“Do you like it, Daddy?”
God, I love the way my son calls out my name. It sends a real warmth bolting to my heart. The way he looks at me is awesome too, like I’m the most important person in his world. How anyone can have a child in the world and not want to be with them all the time is beyond me. My son is my world.
“That’s excellent, Alex. How long did it take you to draw that?”
“All day.” He cocks an eyebrow at me. “I worked hard.”
This makes me chuckle, since it’s only seven fifteen in the morning. But my son has always had a little streak of dramatism in him. But I love him for it. I adore all his personality quirks.
“Wow, well I can tell. It looks like it’s taken forever. Tell me about it.”
“That’s me and you there, from the day we went to the water park. And Bobby with his Mom...”
Heart break crosses Alex’s face, but only for a second. He might only be five years old, but he knows more than anyone else realizes. I think he understands his mother’s disappearance better than anyone cares to accept.
“Oh, well that’s lovely, Alex. You’ve done a really good job there.” I cough, trying to swallow down my feelings. “I’m really proud of you. Will you do some more art for me today while I’m at work?”
“Do you have to go to work?”
“I’m afraid I do, kiddo. The gym won’t run itself.”
“But I want another fun day with you.”
“We’ll have another fun day really soon, I promise you. We can even go back to the water park if that’s what you want? If you keep being a good boy for Jenny, then we’ll do something amazing.”
“You promise me?”
“I promise, and you know that Daddy doesn’t break promises.” I kiss him on the top of the head. “Now, if you’re finished with your cereal, you should go and get dressed. Jenny will be here soon.”
“Okay. I will. I’m going to wear my dino tee shirt.”
“You definitely should. I like that one on you.”
As he runs away, my heart bleeds again. I always understood Hayley walking out on me, our marriage wasn’t great for a while, I just didn’t want to let go for Alex’s sake, but leaving him without looking back is something I’ll never get. I can’t understand how she can live her life knowing her son is out there. It’s insanity.
I grab my cell phone and look through the recent string of messages that I’ve had from her, shaking my head as I do. These just show how selfish she is. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before.
Hayley: Noah, we need to talk.
Noah: It’s been eighteen months, Hayley. What do we have to talk about now? This makes no sense.
Hayley: I need your help.
Noah: With what?
Hayley: Money.
Noah: Are you fucking kidding me? You have a child who you haven’t seen for over a year and you don’t even ask about him? It’s just straight for money. What sort of a woman are you?
Hayley: Don’t be an asshole, Noah. You know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need it. I’m desperate.
Noah: Marvelous. You still haven’t asked.
Hayley: You’re taking care of him, aren’t you? I’m sure you’d tell me if anything was wrong.
Noah: Unbelievable. You selfish bitch. You really don’t give a shit, do you?
Hayley: So, are you going to help me out or not? Or are you going to keep being an uptight asshole?