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When I shut the door, I leaned against it and laughed so hard I had tears coming down my face. Poor Ms. Ellison. I’m sure she was torn between wanting to know everything and not wanting to deliver condoms.But what did she mean by having a candle to prove it?
By the time I got myself together, I heard Jesse pull into the driveway, and I opened the door to welcome Max. We may not have wanted him to see me spend the night, but Jesse was okay with me being around and showing him his new bed. She hadeven planned on me staying for dinner, and we decided on a movie we could watch with Max before bedtime.
“Eas!” Max screamed with excitement, running toward me with his arms up. It was the first time he had called me anything other than ‘fire truck’ and I almost choked on the emotion it made me feel.
Jesse was also taken aback, staring with her hand on her chest as she walked up the sidewalk behind Max.
“Hey, my man!” I scooped him into my arms and he hugged me, making my heart completely stop. “Did you have fun at school?”
He nodded and leaned back, pushing my cheeks together and making me do funny faces as he laughed. When I set him down, Jesse got his attention and squatted down in front of him.
“Easton helped mommy do something special for you.”
“For me?” he asked so sweetly.
“For you,” she poked his nose. “You know how Mommy got you a new bed but we only had some of it put together?”
Max nodded and pointed to the now empty box I had placed back against the wall in the living room.
“That’s right,” I knelt down as well. “But it was so heavy that Mommy needed some help and I took it to your room for you.”
“I wanna see!” He jumped and then started up the stairs.
“Wait,” I laughed, scooping him into my arms again and holding him high over my head. “Wait forusso we can show you.”
I set him back on his feet and he put his hand out, waiting for Jesse to take it. When she did he turned and gave me his other hand. I took it the same way Jesse had and we smiled as he led us up the stairs the best he could.
“Com’ere,” he insisted. “Com’ere.”
“We’re coming,” Jesse laughed.
We let him open his door and turn the light on. When he faced back toward his bed, he stopped walking and gasped. For some reason, I expected him to be excited, but he was nearly in tears as his lip jutted out.
“What’s wrong?” Jesse cried, falling to her knees in front of him. “It's a fire truck, you love fire trucks.”
Max didn’t say anything, just nodded his little head and ran toward the bed. He jumped on the mattress and then turned around, his smile shining through his tears.
It was at that moment that I realized he loved it, so much that he was emotional, and being a guy of few words made it hard for him to express his feelings. Jesse stayed where she was, watching him look closer at the wood I had installed around the frame he already had.
There was a door that opened and he could climb under the bed, looking like he was in a firetruck and ready for a call. I showed him how it worked and he clapped, then showed Jesse like she had no idea it worked that way.
“You know what?” I whispered to him. “You have the best mommy in the world to get you this amazing bed. You know that?”
He nodded and ran to Jesse, hugging her neck tightly. A small tear fell from her eye as she embraced her son and soaked in his rare emotional act. I took my thumb to her cheek and caught the tear, making her open her eyes and look up at me.
“Thank you,” she mouthed.
It wasn’t for catching her tears, it was for helping her with the bed, for making Max’s day. I nodded, letting her know I understood, but I didn’t want to say anything that would cause Max to break away from her hug.
But eventually he did, and he turned around to face me, hugging my leg. I settled my hand on his head, patting him and soaking in his gratitude.
Jesse was right. We could say and feel whatever we wanted when we were alone and in bed, but things changed when Max was involved. He was the wildcard in our future. He was all that mattered. And even though I knew how much I cared for him, I had to be sure that I could be the kind of person that a boy like Max deserved in his life.
Chapter Twenty-Six
SUNDAY DINNER
EASTON
