Step by Step

"A flat white."

I don't know how many orders I had filled that day but that was the first one that made me smile.

I made the cup of coffee and turned back to Richie.

"Is there anything else you'd like today?" I asked him politely.
"One of those paninis." He pointed at the glass screen at the one he wanted. "Maybe a croissant for your son and grab yourself something too."

A few minutes later I handed him his complete order to go.

"When do you get off work?" He asked me as he paid.
"Exactly at noon," I checked the time on the cash register. "three minutes."
He nodded. "I'll just wait then."

I helped the next person, watching Richie picking out a table to sit down for a few minutes. The coffee shop was small and there weren't much tables to pick from.


Just as promised, I caught up with him at his table a few minutes later.

"Finished." I smiled down at him. "Your panini is probably cold by now."
"It's fine." He said, pushing away his coffee cup and getting up with the bag of food.

Together we walked out of the shop and crossed the street back to the small space between two shops where my door was hidden. In unlocked it and showed him upstairs again.

"I'll go get Harrison." I told him after opening the door to the flat and letting him in.

When I returned to my flat with my little boy, the small table in the kitchen had been set and the panini were steaming heat. It made me smile.

"Thank you." I said to Richie as I passed Harrison over to him.
Harrison didn't mind at all and continued cuddling just as he had done with me.
"Where's his high chair?" Richie asked.
"Oh. I just hold him when I feed him or let him sit on the chair."
"Okay." Richie agreed and sat down, letting Harrison sit in his lap.

He grabbed the croissant he had bought and started ripping pieces off of it to feed Harrison.

I smiled and started eating the panini Richie had paid for me. Reheated twice but it still tasted great, they always did but I hardly ever bought them for myself, even with a 25% discount it was cheaper to make a sandwich.

"He'll nap after lunch?" Richie asked when Harrison had eaten most of the croissant.
"Yeah for about two hours." I told him.
"Okay, then we need to talk and figure some things out."
"We do." I agreed, knowing that it wouldn't be easy but Richie had a right to see his son. "What about the tour? You're quite busy right now."
"That's why we need to talk." He continued feeding Harrison pieces of croissant. "When the tour is over, this part, I want to see him and I want to keep seeing him."
"We're not exactly neighbours." I pointed out.
"We'll have to figure it out." Richie said sternly.

I knew he was right but how would we cover that much distance so he was able to see Harrison? There was no way I had enough money to take Harrison all the way to California whenever Richie wanted to see his son.

"His birthday is soon." I reminded him.
"When?"
"July fourth."
"Really?" Richie asked, a little surprised. "That's original. I like that. So he'll be 1, are you having a party?"
I shrugged. "Who would I invite?"
"I'll be here." He said determined.
"I guessed you would be."
"What does he need?" Richie asked.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Something he needs, like clothes, a high chair."
"We get by." I assured him. All the money I earned by working, was mostly spent on rent and supporting Harrison. Personal items for me came last.
"Anything he needs?" Richie tried again.
"A dad."