As always, my kid works his magic.
Kiki throws her head back and laughs. Not some fake, half-assed laugh. This is the genuine article.
And it lights her up from the inside.
Good job, Theo.
Kiki leans in, skewing her mouth to the side. “What’s your favorite kind of dinosaur?”
“Hey,” I cut in. “That’s two questions.”
Kiki puts her finger to her mouth, fixing me with a dark mock glare. “Shhh, I’m chattingwith Theo.”
And my son is all too happy to continue the dinosaur conversation. “Triceratops.”
“I like the stegosaurus. Do you like those too?”
Theo’s head bobs excitedly. “Yeah! I’ve got one of those, too.”
He grabs his backpack and pulls out four dinosaur figurines, setting them on the table for our inspection. His finger lingers on each one as he identifies them. “This is a brontosaurus. This is a triceratops. This is a stegosaurus. And this one…”
He scrunches up his face, trying to recall the name. “Dad, what is this one?”
“A velociraptor.”
Seems my dinosaur knowledge impresses Kiki.
She winks at me, biting back a grin. “Look at you, all into your Paleolithic era.”
I run a hand along my jaw, feeling a sheen of heat crawl up my neck. “Not hardly, but Theo loves dinosaurs, in case you didn’t notice.”
“Yeah, I kinda caught that, and I’m super impressed with both of you men.”
“Can’t say I’ve ever impressed a woman with my dinosaur knowledge before.”
“Maybe you’ve been talking to the wrong women.” Kiki’s voice is casual, but I see the sparkle in her eyes. Seems underneath all that emotional armor, she is more than a little hurricane.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying it.
Our server interrupts the chat as she sets down a pie in the center of the table. “Here you go.”
Theo claps his hands, barely containing his excitement as I plop a slice on his plate. “Careful. It’s hot.”
Not that he listens. My son folds the pizza haphazardlybefore shoving it into his mouth. Not three seconds later, he’s fanning his tongue like a wild man. “Hot.”
“Yeah, if only someone had warned you about that,” I reply with a side-eye.
And three seconds after that, Theo is back for round two.
Kids. Never a dull moment.
“Dad?” Theo gives me a gentle elbow.
I gaze down at him, meeting his expectant stare. “What’s up, bud?”
“Can Miss Kiki come with us to the dinosaur museum?”
Way to put me on the spot, Theo.
