The Road Ahead

"I can't believe it." He repeated. "And you're absolutely sure?" He turned to me again?
I gave him a questioning look. "You were my first and last. You saw Harrison."
"Hmmm." He turned again and continued pacing.

His pacing was starting to make me nervous.

I let him be and walked over to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" He asked.
I gestured towards the fridge. "I'm just going to get a drink, do you want something too?" I offered him.
He shrugged. "I suppose."

Surprising to me, he followed me to the kitchen as I got two glasses from the cupboard and filled them with tap water.

He followed my lead when I sat down at the kitchen table.

I watched how he took a deep breath, held it and then released it. A few seconds later he took a sip from his glass of water.

"Alright?" I asked him, hoping he had gotten over the first shock.
He nodded. "When does he wake up?"
I checked the time before answering. "When he did, then he sleeps the night. He'll be up between 6 and 7."
"Okay, wouldn't want to wake him up either." He said. "So I can see him in the morning." He concluded.
"You're still staying the night?" I asked surprised, sure that he would have wanted to go back to the hotel by now.
"Unless you mind, I guess, I can come back in the morning."
"I have to work in the morning." I told him.
"No problem," he waved it off, "I'll watch him."
I frowned at him. "I don't think so. I'm not just going to leave him with you."
"Where else is he going while you work? You can't afford a babysitter."
I sighed and ignored his remark. "He's going to the lady upstairs, she helps me out. I don't mind you staying all night but I'm not letting him alone with you."
"Fine. When are you back from work?"
"Noon, I'm only doing a short shift. If you want to leave, you can come back by noon."

He considered it for a few seconds, weighing all the options before he decided.

"You don't mind if I still stay the night?"
I shook my head, I didn't. "I don't mind, I thought you would have wanted to leave by now."
"I wanna see him in the morning. I'll leave when you do and I'll be back by noon."
I nodded, I could agree to that. "We'll do it like that." I agreed.

A few minutes later, I arranged the futon to sleep. I offered to sleep elsewhere but Richie ignored my idea, I didn't have anywhere else to sleep. As he had suggested, we both got comfortable on the futon bed which wasn't very large at all.  He was so close to me that I could smell him. He might still be angry with me but he was still the man I dreamt of. To have him this close to me, was where I always wanted him. Even if he was angry with me.

Hopefully tomorrow would work out better for everyone.

A year I had hoped for Harrison to meet his father, before he was old enough to realize that he wasn't in his life. I didn't want that for him. Hopefully Richie felt the same way.