“Stop,” I insist. “Today’s a good day, not a shitty, moody one. Maybe I’ll pop by bright and early some morning and we can rehash everything then. Deal?”
“Deal,” Xavier says, flashing me a weak smile. He’s still in a darker mood than I’d like, but I’ll take what I can get since I was the idiot who put him there. “You do realize you’re never getting rid of Jacob now that he knows you live so close, right?”
I hoist myself up to sit on the bare counter, making myself at home in his space. “You realize you can’t get rid of me now that I live so close, right?” I ask in response. As long as we don’t talk about certain things, my friendship with Xavier is getting back to what it once was. Comfortable. Easy. Safe.
“Yeah, I guess I’ll have to deal with that,” Xavier huffs dramatically. I punch him in the shoulder, twisting my face in feigned anger. “Ouch, that hurt!”
“Weenie,” I laugh. Xavier opens each cupboard, acquainting himself with Tyler’s organization system. When he gets to the pantry, he seems elated to find it fully stocked. I sit and watch as he explores each room of the house, muttering his appreciation with how everything looks.
The rest of the afternoon is fairly low key. Tyler heads back to the office as soon Xavier and I are done talking. I offer to head back to my place, giving Xavier and Jacob some time to themselves, but Xavier asks me to stay. When I hesitate, he makes sure to tell me it’s for Jacob’s benefit, not for his. I’m pretty sure he’s full of crap, but we both know there’s no way I’ll turn down a chance to spend time with the little boy who has completely stolen my heart.
“Miss Melanie, are you having supper with us?” Jacob asks as the credits roll on Cars 2. I look over his head to Xavier, who is sitting at the opposite end of the new microfiber couch. It’s not as comfortable as his old leather one, but it fits the space. He shrugs, leaving the decision up to me.
“I have to go and let Brody out, but I could probably come back over after that,” I say, pulling Jacob into my lap. It’s going to be strange to go home tonight. I’ve grown accustomed to reading him stories at bedtime and then sitting on the balcony with Xavier until we are both falling asleep. “What are you cooking for us?”
“I can’t cook!” Jacob giggles, shaking his head as if that was the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. “Can I go with you to take care of Brody?”
“Sure, buddy,” I say, lifting him off my lap. I might as well bring Brody back here since Jacob is going to want to be wherever the dog is. “And maybe, while we’re gone, your daddy will find something to make for dinner.”
I hear Xavier mumble something as I reach for Jacob’s hand, leading him out of the apartment. More than likely, he’s cursing me for tasking him with figuring out dinner and implying that he’s going to cook. I can count on one hand the number of meals I remember him preparing while we were together and once I arrived at the condo, we easily fell into a routine where the kitchen was my domain. As much as I love cooking, I’m making a conscious effort to not be in the kitchen now that we’re back home because Xavier needs to learn to do these things for himself.
“Miss Melanie, can we go swimming later?” Jacob asks when he sees the fenced-in swimming pool across the parking lot. As I look over to where he’s pointing, I realize that I’ve spent so much of the past two years buried in work that I can’t remember ever taking a break to lounge beside the pool with a good book. I make a mental note to find a nice, conservative swimsuit so we can spend as much time as possible over there this summer.
“Not today, buddy. It’s still a bit too cold.” Jacob’s shoulders slump forward in defeat. I understand what he’s feeling because, now that he’s put the idea in my head, the only thing I can think of is how it’s going to feel to have the sun beating down on my skin on a hot summer day. It’s even harder because we’ve just returned from the beach, where it’s already warm enough to spend most of the day playing outside. “But as soon as it’s warmer, we’ll go to the pool every day if you want, okay?” I add, hoping to bring a smile to his face.
Before taking Brody out for his evening walk, I quickly sort through the stack of mail on my breakfast bar making piles for the junk, bills, and anything that genuinely interests me. Of course, this last stack is the shortest. I’ll flip through the magazines later, but I reach for the envelope with a local postmark and no return address. My stomach churns as I slide my finger under the flap.
Melanie,