I nodded. “Maybe I should ask him though. I know he’s only four, but I don’t want to overwhelm him with change, you know?”
She stood and smiled. “You’re going to be a great dad. And me, I’m going to be the best auntie ever.” She put her arm through mine. “Come on, let's go find him the best room in the house. I think some of our old toys are in the attic. Let’s see what cool treasures we find there.” She stopped. “No…let's take him up there and let him explore.” She grinned as she led me out the door. “It’s going to be so fun.”
25
Serena
The next morning, I woke to a cold, rainy day. The gray, dreariness fit my life, I decided. Normally, I’d take the subway in the city, but since Andrew was going to the Roarke home, I didn’t want him showing up wet and tired from the walking the invariably went with taking th
e train. So, I ordered a car.
My mother and father stopped by as I helped Andrew put on his backpack.
“I’m going to see my daddy,” he told them. He was keeping a firm upper lip, but I could see he was nervous. The mother in me wanted to protect him from his anxiety, but I knew I couldn’t.
“You’re going to have a good time, too,” my mother said. I could see in her face that she was feeling like I was. She was putting on a brave front for him. “I made you some cookies to share with your dad.” She handed him a plate. “Oh and, I’ve tapped the Irish stew recipe on the top.”
I quirked a brow.
“Way to a man’s heart is through the stomach, right?” she said.
I gave her a wan smile. I appreciated her effort, but cookies and stew wouldn’t make up for what I’d done.
“You ready?” I asked.
“Yep.”
“You have fun, young man,” my father said. He didn’t look like he’d slept all night. When I had the time, I’d have to reassure him that it was okay he leaked my secret. I suspected no matter how it came out that Devin would have taken it badly. Should he have heard it from me? Yes, but I’d waited so long that there was no way he wouldn’t have been upset.
“I will, Grandpa.”
They rode with us down to their floor, and then it was just Andrew and I. Me and him against the world, I remember thinking when the nurse put him in my arms after a long labor.
“I love you, Andrew.”
“I love you too, Mommy.” He leaned against me as the elevator slid down.
“I just want to be sure that you know that. You’re going to spend some time with your dad because we both want you and we have to share.”
“I know.” He shrugged. I guess it was a good thing that he didn’t feel like I was trying to get rid of him.
The car was waiting when we exited the building. I helped Andrew in and gave the address for the Roarke mansion. I wondered if I should warn Andrew how different it would be there. Devin might think I was somehow trying to sway his experience, so I kept it to myself.
We pulled up in front of the limestone home along Riverside Drive in the upper west side of the city. My hands shook as I helped him from the car. Please God, don’t let them hurt my baby, I whispered the prayer as I walked Andrew up the front steps to the arched front doorway.
“Does Daddy live in a castle?” Andrew asked as he took in the ornate carved scallops and cherubs adorning the building.
“It’s a big house, isn’t it?” I said, not sure how to respond. I knocked on the door and was surprised when Devin answered. I’d expected a butler or something. How strange that I’d felt so close to him five years and then recently, but I’d never been here.
He smiled when he saw Andrew. “Hey champ. Welcome home.”
I flinched, and bit back a response that this wasn’t his home.
Devin’s smile was polite to me. “Come in.”
Andrew and I stepped into the foyer. It was marble and wood with a coffered ceiling.
“It’s fancy here,” Andrew said as he took in the surroundings.