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Shaking my head, I shoved my car keys in the pocket of my board shorts. “Son, I talk to a lot of people, it doesn’t mean I want to date them,” I pointed out, taking his hand in my own and walking with him to the activities center, where Stephanie was expecting us.
He exhaled and kicked a rock as we walked. “I just think you should think about it, Dad.”
Laughing, I looked down at him. “Oh, yeah?”
He nodded, his eyes still on the ground. “Yeah, you need a girlfriend. Max’s dad got a new one and he’s happy. Even Max likes her.”
Max was his friend in school. They had a playdate at Max’s house last weekend and now I wondered what exactly was going on over there. I’d have to call the fellow single dad and see what was up. “I’m plenty happy, buddy.”
“But,” he started and I could see this was going nowhere fast.
“Promise me you will not bother Stephanie with this,” I said as I opened the door to the activities center, remembering the last time Mason got a bright idea about who I should date. It was years ago now and he involved Felicity, having no shame in bringing it up to her. Luckily, we were friends and she understood, even laughed it off with her wife.
I just hoped he understood that he couldn’t keep bringing this up. He needed to accept that sometimes things were out of his control. This was one of those things. I much preferred spending my time with my son, not dating different women to only end up single. I’d been down that road before and didn’t care to have a repeat.
And it wasn’t like I didn’t have the occasional hookup to satisfy my needs, but that was all it was.
Except that one time when I really started falling for this girl, Gemma. She was a guest at the resort—well, technically she was working for the resort—but we met when she was staying here. That ended, too, though, just like all the others.
And none of the women I had been with, not even Gemma, had met Mason. I had to be careful with who I brought around to meet Mason. I didn’t want him getting too attached only to later be crushed when things didn’t work out. Playing with my own heart was one thing, but my son’s was a whole other.
He held out a pinky finger and I took it, holding it tight before releasing it. “Promise,” he said, finally acknowledging my request for him not to bother Stephanie about her dating life.
“Pinky promises, those things are the real deal,” Stephanie observed as she approached us. “What are you promising? Never mind, it’s not for me to know. It’s best when they’re kept secret.” She winked at me and bent down at Mason’s side, opening her arms wide. “Am I going to get a hug, or what?”
Mason ran into her arms and gave her a hug. “Dad says I’m going to be staying here today.”
“You sure are,” she confirmed and then looked up at me as she got up.
I mouthed a quick “thank you” to her and she nodded her acknowledgment.
“How about you go in the back? I got a new game for the kiddos today and don’t know the first thing about it. Maybe you can read the instructions and explain it to me?”
“Cool!” Mason ran off to the back, but not before throwing his backpack on the ground.
I bent down and picked it up, placing it on a chair off to the side. “Thank you for this,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
She brushed off my comment. “Don’t worry about it. I’m here anyways and Mason makes my job more fun.”
I looked down at my watch and let out a sigh. “All right, well, I hate to just drop him off and leave, but,” I let the words fall off as I pointed toward the door. “I have an appointment.”
She waved a hand in the air. “Say no more. Go.”
“My last appointment is at four, so I’ll be by after then to pick him up.”
I looked back one last time and waited to see if Mason would come out from the back and race toward me, wrap his little arms around my legs, and give me a hug. But he was getting older and those moments were becoming fewer and farther between.
It may not have been easy, but I wouldn’t trade in being Mason’s father for anything in the world. He was the light of my life and I was glad I made the choices I did. Otherwise, I would have never had Mason and he was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Once I was outside, I pulled out my phone and went to the group chat I had with The Hurricanes—that was what we called our friend group. And by friend group, I meant Hunter, Tyler, Corey, and myself.
The Hurricanes
Me: Nice going, Ty. You made me late for work.
Tyler: How do you figure?
Me: You and that blasted snorkeling gear. Mason came downstairs with it this morning, insisted you were going to teach him.
