His words weren’t anything unusual, but the way his chest puffed out and he almost inhaled any attention he got from me and DB was. I knew a bit about his dad and what had gone on, and I also knew how the asshole had acted at the news yesterday, but I was willing to bet it was a whole lot worse than that.
Seeing my son watching Cody with a slight frown on his face, I motioned with my head to the door.
“Evie, is that okay with you, too?” I checked before I left. “I’ll have my phone on me, so if she gets in your way, I—”
Holding up a hand, she shook her head and smiled at me. “No, it’s absolutely fine. I forgot about this video we’re doing, and if our incomes didn’t depend on it so badly, I’d postpone it until after Cody was better.”
I remembered those days. Parental guilt was a real thing. A lot of it was based on emotions and making sure your kid never had a bad moment, but a fuck ton of it revolved around finances.
It wasn’t about spoiling the child, it was about never running out of food and never having to send them to school in torn or dirty clothing. About always making sure their clothes fit them. If possible, it included wanting to give them popular brands so they fit in with their friends.
Then there was not wanting them to wake up on their birthday or Christmas to find nothing or just one small thing waiting for them.
Yes, none of that beat their health and wellbeing, but it was also an ideal for us. If they had technology and clothes that helped them fit in, they might not get bullied or feel different.
It was a repetitive cycle, and if you were the only one responsible for everything to do with your child, it was a heavy weight to carry. Call me shallow if you want to about the latter part of the issue, but a vast majority of parents would agree with me on it.
So I absolutely understood her needing to do something that boosted her income to help her provide for him.
My arm wound around her back, and pulled her into me without me even telling it to.
“I get it,” I said quietly. “I was there once upon a time, too. We all have to be able to provide for our kids, so don’t feel bad about it. Plus, he wouldn’t want you to stress about money or not do it because of him. You’re already taking time out of the salon to look after him, and this part of your job you can do at home.”
“Yo!” Jacinda called, and I looked over Evie’s head at her. “How smart’s your dog?”
Bernice was sitting watching her out of the corner of her eye, her head still resting on Cody’s lap.
“That dog’s a freaking genius,” Tabby snorted. “Alex has trained her to a scary level. She’s got one of those voice buttons that dogs can press next to the door that says ‘outside’ whenever she wants to go potty.”
Jacinda’s eyes widened. “No way. We got sent a pack for Razzle and Rocket, but it’s unlikely they’d want to use them unless it meant getting a treat.” At the word, both dogs' heads lifted. “We’ve got the book that goes with them, but—”
“I’ve got one, too. That’s how I trained her to hit the button when she wanted out.”
“Do you think you could work on it with her with the kit we were sent? It’s a starter one with fifteen buttons in it that you write the command on, so you wouldn’t have to buy anything.”
Shrugging, I figured there’d be no harm in it. “Sure. I can remember how a lot of it’s done anyway, so I’ll just work on it with her.”
This is where the catch came in.
“The company wants us to do some videos for different social media platforms so they can show people it’s possible.”
“He’ll do it,” DB answered before I could say hell no.
Glaring at him, I clipped, “I’d rather not be part of a social media video.”
“Evie, speak to the man,” Jacinda insisted. “We’re in the presence of a canine genius, and we’ve got the tools available to prove it. How could anyone not want to be a part of something like that?”
Hearing my son’s chuckles and seeing Cody doing his best not to laugh, I sighed. “Fine. But if she can’t do it, then this is the last time we’ll discuss it.”
Turning back to Evie, any irritation I was feeling eased away with the look of gratitude and the expression she had on her face as she watched me.
“You’re the shit, Alex Bell.”
As compliments went, it wasn’t that deep.
But I still felt like a giant as I left and went to meet Carter at the station.