of course. We could make it right after dinner since I imagine Kelly probably has to be in bed pretty early.”
“Sure, if you’d like.”
“Great! I’ll run up and ask her, okay?” He said this even as he was getting up from the couch and putting his Coke down next to my Manhattan.
“Okay,” I said as he reached the door.
He was back within two minutes.
“They’re just having dinner now, but she said that would be nice. They’ll be down around seven.”
Sitting back down, he picked up his Coke.
“Cake?” I said, taking up where we’d left off. “We have cake?”
“Yeah. There’s that new bakery right near work, and we don’t have cake very often, so I thought…”
Uh huh.
“Well, I’m glad you did, especially since kids love cake.”
He blushed. “That transparent, huh?”
I just nodded and smiled.
“So I like kids!”
I reached around his shoulders with my free arm and pulled him toward me.
“I know, Babe.”
The news ended and I followed him into the kitchen to set the table while he finished getting dinner ready.
At exactly seven o’clock, as I was drying the last plate and putting it in the cupboard, there was a knock at the door and Jonathan hurried to open it.
“Hi, Carlene,” I heard him say. “Hi, Kelly! Come on in.”
I came into the living room just as Jonathan was gesturing a rather pretty young woman and a curly-haired little boy toward the couch. The boy was carrying a toy dump truck.
“Hi, Carlene. I’m Dick.”
She extended her hand and smiled, which made her even more attractive.
“It’s nice to meet you, Dick.”
“And you,” I said to the boy, “are Kelly.” I extended my hand and, after a quick look at his mother, he let the truck fall to the floor and we shook hands.
Carlene sat down, and Kelly, leaving his truck on the floor, scrambled up beside her, leaning against her shoulder and looking all around.
“Is this your house?” he asked.
“Yes it is,” Jonathan said.
“Do you have a little boy?”
Jonathan gave me a…shall we say “significant” look before turning to Kelly and saying, “No, I’m sorry, we don’t.”
You’re in for it now, Hardesty, I knew.
*
Jonathan made a quick trip to the kitchen to check on the coffee, then returned and sat beside Kelly on the couch.
“Okay if I sit here?” he asked the boy.
“Sure!” Kelly said, immediately scooting off the couch to play with his dump truck and leaving Jonathan, Carlene, and me to get acquainted.
Carlene and her girlfriend had moved to Carrington, where Carlene’s sister lived, and where Jared taught at the college, about a year before. She and her girlfriend had been together since before Kelly was born. I gathered, from her reluctance to talk too much about it, that they had broken up very recently and she and Kelly had moved here. She’d found a job almost immediately, and had lived in a furnished apartment until she was able to buy a few basic pieces of furniture, then moved into our building. Kelly was enrolled in a day care/preschool run by a pair of lesbian sisters for the kids of gay parents. (Another significant look from Jonathan.)
When we adjourned to the kitchen, Kelly immediately spotted and headed for Jonathan’s fish tank.
“Look, Mommy! They got fishes!” he proclaimed, standing on tiptoe trying to touch the tank. Jonathan scooped him up easily and held him in one arm as he pointed out each fish by name. Carlene looked at me with a bemused smile, and I excused myself to go to the bedroom to retrieve an empty hardcover suitcase to put on Kelly’s chair so he could reach the table.
*
They left shortly before eight, and we finished cleaning up the kitchen, and then went into the living room to watch a little TV. Jonathan had been uncharacteristically quiet, and I was pretty sure I knew why.
“That was nice, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah,” and, before he had a chance to say it, I added, “and Kelly was very well-behaved. Except perhaps for
“Sure, if you’d like.”
“Great! I’ll run up and ask her, okay?” He said this even as he was getting up from the couch and putting his Coke down next to my Manhattan.
“Okay,” I said as he reached the door.
He was back within two minutes.
“They’re just having dinner now, but she said that would be nice. They’ll be down around seven.”
Sitting back down, he picked up his Coke.
“Cake?” I said, taking up where we’d left off. “We have cake?”
“Yeah. There’s that new bakery right near work, and we don’t have cake very often, so I thought…”
Uh huh.
“Well, I’m glad you did, especially since kids love cake.”
He blushed. “That transparent, huh?”
I just nodded and smiled.
“So I like kids!”
I reached around his shoulders with my free arm and pulled him toward me.
“I know, Babe.”
The news ended and I followed him into the kitchen to set the table while he finished getting dinner ready.
At exactly seven o’clock, as I was drying the last plate and putting it in the cupboard, there was a knock at the door and Jonathan hurried to open it.
“Hi, Carlene,” I heard him say. “Hi, Kelly! Come on in.”
I came into the living room just as Jonathan was gesturing a rather pretty young woman and a curly-haired little boy toward the couch. The boy was carrying a toy dump truck.
“Hi, Carlene. I’m Dick.”
She extended her hand and smiled, which made her even more attractive.
“It’s nice to meet you, Dick.”
“And you,” I said to the boy, “are Kelly.” I extended my hand and, after a quick look at his mother, he let the truck fall to the floor and we shook hands.
Carlene sat down, and Kelly, leaving his truck on the floor, scrambled up beside her, leaning against her shoulder and looking all around.
“Is this your house?” he asked.
“Yes it is,” Jonathan said.
“Do you have a little boy?”
Jonathan gave me a…shall we say “significant” look before turning to Kelly and saying, “No, I’m sorry, we don’t.”
You’re in for it now, Hardesty, I knew.
*
Jonathan made a quick trip to the kitchen to check on the coffee, then returned and sat beside Kelly on the couch.
“Okay if I sit here?” he asked the boy.
“Sure!” Kelly said, immediately scooting off the couch to play with his dump truck and leaving Jonathan, Carlene, and me to get acquainted.
Carlene and her girlfriend had moved to Carrington, where Carlene’s sister lived, and where Jared taught at the college, about a year before. She and her girlfriend had been together since before Kelly was born. I gathered, from her reluctance to talk too much about it, that they had broken up very recently and she and Kelly had moved here. She’d found a job almost immediately, and had lived in a furnished apartment until she was able to buy a few basic pieces of furniture, then moved into our building. Kelly was enrolled in a day care/preschool run by a pair of lesbian sisters for the kids of gay parents. (Another significant look from Jonathan.)
When we adjourned to the kitchen, Kelly immediately spotted and headed for Jonathan’s fish tank.
“Look, Mommy! They got fishes!” he proclaimed, standing on tiptoe trying to touch the tank. Jonathan scooped him up easily and held him in one arm as he pointed out each fish by name. Carlene looked at me with a bemused smile, and I excused myself to go to the bedroom to retrieve an empty hardcover suitcase to put on Kelly’s chair so he could reach the table.
*
They left shortly before eight, and we finished cleaning up the kitchen, and then went into the living room to watch a little TV. Jonathan had been uncharacteristically quiet, and I was pretty sure I knew why.
“That was nice, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah,” and, before he had a chance to say it, I added, “and Kelly was very well-behaved. Except perhaps for