Fake Marriage Box Set

Quinn

I was so excited to see Jake; the last week had been like torture without him. When it was time for his bus to arrive, I worried that Sarah wasn’t there to get him, leaving him scared and alone on the front porch. But now it was okay; he was back in my arms, and in a safe place. Sarah had told me that she had gone through several care services, never finding someone who would be there when she needed them. I could see where being at her “beck and call” might not be in the scope of a nanny service and she definitely couldn’t afford a live-in nanny like she probably preferred.

“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” I said, smiling at the two of them. “Would you like to see your room?”

“Yeah!” he said with enthusiasm as he took my hand.

I looked back at Luke and smiled, watching his face falter from excitement to worry. He hadn’t had time to do anything to prep the spare room for Jake’s arrival. For all he knew, it was still the same plain walls, bed, and paintings on the wall that there was when he left that morning. I wanted to calm his nerves, but I knew he would find out soon enough, and it was really for Jake, not for him. Still, I enjoyed the fact that I could be helpful with the things no one had really thought about until it was too late.

We stepped into the room, and I flipped the light on, letting go of Jake and stepping to the side as Luke walked in, his face covered in shock. It was crazy how much Jake and Luke looked alike, and even then, standing in Jake’s new room, they had the same exact expression of shock and excitement. I giggled to myself as Luke knelt down to Jake’s level and the two of them scanned the room, their eyes bright with excitement. For Luke it would be so different, then I remembered that it was surely a shock for him. For Jake, it was going to be his home, the place he played, the place he snuggled up in bed, and the place he knew he could feel safe because his father was right across the hall from him.

Everything about the room was different, and it had been transformed from the mundan

e to the magical in just one short afternoon. There were posters of animated cars, and animated animals, stuck on the walls, leveled to the ceiling, and perfectly aligned to his bed. There was an easel in the corner with a chalkboard on one side and a huge roll of paper on the other. Next to the easel was a small standing container filled with brand new paints, pencils, crayons, markers, and chalk. I had picked out a few toys that I thought he might like and placed them sporadically around the room. His bedspread had rocket ships on it, and the windows were draped in the same exact material, keeping the brightness of the sun off the bed.

I laughed as Jake ran from his father over to the easel and his mouth dropped open. He looked at all the things he could use to make masterpieces of art, and he shook his little head in disbelief, more excited than I had ever seen him. He ran wildly around the room, inspecting everything since it all was brand new to him. For him, it was like Christmas, but for Luke, it was more: it was tangible evidence and solidification of the fact that his son was going to be there, and this time Sarah couldn’t come between them. Luke walked up behind me and put his chin on my shoulder, sending butterflies into my chest.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “I can’t believe you pulled off this off.”

I turned around and nodded my head, smiling at him in acknowledgment. I would have done all of this for Jake no matter what Luke’s response may have been, but I couldn’t lie that it felt good to have him acknowledge the fact that I’d gone out of my way for the both of them. I wanted Jake to be comfortable, I wanted Luke to be happy, and I wanted the place to start looking like a home instead of some single guy’s house. That was important for when the court came to visit, so while I was out, I also picked up some candles for the house, a throw for the couch, and some cleaning products. Speaking of cleaning, the boys needed to get ready for dinner, and I needed to make sure that everything was ready and set to eat. I clapped my hands and turned to Jake.

“All right,” I said. “It’s time to get ready for dinner! Go to the bathroom and wash up, okay?”

“Yeah, you stinky beast,” Luke said, running forward, scooping Jake into his arms and blowing a raspberry on his tummy.

Jake squealed with laughter, and tucking him up like a football, Luke carried the boy out of the room toward the bathroom across the hall. I shook my head and laughed as I passed by, watching him put Jake on the floor and turn on the water. Luke looked up at me as I passed, and smiled one of his super charming smiles. I blushed and continued on to the kitchen, pulling out the dishes and setting the table. The boys rushed into the dining room and sat down, looking up at me with excitement. I carried the food out to the table and began dishing it onto the plates. We were having chicken-based Shepherd’s Pie, which was one of Jake’s favorites. He clapped his hands together with excitement as I filled his plate.

I had an incredibly deep feeling of contentment flowing through me, something I hadn’t felt in a very long time. The boys were thankful for what I’d cooked, and Jake’s eyes shimmered in the shadows of Luke’s strong arms. Everything seemed like it was falling into place. Dinner was nice, and we sat there listening to Jake talking about the science experiments he was getting to do in school. He wanted to do more at home but said his mom wouldn’t let him because it would cause too much of a mess. I winked at Luke, proud of him for not making a face when Jake brought up Sarah. It was important that he keep an even tone about Jake’s mother.

“So,” Jake said, running back to the table with his bookbag when dinner was done. “This is Galileo.”

“Wow,” I said. “Is it because of his stars?”

“Yep,” he said proudly, as he put Galileo to the side and pulled out a fluffy-haired bear. “And this is Einstein, because he has gray hair on top.”

“I love him,” I said, taking the bear from him as he handed him to me.

“I’m going to go introduce them to the other toys in my room,” he said, taking the bear back and running off to his room.

I smiled and chuckled as I rose from the table and started to collect the dishes. Luke looked at me with beaming pride and shook his head. He didn’t have to say a word; I knew what he was thinking. Jake was so damn smart, even without any solid nurturing at home; imagine what he could do in the right setting.

“I’ll go get him in the bath,” Luke said, smiling.

“Okay, while you do that, I’ll clean up here,” I replied.

I rinsed all the dishes and loaded the dishwasher, listening to Jake talk to his father during his bath. He was old enough to start taking showers, I had thought, when I worked at Sarah’s. But either way, he was going to be a clean boy, which made me more than happy. After bath time, I kissed Jake goodnight, and his dad tucked him into bed, reading him a book before he fell asleep. I stood in the living room sipping a glass of hot tea, turning when I heard Luke sneaking down the hallway and into the open space.

“Sound asleep,” Luke said, plopping down on the couch. “Thank you for all your help tonight. Dinner was amazing, by the way. Sarah was such a total bitch when I picked him up, even going as far as to say she was glad I was taking him for weekend—right in front of him. It makes me sad that he is so numb to her unkind words. I can only imagine what she says when no one else is around. She didn’t even send him with any clothes. If you hadn’t bought those pajamas to match the rocket ship on his bedspread, that little boy would be going to bed naked.”

“Well, we should get up in the morning, eat some breakfast, and go shopping then,” I replied. “I have some things we need for the house, and we can get him a whole new wardrobe to keep here.”

“That sounds perfect,” Luke said, yawning. “I think I’m going to go relax and find a movie to watch; you want to join me?”

“No, I think I’m going to climb into bed and read,” I replied. “It’s been a really long day.”

“Of course,” he said, with a smile. “Sweet dreams.”

“You too,” I replied.