I loved the way Quinn interacted with Noah. He didn’t talk down to him; he showed him respect. I’m sorry, but it was ovary-busting.
“Do you ever get scared on stage?” Noah asked.
“No. I get scared off-stage, though.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because I’m not as comfortable on my own when it’s just me. But in front of the lights, with the audience cheering and the guitars blaring… yeah, that’s my idea of heaven.”
“I want to do that someday too.”
Quinn knuckled Noah. “Right on, dude. I didn’t know you liked music.”
“I don’t like it that much now. But I wanna be rich like you, so I’m going to learn it.”
Priorities, I chuckled to myself. My son had a life plan. Good for him.
“If that’s your goal, I hate to break it to you, but I’m barely making rent,” Quinn said. “Like, what’s your definition of rich?”
“Can you buy an Xbox?”
“I think I might be able to swing that.”
“What about an elephant?”
“An elephant?” Quinn asked. “Why would I want to buy an elephant?”
“So you could ride it to work.”
“Or I could leave my elephant at home and drive my car to work. That way I wouldn’t have to stop and pick up dump-truck-sized turds when my elephant crapped all over the freeway.”
Noah collapsed into a pile of giggles, helped in part by Quinn’s laughter.
If I’d thought Quinn was irresistible before, this conversation with my son sealed the deal. I was in love.
“If you could buy anything in the whole world,” Quinn asked him once they’d both settled down, “what would you buy? And don’t say elephant.”
“I would buy”—Noah put his finger to his mouth—“jewelry for my mom.”
What? My heart swelled. Of anything he could have said, that was by far the sweetest. I stepped behind the wall so as not to let them see me swoon.
“Really? Not an Xbox for yourself? Why?”
“Because my mom likes pretty things, but she can’t buy them because she has to spend all her money on me.”
“Huh. Sounds like your mom really loves you.”
“Yeah, she’s the best mom ever.”
Quinn high-fived my son. “You’re a cool dude, Noah. I like you.”
I dropped back against the wall, completely sidelined by the heartwarming interaction between the two. Noah’s answer was proof enough that my policy of putting him first had been sound. He was a loving kid, and with any luck, he might grow up to be a great man. That conversation proved to all the naysayers out there that I could do it on my own… but how nice would it be not to have to? Was it so outrageous a thought that I could have it all? That Noah could have it all?
Grabbing his bowl of apples, I walked back out to the boys only to find Quinn and Noah each standing on their own individual chairs.
“Wow. Okay, guys,” I said. “I can’t think of any other reason for the two of you to be up on those chairs unless there’s a mouse on the floor. So I’m going to go back into the kitchen and scream.”
“We’re playing hot lava, Jess,” Quinn called out. “And it’s coming your way.”
