NOTE: This story is an idea that randomly popped into my head while I was bored at work. I figured in my down time, I'll feed the idea and run with it. I have no idea where it's going but, hope you guys enjoy the ride.
This wasn't the first time Max had asked about his father. He had been asking questions since he learned to talk. For the longest time Elle never knew what to tell him, mostly because she didn't know how to make someone so young understand it all. She went through all the options in her head. There were so many times that she wanted to tell him that his father was dead. Sometimes it seemed like that would make it easier. However, she couldn't bring herself to say it. For the longest time she kept thinking to herself, he'll be coming back any day. As the years went by, she realized that that wasn't going to happen but. No matter what had happened, she still loved him deep down. She wanted to hate him. She really did. But the truth is that he was the love of her life and the father of her child and she just couldn't bear to hate him.
"Do you remember what I told you about your Daddy?" Elle asked him, as he nervously played with the Batman mask in his hands.
"He's a superhero."
"Yes. He is. Your Daddy is out there saving the world just like Batman. His job is very dangerous and he doesn't want us to get hurt. He said that when the world is safe again, he'll come home."
" I know. I just wish that he wasn't a superhero sometimes."
"I know, baby. Me too," she said and held him close to her. Max held his arm out for Merton to join the hug and he happily accepted.
"We love you, kiddo," Merton said. "Now who's ready to make tacos?"
Max jumped off the couch and screamed, "Oh! I am!"
"Let's go get started!" He followed Merton into the kitchen. Elle sat on the couch staring off in the distance. Her face had no expression. It was completely blank. She got up, walked to the bookcase and removed a small paperback book from the top shelf. She opened it to a page that was bookmarked with a picture of her and Tommy. It was from a random day at the zoo. They both looked so happy. The tears welled up again and she reminded herself that she had to be strong. She placed the picture back into the book and placed the book back on the shelf.
Max had seen pictures of his Dad before but, they weren't something that she had hanging on the walls. They had just moved into the house when he left, so she never bothered getting their wedding pictures printed and hung on the walls. She didn't want a constant visual reminder of the missing piece of her life. She had plenty of other things to remind her.
Elle gathered herself together and walked into the kitchen to help with dinner. Merton came over for dinner most nights. He lived just down the street. He spent so much time at the Dawkins residence; it was surprising he didn't live there. The only time he spent at home was to write and sleep. He had published several books and made a decent amount of money on them. Most of them were books about lycanthropy, specifically on Tommy but, he had written a couple of science-fiction books as well. Besides that, the only other time he was at home was if he was sleeping or had a girl over. Most nights if he didn't have a girl over, he was sleeping in the guest room next to Max's.
After dinner, Merton told them a ghost story by the fire place. Max begged for one every time. You could tell Merton was the only male role model in his life because he loved everything spooky. Just as Merton was about to tell another story, Max began to fall asleep.
"Aw man, this next one was good," Merton said, disappointed.
"I'm sure you'll get another chance to tell it. Looks like it's time for me to put this pup to bed," Elle said, yawning. "Damn, this kid wear me out. It's my bedtime too, I guess." She looked at her phone and it was only 8:30.
"You're officially an old lady," Merton said, hugging her.
"You're going home tonight?"
"Yeah, I got some new ideas that I need to get out of my head."
"Goodnight, Merton."
"Goodnight, Elle. Goodnight, Max." Merton said before he bent down and kissed the boy on the head. Merton walked out the front door and closed it behind him. The air had a slight chill to it, making him pull his jacket tighter around him on his way back home. He couldn't keep his mind off of Max. Sure, the kid had questions now but, the older he gets, kids in school will realize who he is and who his father is. He could only begin to imagine what kind of trouble this would cause for him. Merton knew that he needed to find Tommy right away. Elle was going to be mad when she found out that Merton had been in contact with Tommy since he left and didn't tell her. But it was one of the many things that she was just going to have to get over.