one to perfection.
“I didn’t even think about the fact that today is Monday. How can you let Lesso stay over at someone else’s place on a school night?” Aly turned, disappointment and anger churning in her stomach.
“Good morning to you, too, Jamison Loane! How dare you come in like that after last night?” she asked, outrage evident in her voice. “It obviously was nice enough to cuddle me and promise me a night when you never intended to give me that full night. Then again, in the morning everything looks different. Oh, you didn’t even wait until morning!” She was hurt, very much so, and didn’t care he suddenly tried to act like a father, even though that should bother her far more.
“Aly, you don’t understand –”
“Of course, I don’t because you won’t tell me. No serious talk, remember? No asking questions. No nothing, Aly. You get to save my son and go to prison if they ever realize it, but you don’t get to have answers or a single night with me. So no, I don’t understand. And just FYI, your son has off today. The school has some teacher education thing, and he’s going to be …” The door jingled and Alessandro came in, beaming at her, totally ignoring his father. “ … here in no time,” she finished, kneeling to catch Lesso and hug him tight.
“Mom, Tom has this new book he really likes and his mom read it to us and we wrote down lines we liked most. Can I tape it to your wall? Please?”
“Of course, baby!” She laughed, wondering if he had even seen his father.
“I want to place it on the top. Dad, can you pick me up?” He looked at him with big eyes, making his cute face. Aly crossed her arms, knowing very well how calculated the move was on his part. That face almost always got to her.
“I’m gonna make you your cacao, okay?” she called, moving behind the counter and away from the two guys.
“Dad?” his son asked in a hushed voice, as Jam picked him up to set him down on his shoulder. Lesso never had been very good at whispering, though.
“Alessandro?” Jam gave back.
“Can you stop making Mom sad? I could hear it in her voice when I was outside. She never screams, and I don’t like my mom sad,” Alessandro explained while pulling off some tape. Aly closed her eyes, regretting that she had fussed at Jam there. She should have anticipated her son’s arrival.
“I didn’t mean to make her sad,” Jam said quietly.
“Why did you then?” Jam lowered him back to the ground and then knelt to his level.
“Because I’m scared.” Alessandro actually blinked and then started a carefree and heart-warming laugh as only little boys could.
“You are scared of her ?” her son asked, and she saw from the corner of her eye how he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at her.
“I have secrets, and I worry your mom will find out about them. Then she won’t like me anymore,” Jam gave back so quietly, Aly wasn’t sure she had heard right.
Alessandro leaned in. “She’s very good at that. I once tried to keep a fish Tom and I caught. I wanted to make sure she doesn’t realize I have him and she found out. She was really mad at me. But she still loves me.”
“He forgot that fish needed to eat … and that you don’t keep them in the fridge.”
She knew Alessandro made a face at Jam, most likely rolling his eyes. “Are you supposed to do that, young man?”
“Sorry, Mom,” he called over his shoulder and then shrugged. “I broke a window once with her favorite bottle perfume. She still loves me,” he went on explaining, and Jam’s eyes got wide. Aly wasn’t pretending to be busy any longer. She was just curious.
“All those things are not as bad as my secrets. Imagine how it would be if you were the reason your mom lost everything. You wouldn’t have a home anymore, and she wouldn’t have the café any longer. That’s how bad my secret is.”
“Mom would still love me. We once started from scratch, so we can do it again.”
“I didn’t even think about the fact that today is Monday. How can you let Lesso stay over at someone else’s place on a school night?” Aly turned, disappointment and anger churning in her stomach.
“Good morning to you, too, Jamison Loane! How dare you come in like that after last night?” she asked, outrage evident in her voice. “It obviously was nice enough to cuddle me and promise me a night when you never intended to give me that full night. Then again, in the morning everything looks different. Oh, you didn’t even wait until morning!” She was hurt, very much so, and didn’t care he suddenly tried to act like a father, even though that should bother her far more.
“Aly, you don’t understand –”
“Of course, I don’t because you won’t tell me. No serious talk, remember? No asking questions. No nothing, Aly. You get to save my son and go to prison if they ever realize it, but you don’t get to have answers or a single night with me. So no, I don’t understand. And just FYI, your son has off today. The school has some teacher education thing, and he’s going to be …” The door jingled and Alessandro came in, beaming at her, totally ignoring his father. “ … here in no time,” she finished, kneeling to catch Lesso and hug him tight.
“Mom, Tom has this new book he really likes and his mom read it to us and we wrote down lines we liked most. Can I tape it to your wall? Please?”
“Of course, baby!” She laughed, wondering if he had even seen his father.
“I want to place it on the top. Dad, can you pick me up?” He looked at him with big eyes, making his cute face. Aly crossed her arms, knowing very well how calculated the move was on his part. That face almost always got to her.
“I’m gonna make you your cacao, okay?” she called, moving behind the counter and away from the two guys.
“Dad?” his son asked in a hushed voice, as Jam picked him up to set him down on his shoulder. Lesso never had been very good at whispering, though.
“Alessandro?” Jam gave back.
“Can you stop making Mom sad? I could hear it in her voice when I was outside. She never screams, and I don’t like my mom sad,” Alessandro explained while pulling off some tape. Aly closed her eyes, regretting that she had fussed at Jam there. She should have anticipated her son’s arrival.
“I didn’t mean to make her sad,” Jam said quietly.
“Why did you then?” Jam lowered him back to the ground and then knelt to his level.
“Because I’m scared.” Alessandro actually blinked and then started a carefree and heart-warming laugh as only little boys could.
“You are scared of her ?” her son asked, and she saw from the corner of her eye how he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at her.
“I have secrets, and I worry your mom will find out about them. Then she won’t like me anymore,” Jam gave back so quietly, Aly wasn’t sure she had heard right.
Alessandro leaned in. “She’s very good at that. I once tried to keep a fish Tom and I caught. I wanted to make sure she doesn’t realize I have him and she found out. She was really mad at me. But she still loves me.”
“He forgot that fish needed to eat … and that you don’t keep them in the fridge.”
She knew Alessandro made a face at Jam, most likely rolling his eyes. “Are you supposed to do that, young man?”
“Sorry, Mom,” he called over his shoulder and then shrugged. “I broke a window once with her favorite bottle perfume. She still loves me,” he went on explaining, and Jam’s eyes got wide. Aly wasn’t pretending to be busy any longer. She was just curious.
“All those things are not as bad as my secrets. Imagine how it would be if you were the reason your mom lost everything. You wouldn’t have a home anymore, and she wouldn’t have the café any longer. That’s how bad my secret is.”
“Mom would still love me. We once started from scratch, so we can do it again.”
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