Be My Son
"You beat me again!" huffed Alex, as he touched the wall of the pool. Luka smiled.
"What, you want me to let you win?" Luka said, splashing him.
"Yeah!" said Alex splashing back.
"Come here," said Luka and Alex ducked under the lane rope and jumped onto Luka's back. The two had several minutes of rough play.
"You know, a few months ago I didn't even think I'd be able to wrestle with you like this again ... hell, I couldn't even swim faster than you," Luka said and he dumped Alex into the water.
The kid emerged from the water and tackled his new "dad".
"Dad, you're doing great. Looks like you're finally getting better!"
"Yeah, I feel a lot better. Can I ask you something Alex?"
"Sure,"
"What do you think of me asking your mom to marry me?"
Luka was worried. He couldn't read Alex's face for a while. Then he saw the excitement as the boy processed it all.
"Well, what do you think?"
"What do I think? Are you insane? I'd love that and mom would love that too,"
"I'm going to surprise her in June. So, can you keep a secret?"
"This one I can keep for sure!"
"And would it be alright if I adopted you? I mean you could still keep your mom's name but you'll have mine too,"
"You want to be my dad? Like ... officially ... so everyone would know?"
"Ah, yeah, you could put it that way," Luka said, laughing. The innocence of children always awed him.
"I think that would be so cool. You're awesome, Dad,"
"Now remember, it's a secret,"
"I promise, I can keep it a secret," said Alex.
"Okay, well start keeping it secret now. She's here," Luka nudged him.