I rolled my eyes, smiling despite the situation, and exited our thread. Laying back on the bed, I welcomed the silence of the house. Staring at the ceiling, I thought about the day I had with EJ. His burst of energy left no room for me to sit down. He was so sweet and listened intently. I didn’t see the bad side Enzo referred to. He just needed to learn how to manage all of that energy. And that was something I started with him today.
The way he listened, how he watched me when I moved, and the way he nodded like he understood more than he could say reminded me of KJ at that age. It was a testament to Enzo’s parenting. He talked to EJ like he mattered. Like his voice, although small and sometimes incoherent, mattered. A real father.
Turning onto my side where I got the most comfortable sleep, I pulled the comforter over my body. Before closing my eyes, I sent my last text, this time to the most important person in my life.
Me: I’ll be by Danae’s house tomorrow night to pick you up. I love you.
The three dots appeared, and I held in a breath, hoping that he responded. I loved my son, and I hated when he shut me out. Just as I was preparing for the worst, his response came through.
Sonshine: I love you too.
That response worked for me. Setting my phone on the pillow next to me, I closed my eyes and drifted into an easy sleep.
The sudden urge to pee hit me in the middle of the night, waking me from a deep slumber. Getting up from the bed, I pushed myself forward to empty my bladder. My throat was dry, so after washing my hands, I left out of the room to grab a bottled water from the fridge. The lights from their Christmas tree guided me out to the front, where I could hear the rustling of paper. I spotted Enzo standing in the middle of the living room, shirtless, in a pair of plaid pajama pants that hung off his waist, showing the hem of his boxers.
The way the lights from the tree and the fireplace illuminated on his skin, I lowkey felt a little drool slip from my mouth that slurped back up real fast. He was sexy as fuck. The tattoos and the eight pack he possessed did something to my body. I continued forward, swallowing hard once he looked up at me.
“You look like you could use a hand,” I spoke first, glancing down at a few poorly wrapped gifts and a stack of toys behind him that were up next for the same ill treatment.
He chuckled. “What gave it away? The partially wrapped guitar or the toolset where I used a little too much wrapping paper?”
“All of it.” I burst out laughing. “This is horrible. You can’t do my boy like this.”
“Mann, you just met that kid,” he teased.
“Yep, and we already got a secret handshake. Now what?” I rolled my neck and stuck my tongue out at him.
“Oh, word? Yeah, you’re official.”
“This I know. Now, come on. I’ma bout to give you wrapping 101. I hope you got more paper because we gon’ start with unwrapping the few things you botched and then start over.”
“Listen, I’m good at a lot of things. This right here ain’t my strong suit.”
“At all,” I agreed, giggling. “Grab me a bottle of water and we gon’ get to work.”
I found a spot on the floor and began to rip the paper off the gifts he’d already wrapped. Once he was back with the water, I handed him something small to start with and set a box the same size in front of me. Taking him step by step through the process, he was able to wrap the box perfectly on the first try.
“If only more men could take that kind of direction, things would be alright with the world,” I reasoned while taking a sip of my water.
“You think men don’t listen?” he questioned, picking up a bigger box to wrap.
“I think most men listen with their egos and not their ears.”
“Hmm. Interesting point. I guess you could say the same for the women that listen with their heart, right?”
My lips parted into a grin that he matched. “I plead the fifth.”
“I bet you do.” He snickered.
By the time we were finished, there was about twelve neatly wrapped gifts under the tree. I’d wrapped four of the twelve, and he did the rest. Enzo stood, marveling over his work.
“Now that’s how you do it,” I said from the floor with my hand up for him to slap me five.
He took my hand and pulled me up from the floor. “Thank you,” he said, looking down at me.
“Mmhmm,” was all I could make out. “I… I’m going to head back to sleep.”
“Aight. Good night… again.”
