F is for Finn (Men of ALPHAbet Mountain)

I tossed my apron in the clothes basket, shut the door behind me, and went to the pantry to grab what I needed. I still needed to stop at home to change, so I grabbed everything I needed quickly and put them in a small cooler we kept for doing outdoor events in the spring and summer. Then I left to go home.

Not wanting to spend too much time there, I ran inside and changed clothes quickly, then headed out of the door, smelling a bit better with a fresh application of deodorant and cologne and a fresh shirt. I made it to her place a few minutes later and knocked on the door, taking a deep breath. This was, perhaps, a bigger risk than the night before. But I had to take it. Too late to chicken out now.

The door opened, and Wendy seemed surprised. Her eyes opened wide, and a smile slid across her lips before she looked back to the couch where Olly was happily playing with toys.

“Hi, Finn,” she said.

“Hey,” I said, holding up the cooler. “I know I dropped off some stuff yesterday for you, but I thought I could come by and cook something Olly would like too. Give you the night off.”

“I would love that,” she said, her smile widening as she opened the door further. “Come on in. I was just about to go cook dinner.”

“Hey, Olly,” I said as I came in. He looked up from his toys and smiled when he saw me.

“Hi, Misser Finn,” he said.

“I heard somewhere that you were a fan of meatballs,” I said. “So, I thought while your Mommy was hurt, I might drop by and make some spaghetti and meatballs for you for dinner. How does that sound?”

Olly let the toys drop from his hand as his eyes went wide. When he spoke, it was with the seriousness of a little boy who wanted to make sure that his words were said with his whole heart.

“I love meatballs,” he said.

“Good,” I laughed. “Then, I’ll get started.”

Wendy followed me into the kitchen, pulling up a chair to sit in where she could keep an eye on Olly but also be nearby while I cooked. We chatted aimlessly, both of us avoiding the subject of the night before for the moment. I put a pot on and got the spaghetti cooking while I formed the meatballs and fried them. Then I added a jar of Tony’s marinara sauce that was slowly becoming a rival to even Sergio in town.

It was a simple meal, but it was something I thought Olly would enjoy, and I made a big enough portion that they could stick some in the fridge for later. Wendy got up and went into her dining room to make a place for them, and I threw a hand towel over my forearm to be silly. As I brought the two plates into the room, I noticed Olly was sitting in his highchair, pulled close to his mother, but then there were two other places set. One of them, across from Wendy, had a glass with wine already poured.

“I thought you should stay for dinner,” she said as I came in and noticed the spot. “Since you were so sweet as to come cook for us.”

“I would love to,” I said. “I’ll be right back with a plate.”

I came back and sat with them, eating and chatting with Wendy about her accident and her job. I wanted so badly to find out about Olly’s father and where he was in the picture but refrained from asking. It wasn’t my right or my place to ask yet. If things kept going the way they were beginning to, I was sure I would find out soon enough.

Of course, that was a bit of a leap. We were having dinner in her home, and we had kissed, but there was more to it before I could consider us dating. Like, for instance, we hadn’t gone on a date yet. I hadn’t even asked. But we were adults, and the situation was a bit different than anything I had ever experienced before with Olly being part of the equation.

I could tell that Olly was her whole life, and I thought that was exactly as it should be. She didn’t do much of anything without him. But how was I supposed to ask her out on a romantic date? Or should I try to find things we could do with all three of us? Or should I just hang back and maybe try to see her more often in the kind of scenario we were currently in?

It was a lot, and I didn’t know the answers yet. So, I decided to kick the can down the road a bit. If I could just concentrate on having a good time with her now, the questions would answer themselves. As dinner wound down, I collected the plates and brought them to the sink to wash them. When that was done, I came back into the living room to find Olly running up to me with a toy of a large dog.