But mostly, I didn’t want to waste any time with her, every second was precious. I spent all day arranging different options for her, getting tickets, reserving tables and even a private room at Club Midnight. I was going to make everything perfect. When she comes in, I kiss her like I haven’t touched her in a lifetime. She gives me a little moan when the kiss ends. I grab her overnight bag and put it in my bedroom then lead her to the breakfast bar where there’s seven envelopes waiting for her.
“You can pick whatever you want. Some have super fancy dinner and show options. The other envelopes include you spending a ton of my money on whatever you want, or we can hang out here playing boardgames—which I won’t let you win at.”
She raises her eyebrow at me. “And what’s the purpose of all of this?”
“To convince you to extend your membership and woo you with all the benefits of having me as your boyfriend.” She says nothing as I step behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, swaying the two of us back and forth. She feels perfect and she’s almost vibrating with excitement…Nope, that’s her phone. Lame.
“Hold on,” she says. “I really need to take this.” She swipes on her phone and a young boy’s voice bursts through, loud and urgent.
“I need your help.”
“What is it, Ian?” she asks immediately. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Listen… I need you to sign some papers for me.”
She frowns. “What do you mean? Why can’t you have your dad do that?”
“Okay, okay, so here’s the thing. It’s… gonna take a second. You’re gonna have to follow my logic on this one, all right?”
She leans against the counter, already smiling. “I’ve got you, Ian. Go for it.”
“Okay, so… I want to start calling Katya ‘Mom.’”
Her entire face softens. “Oh my God, sweetie. That’s amazing. I love that for you. But why are you asking me? I don’t understand.”
“Well,” he says, hesitant now. “You’ve always been Aunt Alana. You always will be. That’s not changing. But… calling Katya ‘Mom’ is a big deal. It took me a long time to call Uncle Dimitri ‘Dad.’ And when I started changing names in my contacts, like titles and stuff, Drew got all weird when I called Lance ‘Uncle Lance.’”
“That’s Drew’s issue,” she says gently. “Not yours.”
“Yeah, I know. I think. But I wanted to make sure that when I start calling Katya ‘Mom,’ it’s not something that’s gonna explode in my face.”
“It won’t, I promise.” Her voice softens even more. “But… what do you actually need from me?”
There’s a pause.
“I failed a reading test. I need a parent or guardian to sign it. And you’re still listed as my guardian because you’ve been paying my tuition the last couple of years. My dad says he’s fixing it, but… I don’t know. You’re still on the paperwork.”
She pinches her lips together and raises her eyebrows. “And you don’t want Katya to sign it because…?”
“Because I don’t want the first time I call her ‘Mom’ to be followed by, ‘Hey, I screwed up and didn’t study, can you sign this?’ It makes it sound like I’m only calling her that to get something.”
Her expression melts completely. “That’s… actually very thoughtful.”
“So,” he rushes on, “I figured you could sign it. Just this once.”
She sighs, but there’s no real resistance in it. “Send me the paperwork.”
“Thank you,” But there’s a lingering pause. “Do you want to buy candy for my hockey team?” Her smile falters.
“I’ll cut you a check, but don’t bring that nasty-ass candy near me.”
“Deal. Thank you and love you.”
“I love you too,” she says, laughing as he hangs up. She lowers the phone slowly, a soft smile lingering as she sets it on the counter.
I just stare at her. There’s something on her face I’ve never seen before. Pride, maybe. Joy. A quiet sadness threaded through it. It’s complicated. Real. Then it’s gone when she glances at me and smirks. “That kid has the traumatic backstory of an anime character.”
I huff a laugh. “That’s a joke. Which one?”
