Breath Of Life

He nods his head and rubs his stomach. “I’m starving.”

Quinn comes up beside me and kisses my cheek. “Awesome party, Ollie.”

“Thanks to you,” I say as I help Rolly fill his plate.

“Hey, this was a team effort. I just helped with the creative input. You put in the manual labor.”

“Look at you nicefying that slave labor you had me putting in.”

“You’re such a baby.” She pinches my side, and I jump.

“So mean,” I whisper.

She giggles. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

My cock swells, and I clear my throat and think about cuddly puppies and cold water.

I take a seat beside my mom.

“She’s a lovely girl, Ollie.”

“Yes, she is,” I reply, watching her as she talks with Liv while Rolly eats with his friend at the kid’s table.

“I’m glad you found her. Is it serious?”

“Yeah, Ma. I think she’s the one.”

My mother’s eyes twinkle. “I had a feeling she was very special to you. How are things with your father? You seem at ease with him.”

“I’m getting there. We had some long overdue talks and ... I’m trying.”

She pats my arm. “It’s all anyone could ask, and more than I dared hope for. When you were in the hospital ... it opened my eyes to a lot of things. When I prayed, I promised the Lord I’d make things right.”

“Mom, you never did anything wrong.”

“I could’ve handled things better over the years. I own my part in the estrangement and my self-imposed isolation. You gave me the push I needed to get back onto the dating scene, and it opened up my world. We can’t control what people do, but we can control our response. I think I forgot that somewhere along the way.”

“And now you remember?” I ask, genuinely interested in her response. It’s not every day I have such a frank conversation with my mother. She tends to play her cards close to her chest.

“Yes.”

“I’m glad you’re happier and going out, Mom. You deserve it.”

Understanding flows between us and we return to our food. It’s the best family outing I’ve had in a long time. All the people I care most about are gathered here to celebrate my boy’s birthday. It doesn’t get much better than this.

A few hours later, I sink down on the side of Rolly’s bed, exhausted. The house is clean, and my little dude is fighting sleep in his brand new monster pajamas. Freshly bathed, he smells like bubble gum and baby lotion. A weird combination I’m familiar with thanks to his obsession with a particular brand of bubble bath. Tucking the cover around his body, I lean down to kiss his forehead.

“Did you have a good birthday party, buddy?”

“Yeah, it was so much fun. All the monsters and everybody came.” He gives me a tired smile and all the work poured into the short span of time is worth it.

“I’m glad. You know, Quinny went all out for you.”

“I know. I love her, Dad. Is she gonna be my second mommy?”

“What?”

“Well at school, my friend Kevin has two mommies and two daddies ’cause his parents got a davorx. Is that going to happen?”