Pointing, I said, “It was just in that corner a minute ago.” I looked around. “Oh, no. Where did it go? We have to find it.”
Brendan pointed to under the table where I was standing. “Over there!”
I closed my eyes and cringed at the thought. When I opened them, Simon was on the floor. He looked so funny crawling around with his long arms and legs.
“I wasn’t expecting to play Tom and Jerry today.” When he stood up, his hair was disheveled. He was holding the mouse by the tail as its little arms and legs wiggled around aimlessly. “Got it! Come see, Brendan.” Simon then cupped the rodent as my son pet it. It was totally skeeving me out and warming my heart a bit at the same time.
Brendan looked at me. “Can I keep it?”
“No!”
“Brendan, I think it’s best for your Mum’s sake if we set it free. Go grab your coat.”
I watched from the window as Simon led Brendan to the wooded area behind our house. Simon knelt down, and I could see Brendan talking to the mouse and waving goodbye to it. Simon then rustled my son’s hair before they high-fived each other.
I fought the tears forming in my eyes as the thought occurred to me that Brendan had really been missing a male influence in his life. He was only six when Ben was killed. He could barely remember his dad already.
When they returned to the kitchen, Simon counted five singles then stuffed them into the swear jar labeled Mom.
“What’s that for?”
“Five dollars donated to Brendan’s cause for your S-word recited five times.” He turned to Brendan. “You might just get to keep that hair, after all.”
Brendan looked over at me and smiled. “I want my hair to grow like Simon’s in the front.”
I crossed my arms. “Great.”
Simon bent his head back in laughter.
After Brendan ran back to his room, I turned to Simon. “Thank you for helping with that. I definitely don’t do well with rodents.”
“You don’t say?” He placed his hands on my shoulders in a firm grip. “You alright now?”
My heart raced upon the brief contact. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m really glad you were home.”
“If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to yell.”
I let out a breath. “It’s been two years, but I still haven’t fully adjusted to not having a man around to handle certain things. I’ve really tried my best, but clearly I would’ve totally failed at that one. Literally, I think it would have kept me up all night.”
“I think you’re handling things just fine—way better than I would be, working the hours you do, then coming home to parent. Your son is a good kid. You’re doing a damn good job. But do you ever get to go out, make some time for yourself?”
“Ha!” I laughed. “That would be a no.”
“That’s not very healthy, Bridget.”
“I know. But it’s tough. I pay a sitter to watch him while I’m working, so I hate to leave him when I don’t have to. It might be different when he’s a little older, but for now, I just have to make him my priority.”
He leaned against the counter. “That’s commendable, but you also have to think about yourself and your sanity. You deserve a break once in a while.”
“Have you been questioning my sanity?”
“Maybe a tad.” He winked. “Seriously, though, when was the last time you’ve been out on a date?”
It wasn’t difficult to figure out the answer. “I haven’t. I mean, Ben’s only been gone two years. I just haven’t felt ready.”
Simon’s expression grew sullen. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that. Calliope…she told me, you know, what happened.”
“Yeah, I really don’t like to talk about it.”
“I don’t blame you.”
Simon seemed to be quietly observing me for a few seconds, and I was starting to feel hot.
I didn’t know what came over me when I asked, “Would you want to have some tea with me?”
He looked at his watch. “Shit. I’d really like to, but I’m supposed to meet someone in Providence in twenty minutes.”
Trying to mask my disappointment, I said, “You said ‘shit.’ Money in the Brendan jar, please. Since you and he seem to be ganging up on me as far as the swear words go, it’s only fair that I get commission for your swears.”
“You got me,” he said as he fetched a single from his wallet and placed it in the jar.
“Are you going out with Brianna?”
“How did you know that?”
“The nurses’ station is basically a gossip den, Simon. You’d better be careful. You’re definitely on everyone’s radar. They talk about you a lot.”
“Is that so?
I was oddly feeling a bit protective of him.
“Seriously, just be careful what you do. It will get around.”
“Thanks for the fair warning, Nurse Valentine.”
“Where are you going tonight?”
“WaterFire. Apparently, it just opened for the season.”