Twenty-Three

“Oh, my God, don’t even get me started,” Lille harrumphed. “That flippin’ monkey has stolen dozens of my hair ties, several tubes of lip gloss, packets of face paints, and any number of small coins since I started living with this circus. Somebody needs to call the cops on the little fecker. I swear, I don’t know where he hides it all.”

“Maybe he has a secret stash where he goes to admire all his pretty treasures,” Matilda suggested with a grin.

Lille sighed. “He was walking around with green all over his tail the other day, and my green paint was suspiciously missing from the case.”

“Well, this isn’t good news for me. After meeting Pierre, Oliver is determined to get a monkey. I may have to dazzle him with a new toy just so he’ll forget,” I joked.

The girls laughed as we sat at the tiny kitchen table in Lille’s camper van, sharing a bottle of wine and talking about Marina’s monkey/thief, Pierre. When I’d tried to think of somewhere to go earlier, I found myself instinctively driving in the direction of the circus. I’d lied when I’d told King and Elaine that I had things to do, but it was a white lie. I could have gone to my parents’ house, or even to Karla’s, but for some reason I wanted to spend time with these women, talk to them about King because they were the ones who knew him best these days.

Somehow though, we’d managed to discuss everything other than the father of my child, and it was oddly relaxing. Sometimes it was a relief to just talk about random crap, like monkey hijinks. Matilda had a dress in front of her as she hand-stitched a detail into the neckline. Jack and Jay had been around, but mostly they were in the tent, rehearsing. I was interested by the dynamic between the two couples, and truthfully, dying to know how they’d all met. So, like the Nosy Noreen that I was, I asked.

An hour or so later, the bottle of wine had long since been emptied, and I’d lived through the stories of two pretty spectacular romances. It made me feel relieved to know I wasn’t the only one whose heart had been twisted around, chewed up, and spat back out again. I thought that maybe the best loves had to suffer the greatest hardships. You had me and King, Jay and Matilda, Jack and Lille. Hell, there was even Karla and her husband, but that was a story for another day.

Matilda had just gone to use the bathroom when Lille bent forward and placed her hand over mine. At thirty-three, I was almost eleven years older than her, and yet, there was something about Lille that felt wise beyond her years. Her touch comforted me, and when she spoke, my heart felt too full.

“I’m so glad we found you, Alexis. Seeing King get better has been truly amazing to watch, and it’s all down to you.”

I stared at her for a long moment, then wrapped my fingers around hers to squeeze her hand. “I’m so glad you looked.”

It was late evening when I finally said my goodbyes. I’d only had two glasses of wine, and that was hours ago, so I knew I’d be okay to drive home. When I got there, I found Elaine curled up on armchair in the living room, asleep and a blanket draped over her. King sat on the couch with Oliver, and a kid’s movie played on the TV. Oliver was sitting comfortably in his lap as King absently stroked at his hair. If I wasn’t so taken by the sight of them, I might have pulled out my phone to take a picture. It was just too bloody charming.

“Having fun?” I asked softly, careful not to wake Elaine.

King looked up at me, and I was struck by the calmness in his features, the sense of peace about him. He didn’t answer, just shot me a lazy smile and nodded for me to come sit. I dropped my bag on the floor and shrugged out of my jacket before taking the place beside him. After a second of hesitation, I rested my head on his shoulder. He exhaled heavily, turning his face so he could nuzzle his nose into my temple.

“Did you and Elaine get enough time to talk?” I whispered.

“Yes,” King whispered back and I could feel him smiling into my skin. “Thank you for giving us some time. We needed it.”

“It’s no problem. And Oliver wasn’t too much trouble?” I asked, our son too engrossed in the film to hear his name.

King shook his head, still smiling. “No, love, he was good as gold.”

Only a minute or two passed before Oliver bolted upright and announced, “I have to pee.” He was up and out the door a second later, climbing the stairs to the bathroom. I let out a quiet laugh and glanced up to find King looking down at me warmly. Elaine stirred in her seat, Oliver’s announcement having woken her.

“What time is it?” she asked, voice sleepy.

“Just after eight,” I answered. She took in the sight of me and King sitting together, and smiled fondly.

“Well, I’d better be going,” she said, running her hands down her dress and standing. King stood, too.

“Shall I walk you?”

She seemed taken aback by his offer, shy even. “Well, I’m just down the street, but I wouldn’t mind some company.”

King held his arm out to her, and she slid hers through it before he led her from the room.

“I’ll be back in a couple of minutes,” he called over his shoulder just as the front door opened and shut. I took the opportunity to go upstairs and get Oliver ready for bed. On a normal day he would have been asleep already, but this wasn’t a normal day. Catching him just as he left the bathroom, I lifted him into my arms.

“All right, mister, bedtime.”

“But I was watching a film,” he complained.

“And you can finish watching it tomorrow,” I said firmly as I carried him into his room. I needed to stop lifting him, because Jesus, he was getting heavy these days. I was going to end up doing my back in.

“Where’s Oliver 2?” he asked as I went to get his pyjamas from the drawer.

I let out a breath and answered, “He’s just walking Granny Elaine home. He’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“I like him.”

His statement made me smile. “You do?”

He nodded and leaned forward, whispering, “If I ask him to be my best friend, do you think he’d say yes?”

I swear, I didn’t know where he got his guilelessness from, because it certainly wasn’t from me. I’d been a little terror at his age. There was something about the moment that made me feel like testing the waters.

“Baby, you know how Granny Elaine is Oliver 2’s mummy?” He stared at me, nodding, and I continued, “And Granny Elaine is your grandmummy? Well, that means that Oliver 2 is your daddy.”

He looked at me for a long time, his expression concentrated like he was trying to figure out the logic. “You said my daddy was far away.”

“He was. That’s why Granny Elaine hadn’t seen him in a very long time, but now he’s back.”

Oliver was frowning then and I wasn’t sure why, but his lips went all full, like he was going to cry. “Is he going to go away again?”

I pulled him into a hug. “No, honey, he’s not going to go away again. I promise.”

And just like that, the possible crying jag had vanished as he bounced in my arms. “He’s my daddy. I can’t wait to tell Timothy that I have a daddy now.” Timothy was his friend from Montessori. And seriously, he needed to stop saying things that made me emotional. Trust my son to accept King was his father without a single hesitation. There was a knock on the door, and I went down to let him in.

“Hey,” I said as I held it open and he stepped inside. “So, you and Elaine really had a good talk, then?” I’m not sure why I felt the need to reaffirm that everything was all right between them. I guess I just wanted to make sure he was okay and didn’t feel like things were moving too fast, especially since I now had a another bomb to drop. Perhaps it could wait until morning.

He nodded and answered, “Yes Alexis, we’re good. Stop worrying.”

I told him I was just putting Oliver to bed, so he followed me up. The very second we entered the room, Oliver shouted out, “Hi, Daddy!”