“Seems like you don’t like that.”
“I don’t know. I guess it’s because I just know him as Rob.” I could see why that might be irritating for him, especially if he thought Preston was being patronizing. He’d want to protect his friend, even if his friend didn’t want him to.
“Right. I can understand that. What else do you like?” I wanted to move the conversation back to him.
Gilly bit his lip. “I don’t know.”
I held his hand. “If you had the entire day all by yourself, what would you do?” He started to shrug. “Don’t hide, Gilly. You shouldn’t ever have to hide who you are.”
He squeezed my hand. “W-Well, what would you do, Daddy?”
“Play with you. Maybe more frisbees or cards, or even board games. Whatever you want to do.” There were plenty of things to do and play with that I wanted to offer him, even coloring, or maybe Daddy had some things up his sleeves for later.
“What about watching cartoons?” He glanced at the television.
“Sure. I love the older ones like Tom and Jerry. What about you?” That was a start. At a minimum, I needed to buy him coloring books and toy cars for when he was over here.
“I, uh…” He sat up straighter as if he’d decided to do this. “I like Ellie the Elephant cartoons.” He looked me in the eyes as if daring me to say something mean, but I would never. His admission had us heading down the right path, making me so proud of him for saying it.
“Nobody else knows that?”
He shook his head and sucked both lips between his teeth.
“Thank you for trusting me. I won’t tell anyone, and you can watch it here any time you want.”
He smiled so brightly it rivaled the sun. “Thanks.”
“Sure. Want more mac and cheese?”
He handed me his empty plate. “No, thank you, I’m full.”
I leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Go wash up in the bathroom while I clean up.” I pointed to the powder room on the other side of the stairs and took his plate into the kitchen. After dropping our dishes in the dishwasher and shoving the leftovers in a zippy bag and tossing them into the fridge, I met him back on the couch. This time, I pulled him onto my lap. “Is mac and cheese your favorite?”
“I don’t know. One of them. I also like pizza and Jello.”
“Good to know. Pizza is my favorite, but I’m not fond of Jello. I like chocolate pudding.”
“Mmm…me too. What else do you like, Daddy?” That sweet word coming from an equally sweet boy hit me right in the heart.
“I like it when you call me Daddy, and I like it when you don’t hide from me. I want to know everything, even if you think it’s embarrassing. You’d be surprised at what I might like too.”
“I understand. It’s hard, though. I’ve hidden so much for so long. I’ve had to, but I don’t want to anymore.” Those final words came out in such a tiny voice. I didn’t think Gilly saw his Little slip out, though it had.
“You don’t have to with me. Ever.” I kissed the side of his head and squeezed him. I liked having him in my arms. “So how did you end up running your uncle’s company?”
“I started working with him some when I was in like middle school. First only as a helper, then over the years the hours increased. I worked through high school so I could save up for college. When it came time to enroll, I realized I didn’t really want to go. After I graduated, I officially went to work for him full-time. I moved in with my grandfather then, and he left me his house when he passed, but it was too expensive, especially with only what I was making from painting. So, I sold it and moved in with Rob shortly after we met. A few months later, I started running the company because my uncle wanted to semi-retire. My parents want me to use the money from the house to go to college, but I don’t want to. Because of that we’re not actually talking much. I’d rather not see them than fight.”
Ah, another learning. My sweet boy avoided confrontation. “Wow, that’s a lot. I’m proud of you for doing what’s right for you.”
“Thanks, I guess. What about you? You own your own company, right?”
“Yep. I did go to college. After getting my degree, I got my contractor’s license. A lot like you, I worked with my family in construction when I was younger. My parents owned a small tiling business. They closed it years ago, but I never lost the desire to work in construction.”
“What did you go to college for? Engineering?”
“Nope, business. But there weren’t a lot of opportunities that interested me outside of the construction field when I graduated. So, I figured I’d get my contractor’s license and see what happened.”
“What happened?”
