Page 52 of A Simple Regret

She retrieves a plastic grease trap from the cabinet. “Pour it in here.”

“You got it.”

I do as instructed, and by the time the meat is ready for the pizza, Maren and Theo have the pizza stone heated from the oven, the dough placed on the stone, and are finishing the sauce.

“Be careful. The stone is very hot, remember?” she says softly, helping coat the raw dough with a thick layer of marinara sauce from a jar.

Then, we add the cheese. I coat the entire crust with mozzarella cheese, with Theo assisting.

“If you want to scoop some of that onto half the crust, I’ll grab a can of mushrooms,” she says, stepping aside so I can move in beside her son. I place the pan on a potholder out of the way so little hands can’t reach it and get burned.

“Do you like sausage on your pizza?” I ask, carefully scooping the meat onto the cheese.

“Cheese!”

“Just cheese?” I chuckle.

“Yep! Wots of cheese,” he insists, kicking his legs out and letting them thump against the cabinets.

Maren places the small can of mushrooms beside a can opener. I don’t say anything about her toppings of choice, because they don’t surprise me at all. Maren always chose sausage and mushrooms for her pizza, maybe even adding some other veggies too. However, tonight, it’s just her two favorites.

She washes her hands a second time and covers the sausage with the mushroom pieces, smiling as she practically covers the entire half of the pizza. When she finds me watching her, she asks, “Too much?”

I bark out a laugh and shake my head. “Is there such a thing?”

Maren shakes her head. “Nope. They are delicious,” she insists, popping a piece of mushroom into her mouth. The smile on her lips lights up her entire face, reminding me just how fucking gorgeous she is.

“Cheese!”

She startles and looks away, her hand holding a hint of a tremor as she gives her full attention to Theo.

“Let’s add just a little more cheese,” she says, grabbing the bag and carefully just a bit more mozzarella.

“Me help.”

“Let’s wash your hands first,” she says.

I jump in and grab Theo, moving him to the sink and holding him up to wash his hands under the faucet. When he’s done, I grab the hand towel for him to dry his little hands and replace him on the counter.

He reaches into the bag his mom holds open for him and fists a large handful of cheese.

“Not so much, Theo. You’ll squish it all together,” she replies.

Together, I watch as they finish off the pizza with a little more mozzarella. In fact, I end up pulling out my phone and snapping a few pictures. Theo is grinning from ear to ear the entire time, carefully adding cheese to his half of the pizza, and I’m overwhelmed with the need to document this moment. My thought process is to just send them to Maren, capturing their moment together. I’ll delete them afterward.

Right?

Finally, the pizza is ready to bake, and Maren carefully transfers the pizza stone from the counter to the oven. “Ten to fifteen minutes.”

“Down,” Theo announces, holding out his arms for help.

I move first, lowering him to the floor, and immediately he takes my hand. “Come see my woom.” He then tugs my hand, dragging me toward the living room.

Glancing over my shoulder, I quickly ask, “Is this okay?” I don’t want her to feel like I’m walking around her house without her consent. Being invited to join them for dinner is one thing, but going into bedrooms is another.

“Of course,” she replies, a soft smile on her lips.

I’m pulled into the second bedroom, the one I know is Theo’s. It’s set up now, more so than it was when I helped move stuff in that first weekend. “Bwuey!” He points to his bed, to the bedding that’s clearly been slept in recently, and runs over to grab a stuffed plushy of a blue dog.