I’m Ash. Remember me?” He unfolded the napkin and tucked it into Mario’s shirt. “It’s okay if you don’t. I wanted to see how you were doing, and Cal’s worried about you. He won’t say of course, but we know, don’t we?”
I sat on the stone bench next to Mario. A sense of calm and peace descended over me that hadn’t been there before. The more Ashton talked to Mario, the more I realized I’d been on edge about having Mario in my life while I was with Ashton. Uncertain about how Ashton would react.
He was a possessive boy who didn’t take kindly to sharing. Not my attention. Not my affection.
But with Mario, he was different.
Mario kept his lips firmly closed while Ashton tried to feed him. He would grunt and fuss whenever Ashton raised the spoon to his lips. Even I got frustrated that he wouldn’t eat. Didn’t he know we were trying to keep him alive? I was trying to give him a life as comfortable as he could have with his limitations.
The place didn’t come cheap. The more affordable nursing homes I’d found didn’t have the friendly, patient staff as this one. Overworked and with limited staff and little compensation, they wouldn’t have cared whether or not Mario ate.
“Doesn’t that taste better?”
At Ashton’s words, I glanced up. Mario had taken a bite of the oatmeal they’d prepared for him. He’d lost many of his teeth due to his drug habit and now only ate softer foods.
“You got him to eat,” I said, completely awed at Ashton’s patience.
“I told you we had a connection.” He smiled but didn’t take his eyes off Mario. He fed the boy a spoonful of the mush and another. Mario didn’t complain. He ate all his oatmeal and, when he was done, let out a loud burp that made Ashton laugh.
“Now drink your juice. See how happy Daddy is? We make him so happy when we’re good boys.”
I blinked in surprise at Ashton’s choice of words. He did know that Mario hadn’t been my boy for a couple of years, right?
“Ash,” I croaked out.
He shook his head at me. “It’s okay. Look how happy he is today.”
I glanced over at Mario. Ashton was right. Mario was practically bouncing in his seat and waving his hands around with a look on his face that resembled a smile. He tried to babble words that wouldn’t form, and when he drooled, Ashton used the napkin to wipe it away. Completely unperturbed.
“I need to use the bathroom.” I got to my feet and hurried away. The hall was cloudy from the tears gathering in my eyes.
This could’ve gone so much differently. Seeing Ashton with Mario, the level of care he extended to the other boy, and the way Mario responded to him had me tearing up.
Mario’s care took a heavier toll on me than I’d ever thought. Not just financially but emotionally as well. Having Ash here today didn’t make this visit as overwhelming as it used to be.
Maybe I was wrong trying to protect him from the situation with Mario. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all to let him share in this burden. Maybe this trust issue didn’t apply to just him but also to me, trusting him with all the areas of my life.
Chapter Six
Ashton
“Lunch is on me,” I said as Callum and I entered the restaurant. “It’s the least I can do since I ruined our dinner date. We haven’t had a chance to do that over yet.”
I expected him to turn down my offer, although I could afford to buy us lunch for the rest of our lives. Since we left the nursing home fifteen minutes ago, he’d been silent, and I was nervous about overstepping my boundary where Mario was concerned.
In all honesty, I never meant to interfere. I only wanted to be there for him to show him support, but there was something about Mario. Maybe it was because he was a solid reminder of what could happen to me if I didn’t take my recovery seriously.
“Okay,” Callum said as he pulled out a chair for me. “Just so you know, I’m going to order the most expensive thing on the menu. You can afford it.”
He winked at me, then opened the menu. I gawked at him as warmth bubbled up inside me at the way he didn’t make this a big deal.
“Sure, go ahead.”
He hadn’t been joking. He did order one of the most expensive thing from