The Man Who Has No Love (Soulless 3)

“I noticed.” I pulled away and smiled at him.

“I made three friends.” He held up three fingers. “And everyone in my class is nice.”

“No surprise there.”

He turned to Valerie and hugged her. “I can’t wait to go back!”

She chuckled and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m so glad you had a good day.”

“Can we go get ice cream?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “It’s the middle of the day—”

“Yes.” Valerie turned to me. “It’s a special occasion, and we’re going to celebrate.”

I didn’t argue. “Alright…that’s fair.”

“Yes!” Derek threw up both fists. “Let’s go. I’m going to get mint chip.” He grabbed both of our hands and tugged us to the car. “Dad, what are you going to get?”

I hated ice cream. “The same.”

“Mom?”

“Chocolate.”

In between us and holding both of our hands like he didn’t care about looking cool in front of the other kids, he said, “Cool. I’m gonna get mine in a cone, a chocolate one.”

Ten

Cleo

“Tommy said he’s into rockets too!” Derek sat at the table, so excited he didn’t even complain about the bland dinner Deacon had prepared. “And his grandpa worked on one of the machines for the Apollo missions! Isn’t that awesome?”

I smiled. “That’s really cool, Derek.”

He turned to Deacon. “And Leo’s dad is a heart surgeon.”

Deacon listened to every word, like he was fascinated by the adventures his son had at school. “Very cool.”

“Scotty’s dad designs stuff for the military, but he doesn’t know what.” He stabbed his broccoli with his fork and forced it into his mouth. “Says his dad can’t tell him…and I wonder what it is. And his mom is a gymcolorist.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “A what?”

Deacon figured it out. “A gynecologist.”

“Yeah,” Derek said. “What is that?”

“A doctor,” Deacon explained.

“What kind?” Derek asked.

I was curious to see how Deacon would handle the question.

He finished his bite before he answered. “She takes care of women’s private parts.”

“Ooh…” Derek chuckled. “Gross.”

“It’s not gross,” Deacon said calmly. “Every part of our body is as important as the heart or the brain.”

Derek smiled anyway and kept eating. “And Roger’s mom runs some company. His other mom is a yoga instructor.”

“Cool,” Deacon said.

“How come Roger has two moms?” Derek asked.

“Because two women can love each other and get married, just as two men can. It’s like your mother and me, but if she were a man or I were a woman.”

Derek nodded like he understood and kept eating. Thankfully he didn’t ask if Deacon had loved Valerie.

I smiled at the way Deacon explained it. “And what did you learn?”

“We talked about all the things we’re going to be doing this year,” Derek said. “And we’re going on so many field trips. It’s so cool.”

I was glad that Deacon’s status got Derek admission because it seemed like a great school, one that focused on all aspects of education, not just textbooks. It was a great place to nourish Derek’s incredible potential. “Thanks for sharing your day. I’m glad you had so much fun.”

“Did you love kindergarten?” he asked.

“Honestly, I don’t remember it that well…”

“Well, I’ll never forget how awesome it is.” He finished his dinner, scarfing it down like he wanted to get it over with. “What are we going to do now? Watch a movie? Play a game?”

“You’re getting ready for bed,” Deacon said, his plate empty.

Derek nearly did a double take. “What?”

“You’ve got to get up early for school now,” Deacon said. “That means you have to get to bed early. So, go wash up and brush your teeth.”

Derek looked devastated. “No…”

Deacon gave him a hard look. “What did you say?”

He bowed his head and got off the chair so he could go to his bathroom down the hallway.

Deacon turned back to me, like he felt bad for being so harsh with his son. “I hate it when I have to do that.”

“I don’t think you should. It’s easy to be the fun parent, but you’re going to turn him into a great man. Some woman will fall in love with him, and she’ll feel so lucky having a man that treats her so well.”

He smiled slightly.

“Like your parents did with you…so I could find you.”

“I have a feeling Derek will be a better man than I ever could.”

“Maybe,” I said.

He enjoyed the rest of his wine as he looked at me, occasionally swirling his glass before he brought it to his lips.

“Why did Valerie need you to watch him?” I’d assumed she would want to hog Derek after his first day of school because Deacon told me it’d been an emotional day for both of them.

“She has a date.”

“She does?” I asked in surprise, so happy to hear that. The sooner she got a serious man, the sooner she would forget about my man. If she fell for someone, she would accept me into Deacon’s life much easier. “That’s great.”