Chapter Seven: How to Succeed in Parenting (While Trying a Shit-ton)
Yes, the seventh chapter is up! Like this one too. Halloween happens to be my favorite holiday, and I sort of went a little crazy here. In attempt to adhere to my readers, I had Diane break up with poor Matty. I was planning to do it after one more date, but having Matt be straight irritates me sometimes. -laughs- So I figured, what the hell, I'd go ahead and take her out. Not to say another girl won't show up, (which probably won't happen, at least in a romantic nature). I'm expecting at least twice the number of chapters so stay tuned!
(Oh, and those who read Bombs Away will get the little reference to a certain disturbing TV show. -laughs-)
She had broken up with me. After just two weeks of going out, and three dates, she broke up with me. We had never even gotten intimate, it hadn't gotten past a small little kiss or hug. Her excuse? She wasn't ready for a relationship with a child involved. She was young, not ready for that level of responsibility.
So she left, and it was now two weeks later. Needless to say I was put into a depressive slump for a while; until Mello was able to pull me out of it. I had snapped at him, yet he seemed to understand my anger and never let it get to him (or at least too much).
We were outside, raking leaves off of the front porch (or at least I was raking, Mello was playing in the piles of leaves I had painstakingly put into piles). It was mid-October, which admittedly is one of my favorite times of year. A time where the leaves were changing, the earth was wrapped in silence as the emanate frost was approaching. Yet this year I was faced with an unprecedented problem.
"Daddy~... We gots to get my hallo'been costume!"
I looked up from my work and over to Mello. His head was poking out of a pile of leaves, the rest of his body hidden from view.
"A Halloween costume? Well what do you want to be?"
"I duuuunooo..." he grumbled, standing out of the pile of leaves and shaking the decrepit remains off of his clothes, "Do I gots to be somethin' scary?"
"Well... I guess not..." I began, leaning against the wall of our apartment, "Have you never gone trick or treating?"
He shook his head sadly, "No... Mama always made me come wi'f her to work..."
Her work which consisted of dressing in skimpy witch and fairy outfits and posing in sexual fashion. Work that she brought her son to.
I bit back a curse or two, anger seething over Misa's parenting skills (or lack thereof). Instead of letting my fuming anger out, I went over to Mello smiling lightly. "Do you want to go get your costume right now?"
"Yeah!" Mello nearly screamed his answer excitedly, grinning up at me.
"Well...can I finish raking uninterrupted first?"
"What's un-intermupted mean?"
"It means," I picked the child up in my arms with a smile, watching as he struggled, "don't jump in my piles of leaves or we'll never get to get your costume!"
"No costume?" he pouted, and recognized the dilemma at hand, "okay..."
"Good," I set the small little child down, rustling through his blonde hair. "Now play over there ok? I'll get you when I'm done,"
Mello nodded, running off to play with his new stuffed animals and his favorite dinosaur. With a small sigh I went back to the task at hand, raking the scattered leaves into an orderly pile once more.
It didn't take too long before the leaves were all put up neatly. Mello watched me as I put the rake up and made my way back to Mello. He jumped into my arms grinning a patented Cheshire grin.
"Costume now, costume now, costume nooow!"
"Alright alright, hang on Mello..." I rummaged through my pocket for the keys to my camaro, which was difficult to do while holding a child. I set him in the car. He was still beaming, causing me to smile once again. He was so adorable.
I lit up a cig and started the car, hearing as Mello continued to talk to me (but mostly himself) about what costume he should get.
"How about a vampire?"
"Vampi'wes are sca'wy!" he made a small little shudder, "What costumes aren't sca'wy?"
"Umm..." I thought for a moment, not considering it a true Halloween costume without a bit of blood or gore, "You could be like...a princess or something,"
"Daddyyyy~!" Mello giggled, "Princesses are for girls! I am a boy!"
"Really?" by this point we were back at the mall once more, walking to the front doors, "Could have fooled me,"
"Daddy~..." he complained, holding onto my leg with his lip sticking out, causing me to laugh lightly.
We came to a store selling everything Halloween related, from costumes and decorations to makeup and fake blood. Mello watched in awe, his mouth held open slightly.
"'Dis is a hallo'been store?"
"Yep," I muttered, leading Mello into the large store. He held onto my leg tight, looking at the sight before him in amazement. Yet once he spotted the children's costumes his hand retracted from my pants right away, grinning.
"Daddy! Daddy 'dere's so many! I could be a wolfie or a p'wince or a butterf'wy or or-"
I followed the now running child down the isle of costumes, trying my damndest to not run into someone. It was quite difficult as Halloween was approaching quickly, and many parents were attempting to do the same thing I was.
"Daddy! Daddy I wants this one!"
He was pointing excitedly to one package in particular. I made my way to him, breathing with difficulty. Once composed, I looked up to the one he wanted.
"That one? Really?"
The costume he was so eagerly nodding to was a girl costume; yet whether or not Mello knew that was beyond me. It was a fairy costume, green and about knee length with matching green fairy wings.
"Mello...that's a girl costume,"
"What? But that kid on 'da cover 'wooks 'wike me!"
It was true, the child was blonde with those huge brown eyes, and pale as the moon. But the difference between Mello and the girl on the cover was strikingly obvious to me.
"Mello, it's a girl costume...what about like..." I looked through the rest of the costumes, trying to find something that would fit Mello's description of 'not scary', "this cat costume?"
"Daaaaaddy... P'wease? It would 'wook p'wetty on me!"
"But I thought you didn't want..."
His eyes seemed to grow three sizes, and he made the saddest look he could. "P'wease?"
With a sigh, I took the costume off the rack and inspected it for a moment. I was a pretty open-minded person, and if a guy wanted to cross-dress hey, more power to him. But did I want my son to be of that sort? He could be made fun of, get beaten up, raped, he could even kill himself-
Wait, what was I thinking? It was just a god damn Halloween costume! It didn't mean my kid would be gay, and if he was, he was then what the Hell?
I nodded with a small smile, causing Mello to giggle loudly and jump up and down excitedly.
"C'mon, let's try it on and make sure it fits, ok?"
"'Kay!"
We made our way to the dressing rooms, and Mello was intent on dressing himself this time, so I gave him the costume and left him alone. I stood awkwardly outside, whistling a tune from Final Fantasy while my in the closet child dressed.
When Mello came back, I would have done a spit-take had I have any drink in my mouth. He was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen. Standing there with that fluttery green dress around his thing white legs, his shoulders revealed to the world. He giggled, mussing with his yellow hair and letting it fall on his shoulders.
"Daddy~! Does it 'wook good?"
"Yeah..." he looked like a little girl, and a beautiful one at that. One of those model girls that stain the world of Toddlers and Tiaras.
Yet not as slutty.
"Can we gets it?"
"Of course," I smiled, feeling a strange sort of pride in the pit of my stomach, "but change into your normal clothes first ok?"
"'Kay! Wait for me!" he grinned, doing a little turn and giggling as his dress spun about him, revealing his black boxers. My mind was swimming in thoughts of Mello; how indeed had this little creation of my sperm turn out to be so god damn cute? It was beyond me; he seemed to have this ability to brighten my spirits every day, no matter the circumstances.
"Okie dokie Daddy! 'Weady to go?"
The little boy had my hand, and was looking at me with his head cocked slightly. I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded to Mello, holding his hand and the costume in the other.
We paid the man at the counter, (along with some candy) and exited. Mello was hopping, beaming.
"Daddy, so we gonna go t'wick or t'weat? You come with me?"
"Will I have to dress up?"
"I dunnooooo... You could d'wess up as a fairy too! 'Den we'd match!"
"I...think I'll pass..." I laughed nervously, the idea of my awkward skinny legs revealed for public viewing in such a manner causing shivers down my spine.
"Ok...if you're sure...but we'll have fun anyways!" Mello grinned, hugging my legs, "It'll be a 'weally fun time, 'wight?"
"Yeah! As long as you share some of that candy with me," I smirked, and saw as Mello's face changed. He pouted, yet surprisingly didn't say no.
"Ok...just a 'wittle though...cause I 'wove you,"
The word love, (or 'wove as Mello so aptly put it) still caused my heart to catch in my throat, yet every day he said it made it a little easier to bare. I smiled, and nodded, rustling through his hair.
It was truly a nice moment, the two of us just walking through the mall, smiling. It didn't matter if Mello wanted to dress like a girl and if he was the clingiest little kid ever.
It didn't matter. I loved him. And I was going to pig out on candy.
Life was good.