“I mean, you have that ‘wealthy arrogant’ thing down.”
“Arrogant again,” Theo put a hand to his chest. “Must you always wound me like this?”
Nina laughed. “Sorry, sorry. You really do seem less arrogant now. After seeing you build a sugar-packet fort with Jack, I’m much less annoyed with you.”
“Glad I could do my part.” Theo chuckled, too. He ate the last bite of stir-fry and got up to put his plate in the dishwasher. He probably should have headed to his office to work, but instead he started making a cup of coffee.
“Are you really drinking coffee after ten at night?” Nina asked.
“The caffeine doesn’t hit me very hard,” Theo explained. “And I’m going to work after this.”
“Of course,” Nina smiled. “There’s that arrogance.” He took the mug from the machine, added a little cream, and came to sit with her again. He was just about to take his first sip when he heard a sound from the hallway.
He and Nina turned at the same time, and Jack was in the doorway. He was wearing his superhero pajamas, his face wasred, and tears were streaming down his face as he sobbed. Theo’s eyes widened. He hadn’t seen anyone this upset in a long time.
“Did you have a bad dream, buddy?” Nina asked, opening her arms to Jack. It was hard to say which of the adults was more surprised when Jack ran instead to Theo and held his arms up. Half out of instinct, Theo scooped the little boy up and hugged him tight. Jack’s face was warm and damp with tears, and he snuggled tightly into Theo’s arms, still sobbing.
“Pat his back,” Nina instructed. Theo patted Jack’s back rhythmically.
“Sorry he came to me instead of you,” he said.
“Why?” Nina smiled slightly. “He clearly feels comfortable with you, which is a good thing. Kids can’t have too many caring adults in their lives.”
Jack kept sobbing.
“Buddy,” Nina said gently, “SuperJack, did you have a nightmare?”
Jack nodded against Theo’s shoulder.
“What happened?” Theo asked.
“Bad robots came and took you away,” Jack said, pulling his head away to look up at Theo with tear-filled blue eyes. “I tried to pow them, but they were too strong.”
“Don’t worry,” Theo patted his back again, “it was just a dream. I’m okay. You’re okay.”
Jack’s sobs subsided, and he rested his head against Theo’s shoulder.
“Don’t let the bad robots come,” Jack mumbled. “Don’t let them take you away.”
“I won’t.” Theo glanced at Nina, who gave him an encouraging smile.
“Just rock him a bit,” she instructed. “Keep patting his back and talking. Once he’s asleep, we can get him back to bed.”
Theo nodded. As Nina instructed, he rocked the boy back and forth, patting his back and mumbling nonsense. After a while, Jack grew heavy in his arms. His small chest rose and fell evenly, his eyelashes were still spiky with the tears that had streaked his cheeks. He seemed to weigh more in sleep, as though his limbs took on a new weight.
“Okay,” Nina said quietly. “Now we can take him up. Are you okay to carry him?”
Theo nodded. Together, they stood and walked carefully up the stairs to Jack’s room. Theo hadn’t gone in there since Jack and Nina had moved in, and he was surprised to see how homey it looked. The walls were covered in posters and pictures. The bed had a superhero bedspread. There were toys and books on a shelf and kindergarten homework on the desk. A superhero nightlight glowed from one of the outlets.
Nina pulled back the sheets on the bed, and Theo gently laid Jack down, careful not to wake him. She covered him up and kissed his cheek. For a few minutes, both adults looked down at the sleeping boy, then Nina nodded, and they slipped out.
“Are you okay?” Nina asked as they went back downstairs.
Theo nodded. “I didn’t expect that. I hope I didn’t mess up.”
“You did great,” Nina smiled, “you made him feel safe, and that’s all that matters.”
“Does he have a lot of nightmares?”
