We sit there for a bit, as my hand rubs reassuring circles on Niall’s back. Trying to figure out how to assist Niall in solving this child-sized problem.
My hand stops. “I’ll help.”
“What? How?”
“Books and Brews is open to, what, eight most nights? You get him to school in the morning. I’ll grab him in the afternoon between classes, and he can sit in my afternoon class when I have one. Or, on other days, my office hours.”
“Danny, no. I can’t ask you to do that. It’s too much. We haven’t even talked about last night, and now you’re almost offering to co-parent my nephew with me. You’re just starting to turn a corner, maybe, and I just—”
“Niall, stop. Let me help. I basically only know you and kinda your friends here. What else am I going to do? You need help. I can help. He seems like a pretty cool kid, not one of those asshole kids.”
Niall laughs. “Thank you for clarifying you think my nephew is not an asshole.”
I lean my head on Niall’s shoulder. “And, when you’re ready to have the big talk, we can address last night.”
“I don’t like the sound of that. You make it seem like we made a mistake.”
I lift my head off his should. “And what gave you that impression?”
“By saying we need to have a talk. What’s there to talk about, then? I made my intentions very clear.”
I laugh. “Niall, up until last night I thought you had a thing for Michael. My dead best friend. You’ve now told me, or more like showed me, when drunk that wasn’t the case. I’m just kinda taken by surprise and still processing it all.”
“If you don’t feel—”
“I didn’t say that. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it, something like last night, a few times since I’ve been here. I just previously didn’t consider it because I knew Michael had a big crush on you. And I thought you reciprocated that crush.”
Niall smirks. “While I’m flattered, I guess a small decency is that I never had to let him down. And tell him I had feelings for his best friend.”
I again think about the FaceTime calls that came in later and later, much to the detriment of Niall’s sleep schedule. And,likely with what I know now, while he was also responsible for Hughie. And he never burdened either of us with it.
“So, what now?”
Niall stands up, stretching. “If you’re down, let’s go play some video games, get takeaway, and figure out what to do with me having a kid now.”
Niall holds out his hand and pulls me up. “Sure. But I have one thing to take care of.”
“Which is?”
I walk to the door. “Overnighting books from another author. Because there is no fucking way I’m teaching your mom’s books. Even Hughie said they’re just okay.”
28
Niall wasn’t able to get Hughie into his new school until Wednesday, due to administrative obstacles, so the new plan is Hughie tagging along with me to Trinity.
I’m not sure what he was more astonished with, being on the campus for the first time or that I picked him up with a Fruity Pebbles donut in hand.
I have him set up with a book and his music for my first class, which is Modern LGBT Voices. The books often tackle a lot more discussion around the representation of LGBT sex scenes, some in graphic detail, because of how society frowns upon them in comparison to straight sex scenes. Not something a ten-year-old should be actively participating in, nor do I think Niall would be a fan of it.
I initially handed him one of theGoosebumpsbooks off his bookshelf, but he asked for one of the books covered in my YA lit class. I ultimately give himIn the Wild Lightby Zentner, because it’s just a beautiful book and I think it will require the least amount of explaining certain topics.
He sits right next to me in the YA lit class, reading his book while the rest of the class files in. I see some of them commenting amongst each other, while looking over at Hughie.
“Good afternoon class. I see you’ve noticed we have a special guest today.”
“You didn’t tell us you had a kid Daniel.”
Hughie puts the book down. “That’s because he’s not my dad.”
