“This is nothing to be worried about,” Theo added.
Nina shook her head. “It is. So much could go wrong and… I just want everything to be perfect.”
Before Theo could reply, the doorbell rang, and Nina jumped to her feet. Together, she and Theo went to answer, with Jack running behind them. As Theo reached for the door handle, he gave Nina what he hoped was an encouraging look, and she bit her lip.
This is going to go poorly,Theo thought. There was no other way to proceed, though, so he just opened the door.
The woman on the other side was in her late forties, with gray hair in a bun at the back of her neck and a kind smile. She held a tablet in one arm and extended her free hand.
“Good afternoon,” she said pleasantly. “I’m Anita Rodriguez. You must be Jack’s parents.”
“That’s right!” Nina said a little too forcefully. Theo put a steadying hand on her shoulder. She needed to breathe and relax so they could get through this. Nerves were only going to make things worse.
“I’m Theo Hillman, and this is Nina Thompson,” Theo said. “And this is our son, Jack. It’s great to meet you.” He and Nina each shook hands with Anita.
“Hi,” Jack said. Anita knelt down to shake his hand, which Jack did very solemnly. Theo wasn’t sure what Nina had told him about this event, but when they’d eaten dinner together last night, she’d said that a nice lady was coming over to chat with them a little. Perhaps Jack suspected there was more to it, though, because he was extra well-behaved.
“Come on in,” Theo said, stepping back to let Anita inside. “Can I get you some coffee, tea, water?”
“Tea would be lovely, if you don’t mind,” Anita said.
“I can make it,” Nina said. “Do you prefer black or mint? I think we also have chamomile.”
“Mint, please.”
A few minutes later, the four of them were seated around the dining-room table. Nina had brought Jack a glass of juice, which he held with both hands. He was swinging his legs, as he usually did when he sat at the table.
“So,” Anita said, setting her tablet down, “I usually like to start by talking to the whole family together. Then, Jack can have a little break while I talk to the parents, and finally, I’ll talk to Jack alone. Does that sound good?”
“Sounds great,” Theo said easily, though Nina looked a little pale. He took her hand, which felt less strange than he would have expected. He tried not to think about that, focusing instead on the interview.
“Tell me a little about your family,” Anita suggested.
“Well, Nina and I met about a year ago and started dating,” Theo said. “I fell in love with her right away — and with Jack, too. He’s a great kid. We only moved in together recently, once we were sure our relationship would last, because we didn’t want to confuse Jack. Now, it feels like we’ve always been a family.”
“What kinds of things do you like to do together?” Anita asked. “Jack, maybe you can tell me.”
Nina’s grip on Theo’s hand tightened. Theo was nervous about what Jack would say, too, since he’d spent all of a few hours with Jack.
“We eat ice cream, draw, go shopping, play pretend…” Jack shrugged. “Stuff like that.”
Theo let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, and the interview moved on. Anita asked a few more questions about their family life and Jack’s education. Theo took the lead, easily orchestrating his answers to have the best effect. It was a skill he’d learned in business that was applicable almost everywhere.
“And that’s why we prioritize family time over TV time,” Theo finished one answer about the family’s screen-time habits. Nina glanced at him. Her brows were slightly raised, and he got the feeling she was impressed.
“That’s great. Back to the topic of education for a moment. What’s your favorite thing to learn about?” Anita asked Jack.
“About superheroes!” Jack puffed up. “And it’s so cool, now we live in a supervillain house. Right, supervillain?”
Nina’s eyes widened, but Theo just smiled.
“That’s right.” He turned to Anita. “Jack and I like to play pretend that he’s a superhero and I’m a supervillain. Right, Jack?”
“Yeah!” Jack lowered his voice like he had before and held up one hand as though sharing a secret. “It’s just for pretend. He’s not really a supervillain. He’s Theo.”
Anita smiled, though she still looked a little uncertain. Theo hurried to continue. “Jack may only be my stepson, but I lovehim like my own blood. My only regret is that I missed out on the first few years of his life, but he’s every bit my kid now.”
Anita smiled, and Theo could tell that the words had warmed her heart.
