down and placed a hand at the back of Ira’s head with a smile.
“Hey, little man. Going out tonight?” she asked, squatting down to talk to him after he let go of her.
“I’m going to Grandma’s so Daddy can go to the bar.”
“That’s fun! Did you pack enough toys to play with?” she asked, smiling at him.
“Yes, all of them! And a puzzle. Did you know I have a new pump?”
Ira was still a little unsure about the pump, but he liked to flaunt it.
I would too, honestly.
“I heard about that, yeah. What’s the new pump like?”
Her way of talking to my son was soothing, and I knew how much Ira wanted to see her the past few days.
God, seeing them together again felt so damn good.
“It’s bigger,” Ira replied with a shrug.
“As long as it doesn’t bother you, hm? That’s great, Ira.”
“Can you come play with me maybe tomorrow? I’m not at Grandma’s tomorrow,” he explained.
Rooney’s eyes moved from Ira to me, and I let out a sigh, knowing that put her in a little bit of a weird situation.
“Rooney has things to do for college, you know? I’m sure she’ll find a time to come and play soon,” I said, keeping my eyes on hers.
She pressed her lips into a thin line, then looked at Ira again with a soft smile. “We’ll find a time to play and paint together soon, okay? I promise it won’t take too long,” she told him.
I knew she would keep that promise, but it wasn’t easy knowing she was still struggling to figure out if committing to us, Ira and me, was what she really wanted.
I had already made up my mind, and now seeing her again only strengthened that decision.
Rooney was the one I wanted.
“Okay. Daddy said I’m impatient so maybe don’t make me wait for too long.”
She laughed softly and I chuckled, thinking he did understand what impatient meant.
“Pinky promise,” Rooney said, holding out her pinky to make him hook his around it.
She hugged him before getting back up, and when she looked at me, I couldn’t let her go without knowing if she was okay.
“How are you doing?”
She shrugged, nervously playing with her fingers.
“Good,” she replied.
I studied her face for a second and didn’t quite believe her.
“How are you really feeling, Rooney?”
I couldn’t be the only one to hate this silence between us, and although I was okay with giving her all the time she needed to think this through, I couldn’t wait for too long to finally hold her again.
She took a deep breath and shrugged again, but instead of a simple answer, she said, “I’m getting there. This isn’t easy, you know?”
“I know. I don’t wanna push you.” I looked down at Ira who noticed the situation wasn’t as relaxed as he first thought.
“I’m just gonna get a drink with Grant. We’re home this weekend, in case you wanna…”
“Okay,” she said, looking at Ira again and smiling. “I’ll see you soon, Ira, all right?”
She reached out to brush through his hair, and Ira nodded and waved at her. “See you.”
I gave her one last look before she headed upstairs, letting that heavy weight push down on me again the second she was out of my sight.
Things felt easier with her around, but as long as she wasn’t ready, I couldn’t tell her that.
After dropping off Ira at my mother’s house, I drove to the bar Grant told me to meet him and walked inside only to find a crowded bar.
Wasn’t really my scene, but I already said I’d meet him here.
I saw him sitting at a booth which he probably couldn’t reserve for just us as two women sat right across from him.
I wasn’t really into talking about my issues with strangers eavesdropping, but I could also just not talk about my problems.
“Hey, man,” I said as I reached the booth, and when he looked up at me, he grinned.
“There he is. Hope you don’t mind these two beautiful ladies sitting with us. They didn’t have any other place to sit so I invited them here.”
I looked at both of them, taking in their pretty faces covered in makeup.
Well, these two weren’t too bad, but I knew it was exactly what Grant would go for.
“Dreya and Mel,” Grant said, surprising me that he knew their names.
“Wells,” I said, nodding and then sitting down next to Grant.
Before I could start conversing with them, I lifted my hand as a waitress walked by to order a beer, then I