Thankfully, this wasn’t one of those times my son felt the need to tell me I was cringe.
Giselle waved her hands above her head. “Pasta party!”
It was silly and stupid, but so fun.And it was only natural that all the eyes at the table went to Natalie, the only one who hadn’t joined in. She was wearing her usual neutral expression, which meant it looked like she was the one where she looked like she was contemplating disembowelment, but I had long since learned that was her default face. She was just as likely to be contemplating buying new shoes as she was potential homicide.
I didn’t expect her to participate, but then she suddenly dabbed without changing her expression at all.
Sometimes, she could be damn funny.
Giselle and I started laughing, which made Veronica screech along with us, but Benny looked confused.
“Huh? I don’t get it.”
“Ancient meme,” Giselle said, taking a seat across from him, leaving me the head of the table. “From before your time.”
“Like when they invented the lightbulb?”
“Watch it,” I said. “One day you’ll be this old, too.”
“Yeah, but in like a million years.”
Natalie cleared her throat. “This is a dinner, so there is meant to be food, yes?”
That was directed at me. “I’ll go get everything off the warmer. Jun—Benny,would you mind getting everyone their drinks?”
“I can do that!”
I was grinning as I went to get the food. Dinner was off to a pleasant start. Hopefully, it would continue that way.
It wasn’t long before we were all seated, the steaming dishes on several serving mats, and everyone with their drink of preference. Giselle only had water, but she pulled an Ensure out of her purse and put it beside her glass. When Benny was three, Millia gave him some of those when he was recovering from the flu.
It seemed Giselle was holding true to her word about doing better for herself. That made me a lot happier than it should have. But whatever. Life was grim enough, so I would take whatever little flashes of joy I could find. And seeing real-time proof that Giselle was going to be okay was definitely a joy.
“So, are you looking forward to any movies that are coming out?” Giselle asked, her attention on Benny. I loved that she so naturally included my son in conversation and was genuinely interested in what he had to say. I didn’t think I could ever date anyone who disrespected my son or treated him as lesser.
Not that Giselle and I were dating. She was just visiting my house to tell me some important news. I shouldn’t be getting ahead of myself.
But still... It kind of felt like a date. In fact, if Natalie wasn’t there, there would have been no other way to classify it.
“I’m glad you asked,” Benny said with a mock gravitas that made me have to hide my mouth behind my hand so I didn’t laugh. The kid had a sense of humor, and he certainly didn’t get that from me.
I half listened to him talk about the movie he was looking forward to, but I was caught up in nostalgia as I recalled othertimes throughout his young life when he’d been hilarious. I was blessed to have a son like him. He had every right to be a little terror after what he’d survived, but he was a wonderful, loving child.
One day, I hoped to be a father worthy of him and Veronica.
But for the first time since I’d taken over as their sole guardian, I finally felt that I was moving forward to that goal.
Did I still have a lot to learn? God, yeah. I was still making far too many mistakes, still trying to catch up on so much ground I had lost. But I was catching up.
And that was largely because of Giselle.
It wasn’t only the art class she’d recommended to Benny, but also that she was such a reliable source of support for him. My son had really grown into himself from the start of the school year. Hell, he even asked to stop being called Junior. Some fathers would have been upset about that, but I was proud my son was finding his own identity. He’d already accomplished so much in such a short time, and I couldn’t wait to see what he could do in two years, three years, or even by high school. The boy was incredible.
I hoped he never felt anything less than that.
“And what about you?” Giselle asked. I thought she was talking to me or Natalie, but no, her attention was on Veronica.
“Gabbah!” Veronica responded confidently, in true toddler fashion.
