“Because he doesn’t have a dad and doesn’t play sports. I’m not going to say he’s effeminate, but he’s not really the rough-and-tumble type. He tends to like drawing and reading more than chasing other kids around on the playground. His best friend is a girl.”
“And they say he isn’t a real boy?” he asked with shock. “What is that about? What little shits.”
It made me feel good that he was riled up on behalf of my little guy. “They are shits. I think I need to get out there and throw a ball at him or something.”
“With him,” he said.
“What?”
“You don’t want to throw the ball at him. You want to toss the ball around with him.”
“Oh, yeah, that,” I said and waved my fork. Now that I was talking about it, I couldn’t stop. “I taught him how to ride a bike. Isn’t that boyish?”
“Don’t girls ride bikes?” he questioned.
“Yes, but I wanted to make sure he could. I don’t see why he has to play sports. He likes to do other things. Not all boys play football.”
“No, they don’t.”
“It’s not like he is the only kid that comes from a one-parent household. Isn’t that more common than a two-parent household?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I went to school with a lot of kids that only lived with their moms.”
“Exactly!” I said and slapped my hand on the table. “He’s a little small for his age, but his dad is a big guy. He’ll probably be one of the biggest kids in his class once he hits his stride.”
“His dad is big?”
“What?” I asked.
“You said is, like his dad is still alive. You used it in the present tense.”
Damn. “Habit. I meant to say his dad was big.”
“It sounds like your son, Jace, could use a man day.”
“Turns out I’m fresh out of men,” I quipped.
“Would you like me to hang out with him?” he offered.
“What? You?”
“I am a man,” he said with a smirk. “You want me to prove it? Again?”
“No. But you’re busy.”
“I could come by this weekend. Are you doing anything on Saturday?”
I didn’t know what to say. “Uh, no. Not really. I usually take Jace to the park or to hang out with a friend.”
“I could go to the park and we can throw a ball around.”
I slowly shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I love my son.”
He stared at me for several seconds. “I didn’t offer to come over and kill the kid. I offered to hang out with him. Share a little testosterone.”
“I don’t know,” I said. It was exactly what I wanted for him, but I didn’t think Nash was the right man for the job.
“Whatever. Suit yourself. I was offering to help. I’m a guy. I can hang out with him. With you, of course. A boy needs a strong, male figure to emulate. You know that. You are worried about it because you know it’s a thing.”
“But it’s just—well, you’re kind of a dick. You made grownups quit. You’ve probably made more than one cry. I can’t let you be mean to my kid.”
“I’m not mean to kids,” he said. “Relax. I’m going to do this. Your son sounds a lot like me when I was his age. I know I would have been thrilled to have someone to hang out with me. My dad was always too busy.”
If I was there, it couldn’t hurt, right? It would give Jace the one thing I simply had not been able to give him in all these years. I had failed Jace in so many ways. I could do this. It was for Jace. “Okay, but if Jace isn’t up for it, I’m not going to force him to hang out with a guy he doesn’t know.”
“But you know me,” he argued.
I wrinkled my nose. “That’s not your best argument.”
“Very funny.”
“You have to promise me you will be on your best behavior,” I said. “I don’t want you to say anything about what happened between us.”
He gave me a dry look. “Do you really think I’d tell a kid about banging his mother in the office?”
Again, a piece of lettuce made me choke. “No. I hope not. Please, don’t even hint at anything like that. Jace is young and I’m not afraid to say he is a little sheltered.”
“All right, then I’ll be over tomorrow morning. I know where you live.”