that there could still be something in it for me beyond the day to day focus I’d found in trying to be a good father to my son. This.
We sat down to dinner, an air of calm anticipation around us in the knowledge that we had the whole night together, the whole weekend. There was no rush.
“Thanks for making dinner,” I said.
Addison smiled. “I’m practicing. It isn’t something I’ve done a lot, but my mom said lasagna is pretty much foolproof.”
“You’re pretty far from a fool anyway.”
“That was close to a dad joke.”
“Do I tell too many dad jokes?”
“It’s part of your charm,” she said, and I believed she meant it.
Dinner was a leisurely affair, each of us relaxed and smiling. Our meal was punctuated with light touches as we talked, and with exchanged looks that said we both knew what was to come. It was like extended foreplay, and by the time we were taking the dishes to the kitchen, I couldn’t wait any longer.
I put my plate on the counter and then let my hands find the sweet curve of Addie’s hips as she faced the sink. I pulled her into my hips and was rewarded with her sharp intake of breath. As my hands explored beneath the hem, finding their way to the smooth skin of her stomach, sliding across soft warmth and pulling her tighter into me, she dropped her head back onto my shoulder. I leaned my head in, burying my nose in the floral sweetness of her hair and then finding the long column of her beautiful throat.
Addie moaned as my lips brushed her skin, and gasped again when I began kissing and licking my way along the side of her neck, moving into the curve of her shoulder to be rewarded with another breathy moan.
My hands had found their way to her breasts, and I cupped the perfect swells in my hands, my balls tightening in anticipation as I pressed myself harder against her. I let out a throaty groan of my own, blinded and deafened to everything but her. But this.
Until.
“Dad?”
I looked up to find Daniel standing just inside the back door, his mouth open slightly and his brow furrowed.
“Dan,” I said, but my brain was too muddled with Addie to respond quickly enough. To respond correctly. I should have stepped away, should have sat him down and explained things, but in the next second, his mother was standing behind him. And she did not look confused at all.
“So you lied to me before,” she said. “This,” she waved between me and Addie, “is exactly what I thought it was. And that doesn’t even matter,” she went on. “You let my son get injured in this disaster of a house.”
“No,” I said, feeling like my words were blocks of concrete, heavy and impossible to arrange correctly. “Wait, hurt? Dan?” I looked to Dan. The limp?
“He stepped on a nail out in the yard,” she said. “And we just came from the doctor where he had a tetanus shot and had the wound treated in case of infection. The fact you didn’t even know about it only makes it worse. And now, this.” She waved back and forth between Addison and me. “No wonder you were too distracted to keep your son safe.”
Daniel looked as upset and confused as I felt. “Are you okay, Dan?” I asked.
He didn’t answer, but stared at Addie, looking hurt. This wasn’t the way I wanted to tell him about the relationship I was building with Addie. And I couldn’t help but feel like Shelly’s presence just behind him was poisoning my ability to defend myself, like there was no way I could really explain anything with her there. And there was really no defending myself if what she said about Dan getting hurt was true.
“I think we all know exactly what’s going on,” Shelly snapped.
“Just a second,” Addison tried, stepping forward, but Daniel’s face had shifted, his cheeks reddening.
He interrupted whatever Addie had been about to say, “Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice cracked, and I felt my heart crack at the same time. “Why didn’t you just tell me? I’m not a kid.” His words were directly at odds with the emotion on his face, the trembling lip as he struggled with emotion. He was shaking his head now, refusing to meet my eyes.
“Just go upstairs and get your backpack,” Shelly said, and when Daniel had trudged off to retrieve his forgotten item, she pinned me with a glare. “You let your son get hurt and lied to him. And you lied to me. You said you’d keep him safe here, and now he’s got a hole in his foot that needed medical attention. What if it had been something worse? I might have made an empty threat before, but you’ll be hearing from my lawyer now.”
“Shell, don’t do this,” I said, my voice carrying every ounce of the exhaustion I felt.
“I’m doing it. For Daniel,” she said.
I knew two things for certain when she spoke those words.
One, Shelly was serious this time. I’d given her ammunition by not looking out for Daniel. My stomach was shredded with the knowledge that he’d gotten hurt under my care, and that Shelly was right, it could have been much worse.
I also knew that whatever bliss I’d shared with Addison had just come to an end. I’d been deceiving us both, pretending I was free to start something, to enjoy something, to share something with her. But in truth, I was not free. I’d let down my guard and my son had paid for it, and now Shelly had the upper hand. I might lose him.
“Daniel, we’ll talk about this,” I promised as my son walked past me, refusing to meet my eyes.
“Fine.” He pushed through the kitchen door, his backpack slung over his shoulder, and I felt my heart go with him, crushed and crumpled like his pack.
“I’ll talk to you Monday,” Shelly said, and her voice held a threat I clearly identified.