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Zane.
While Eris didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity, there were so many ‘basics’ that she and Zane needed. Diapers, clothing, and toiletries, but then Colton started looking at baby beds, sheets, pillows, and other items.
“Does he need a crib or a regular bed?” he questioned, looking skeptically between the crib displayed on the shelf and their son. “He seems a little big for something like that.”
“Zane shared a bed with me. I couldn’t afford a crib.”
“Oh,” he paused, surprised and hesitated. She almost expected him to question or comment on it, but instead, he pointed at one of the Little Tykes beds on display that looked like a car. “Do you think he would like this? I mean, if I was a boy again – this would be right up my alley.”
“It’s expensive,” she said simply, shaking her head. “We’ll get by on the couch or…”
“I want the house to be a home for us,” Colton said gently. “And I’d like to give our son a bedroom he wants to play in. So maybe we could get the bed and the toy box over there that looks like a castle – again – another thing that I would have been excited about. I could see my G.I. Joes scaling that thing…” his voice trailed off as he smiled at her. “It’s a one-time purchase, so please don’t worry.”
“Are you sure? We don’t even know if this is going to work out between us. I mean, we fell apart before and…”
“Eris,” he said, touching her elbow. “I’m not the same guy, and you aren’t the same girl. I think we’ve both hit low moments we’d rather not revisit. I’m not the greatest guy, but I’m going to give this my ‘all’ – and if you aren’t happy, talk to me instead of running away.”
“You told me to leave,” she whispered, pulling her elbow away and hearing his heavy sigh.
“I don’t want to do this in the middle of Target – or at all,” he murmured quietly. “You’re right. I screwed up. It took me losing the best person in the world to realize just how badly I messed things up. I never expected you to show back up or to get a second chance. So, when I tell you that ‘I’m trying’ or ‘I’m going to give my all’ – I really mean it. I can’t go through all of this again.”
His eyes searched hers as they stared at each other. She was completely taken aback to hear that he’d been upset by her leaving or admitting it and apologizing. That was something the old Colton wouldn’t have done easily, and it meant a lot to her.
“Crew up?” Zane parroted, drawing them out of the moment as Colton winced.
“Boy, I’m really going to have to watch my mouth,” he muttered and gave her a wary smile. “Sorry?”
It was just so weirdly normal, combined with all of the feelings swirling in her, that she shrugged and nodded, blowing it off because she didn’t know how to address any of this. Had she said worse things in front of her son – only for him to repeat it – sure. Could she fall back into a relationship with the man who had broken her heart once already? That wouldn’t be so easy.
“You want us to set up a bedroom for him, huh…” she whispered quietly. “Then yes – he’ll need a bed, and it is actually pretty adorable.”
“Thank you, Eris. I can paint his walls if you want them to be something a little more childlike. I was intending to refurbish the room anyhow, knocking out things here and there on a list that I have for the house already. I really don’t mind.”
“This is already going to be expensive…” she began, and Colton stopped her once more, smiling.
“Look, if you bring up prices again – I’m going to buy one of everything on this aisle just to spite you,” he teased. “I’m not loaded in the slightest, but I do want us to fix up our son’s room, making it something any child would love. You can either help me pick out things, or I’m gonna go hog-wild and indulge in my own childish fantasies; and they might not be age-appropriate or child-friendly.”
And without looking away from her, he grinned.
“Zane, what’s your favorite color, buddy?”
“Green!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Green, boo, wed, yewwow, burple… orange!”
“Should we paint the walls ‘burple’ or ‘boo’?”
It was such a strange statement from Colton that she couldn’t help it – Eris chuckled nervously, and he joined her not a second later. Zane decided to join in happily, clapping his hands again and making a loud fake laugh that sounded more like a cough.
The three of them were there, shopping and looking around like any other family, and she realized that he was indeed trying and it was her own stubbornness holding him back.
“How about a really pale blue?” she conceded.
“You got it – and the car bed?”
“Yes. He’ll need a crib mattress, too. It’s a smaller frame and will fit right inside of it.”
“Do you want to grab a set of sheets and a blanket for him? Maybe a nightlight? I’m going to get a second cart up front and will be right back because I’m getting our son that castle toy box.”
“It’s your wallet,” she shrugged, chuckling nervously… and Colton winked at her before walking off, announcing ‘I’ll be right back’ – leaving her there with Zane.
