“What if I buy the Batman one for myself and let him get the other?” I suggest.
She rolls her eyes.
“It wouldn’t really be for you, would it?”
“I really like Batman,” I say.
She doesn’t answer. Just sighs.
“We can buy both, Nina. Please,” I murmur.
“No, Nero. He needs to learn he can’t have everything,” she says.
I turn fully toward her.
“He can,” I whisper. “We can.”
“This isn’t about money. It’s about limits. He needs to understand he can’t have everything he wants the moment he wants it—even if the money exists.”
I sigh, resigned, and look back at Kael. I understand what she means. It still hurts knowing I can’t give him everything.
“How do you do this all the time?” I ask, genuinely curious.
She laughs. A real laugh.
I try to burn the moment into memory—it’s the first time in five years she’s laughedwithme, notatme.
“You get used to it,” she says, nodding toward Kael.
“Me?” I protest softly. “I’m the one who has to tell him?”
“You’re his father, aren’t you?” she asks, amused—without realizing what she’s just given me.
“I am,” I answer, smiling wide, and walk over to Kael. I crouch to his height and kiss his cheek.
“So? Have you decided?” I ask.
He shakes his head.
“I want the chocolate one, but the other one is Batman.”
“I know, buddy. But you can only choose one,” I say calmly. He nods—he already knows this. “How about this: you eat thechocolate one today, and on your birthday, we get one that’s half chocolate and half Batman?”
His blue eyes go wide. He turns to me immediately, looking away from the window for the first time.
“We can do that?” he asks.
Nina said payday was in six days. Kael’s birthday is in two weeks. He could eat another pie until then, right? Or did I just screw up?
I turn my head, searching for Nina’s gaze. She looks confused about why I’m hesitating, and I don’t know how to say I might have messed up.
“We can,” I decide—choosing to deal with Nina’s potential anger later. I’d already said it. No going back.
“Then I want the chocolate one,” he chooses.
I kiss his cheek, stand, and order the slice. I buy one for Nina too.
She thanks me, a little awkward, when we sit to eat. Kael makes a huge mess. Chocolate is everywhere by the time he finishes.
