CHASING TROUBLE

The journey had made their son a little grubby. It might have proved a great distraction from Nicholas if he hadn’t stood next to her at the baby changing table so he could make funny faces at their son while she put a new outfit on him.

He stood so close-deliberately, she was sure of it-that her lungs contracted. She could feel the heat of his skin vibrating against hers and a job that should have taken two minutes doubled because her brain forgot how to work her fingers and thumbs.

As she fumbled to get socks onto her son’s plump feet, Nicholas’ phone vibrated and he stepped away from her.

She met her son’s bright happy eyes and blew out all the air she’d been holding in one long puff, trying to make it into a joke for fear that if she didn’t, she would burst into tears. They wouldn’t be sad tears. They would be frustrated tears. Frustration at herself for still hungering and responding so desperately to the man who’d treated her so abominably.

“My father wants to come visit now that Charlie is here,” Nicholas announced. “Is Charlie ready?”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

She pasted a smile to her lips, nodded and stepped aside to let Nicholas pick him up. Following them out of the room, she vowed to get a grip on herself. With this firmly in mind, she said, “It would be nice for Charlie to spend some time with his grandfather. I mean they have met before, but I didn’t really tell Frank the truth then.”

She stopped talking then, knowing that it was a sensitive topic.

“It’s alright,” Nicholas told her, noticing that she was uncomfortable talking about it, “Trust me, my father understands. He’s kind of on your side to be honest. He’s a very weird man,”

Caroline chuckled lightly, “I don’t think he’s weird. I think he’s super nice and calm. Funny too,”

Nicholas smirked, “So he’s got you too with his charms, huh? You’d think his lady friends would be enough for him, but no, he has to charm you too,”

“Oh, I didn’t realize,” she said evenly, descending the stairs in step with him.

“What, that my father still has an active sex life? It’s something I try not to think about.”

A welcome kernel of laughter tickled her throat at his deadpan comment. “No. I mean… I guess I never thought about it,” Caroline said, “So, When you say he’s coming to visit, do you mean tomorrow or something?”

“Nah. I meant this evening,” he replied

Surprise had her tightening her grip on the bannister. This evening?

But there was no time to ask more questions for he increased his pace to greet the elderly gentleman waiting for them.

___________

Caroline had not spoken to Frank about the big revelation that Charlie was his grandson. In fact, she’d been worried that he would be furious with her and for a while she’d wondered if her job would be affected. She could get fired, and she wouldn’t really blame Frank, but surprisingly, she found out that she was wrong.

The warm hug Frank gave her brought tears to her eyes and she had to fight so hard not to let them fall. He seemed to be just happy to have a grandson and he looked at her with understanding in his eyes. For the first time since Charlie was born, Caroline regretted not telling Frank the truth because he’d have been an amazing grandfather to her son. She realized that Nicholas was indeed very right about his description of his father the first time they met. Frank Connelly really did like to see the good in people and in every situation.

At first, Charlie was as shy with him as he’d been with the nanny Nicholas had hired. Frank on the other hand, was undeterred, parking himself on the hard floor where he waited patiently for Charlie’s confidence around him to grow and was soon rewarded by his grandson using him as a human climbing frame.

When it was time to eat, Frank took the seat next to the highchair and insisted on feeding Charlie the specially prepared mush. The utter disgust on her son’s face as the concoction hit his taste-buds was photo-worthy. He spat it out, globules of green goo landing on Frank’s white shirt. Frank met her eye, then he burst into loud, gravelly laughter that set her off too.

“Has that got courgette in it?” she asked when they’d all stopped laughing and Charlie had been pacified with a bread roll and a banana.

Nicholas grinned. This was his first shared meal with his son in his own home. He would never have imagined a month ago that something so simple and ordinary could provoke such huge enjoyment. He stared at Caroline, and wondered if she was aware how happy he was that she’d agreed to bring Charlie here. A lot had changed between them and he also wondered if she realized that every time she spoke to him, her fingers captured one of the ringlets splayed over her shoulders?

Seated diagonally from her, the pleasure of the evening was intensified by the enjoyment of her lovely face as his vista throughout the meal. Caroline was a beautiful woman but under the rising moon-light, her beauty turned into something other-worldly.

“I’ve no idea what the chef made him,” he answered after a drink of his wine. “I should have warned him not to put courgette in his food.”

“You can add peppers and aubergine to the list,” she said without looking at him, fingers tugging on a ringlet. “I made a batch of baby-friendly ratatouille a few days ago and you’d have thought I was trying to poison him.”

Her eyes darted to his before quickly looking away again. Yet another example of her devotion to their son, he thought. Damn, what was it about fatherhood that made the past feel more vivid and present than it had in decades? Not just fatherhood. Caroline. He swallowed and tried not to overthink anything at the moment. The main course over, the staff cleared their dishes away.

Caroline got to her feet. “I need to put Charlie to bed.”

“Stay for dessert?” he coaxed.

She shook her head while unclasping the high-chair straps keeping their son contained. “It’s way past his bedtime.”