I smiled. “Okay.”
After kisses and hugs, I turned off the light and led Stoney downstairs. “Thanks for tonight,” I said.
“I was gonna say the same thing,” he said.
“He had a blast and that’s really the most important thing. I want him to trust you.”
“I see that,” he said. “And I appreciate it.”
“Do you want to finish your beer?”
“Sure, if you’re not too wasted.”
I smiled. “I’m good.”
I poured myself a glass of wine and sat with him at the kitchen island. “Did he talk to you about calling you ‘Dad’?”
“Yeah. I told him he could call me whatever he felt comfortable with.” Stoney smiled. “His whole body relaxed. He’s a worrier, huh?”
“Oh my god, you have no idea. I know it’s because of everything he saw with Ria, so I try to make things really calm and peaceful here.”
“You’re doin’ a great job, baby. He’s obviously happy and well-adjusted.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I just want him to get to a place where he sleeps easy. He has nightmares a couple times a week.”
“We’ll fix that, Breezy.”
“You think so, huh?”
He grinned. “Yeah.”
Since we weren’t quite close enough to toast, I tipped my wine glass toward him. “Good luck with that.”
He smiled. “Why’s his nickname ‘Fox’?”
“I think he was three when it started.” I shook my head at the memory. “He pulled everything out from under Mom and Dad’s kitchen sink, climbing in and closing the doors. For a good ten minutes, we couldn’t find him, and he wasn’t answering us when we called. We rushed around the house, of course, everywhere except the kitchen because we figured where could he hide? Finally, Mom walked into the kitchen, finding everything on the floor. Mom opened the cabinet doors and Felix laughed, saying ‘I found a fox hole.’”
“Jesus,” he said with a chuckle.
“Right? It was pretty scary, but funny once the shock wore off. He had apparently watched a special on foxes the day before. So, now he’s ‘Fox.’ I am getting to the point where we’ll need a moratorium on fox gifts, though. It’s getting a little ridiculous.” I smiled. “His room is out of control with foxes.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“How is it you’re so good with kids?” I asked then took a sip of wine.
He shrugged. “I like kids. Well, I like cool kids. And I remember what it was like to be a kid, so it’s easy to get down on their level so-to-speak.”
“Do you have family close by?”
“My mom and my sister. Dad’s gone. Been dead ten years now.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“He was an asshole. None of us mourn him. My sister’s a nut and she’s probably the closest to me. Mom’s super religious, so we butt heads a lot, but she’s the only mom I got, so I try not to let it rub me the wrong way.”
I sighed. “That sucks. My parents are super Catholic, but once we became adults, they let us choose. We chose not to be part of the church, but we do mass on Christmas and Easter.”
“You’re creasters, huh?”
