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Weekend fun
The following morning, I woke up to the sound of an incoming WhatsApp message. It was a picture of Lester, standing at a gas station filling up an inflatable doll. The caption read: Does this constitute as stupid? I nearly peed my pants, I laughed so hard. Lester is still Lester. Either it was a prank, or he lost a bet. I hope he had fun. Being as I was now wide awake, I decided to start my day. Put the coffee on, throw in some laundry, and start breakfast. I picked out a nice outfit to wear, dusty rose linen pants and a flowy ivory linen top, pink sling-back wedge sandals. Does this outfit say I'm a confident woman and I know what I want or I'm trying to impress you, so you won't turn me down? Anyhow, that's what I'm wearing, and I need to pack my bathing suit since Carlos actually invited us to play in the pool. Alright, breakfast is ready, now to get Theo up.
"Hola mama."
"Carlos, how come I had to hear from Ella that you're home? Were you going to call us at all?"
"Yes mama, I was going to call you later today. You know I've been gone a long time and it's going to take more than just a week to get my head straight. I need to decompress totally before I even think about doing anything about anything."
"Carlos, you need a good wife to take care of you. Ella said she knows a really nice woman, she owns her own business and is still young enough to have many children."
"Mama, I told Tia Ella that I'm not interested. Please, don't start lining up any suitable women for me. I'm not in a good head space at the moment. I don't think I could give any relationship my full attention right now."
"Well, if you're not in your right mind, I understand better. Ella mentioned that you were rude to some woman at her son's birthday party. I raised you better than that. You are always to respect women, I taught you that. Have you apologized?"
"Yes mama, I went out to see her yesterday with Lester. I apologized and she accepted. You can call off Tia Ella, I don't need her breathing down my neck. It stresses me out."
"Hijo, I worry about you, mothers do that."
"I know mama, I'm sorry."
"Do you have any plans on coming here for a visit?"
"At the moment? No."
"No? Why not?"
"Mama, it's January. Even you would rather spend January in sunny Miami than the snow and sleet in Newark. Admit it."
"Well, yes. Would you mind if me and your papi came to see you?"
"Mama, I would love for you and papi to come visit."
"I will go and pack right away."
"Whoa whoa! Hold it, I didn't mean right at this moment."
"Why? You've been gone for six years Carlos, six years."
"I know mama, I know. I've got some men coming down from the Trenton office on Monday the week after next. Can you hold out that long?"
"Why do we need to wait for them? We are perfectly capable of flying on our own."
"I know you are, mama. But coming down with the men, in the company jet, you wouldn't have to deal with airport transfer or long check-in lines. And I don't charge for overweight luggage."
"Ok, I can wait ten days to see you. Your dad wants to say hi. Te amo, mi hijo."
"Te amo tambien, mama."
"Hola Carlos. Cómo estás?" (Hello Carlos, how are yuo?)
"Hola papa, mejorando poco a poco." (Hello dad, slowly getting better.)
" ¿Te importa si vamos a visitar a tu madre?" (Do you mind if we come visit with you mother?)
"No, está bien. Realmente ha pasado demasiado tiempo. Me encantaría una visita." (No, it's ok. It really has been too long, I would love a visit.)
"Gracias mi hijo. Nos vemos pronto." (Thank you, son, we'll see you soon.)
"Organizaré todo y te haré saber a qué hora deberías estar listo para ser recogido." (I'll organize everything and let you know what time you should be ready for pick-up.)
"Adios mi hijo, te amo." (Good bye son, I love you.)
"Adios papa, te amo también." (Good bye papa, i love you too.)
"Alright Theo, let's go. Carlos promised us a nice day at the pool."
"Mama I swim."
"Yes baby, you'll get to swim."
I've packed the stroller with all kinds of beach toys, some drinks and snacks, a foldable beach umbrella, towels, and a change of clothes. I mean, sure he probably has those things, but this is what I pack when going to the beach. I've looked up the route on Google Maps and it's not even two miles away, so we'll walk. We'll walk through the Botanical Gardens and maybe feed the ducks in the pond.
"Hello!"
"Hi Babe, I thought I'd swing by and pick you up. Are you ready?"
"Hi Carlos, someone's eager to see us. Actually, we're nearly there, two more houses to go and we'll be ringing your bell."
"I'll open the gate, it's coded."
"I think we'll fit by the walking gate if it's not locked."
"Walking gate? You walked?"
"Well, yeah. It's not even two miles. Why wouldn't we walk?"
"Why indeed. The smaller gate is also locked so I'll meet you there in…now."
"Hi."
"Hi. Come on through, we'll head straight to the backyard."
"Thank you. The house looks beautiful, love your greenery."
"As I said, it's all Celia and Mateo's work."
"Mama, I can go swim!"
"You need to change into your special swim trunks first."
"There's a mud room with a shower and toilet left of the patio. Does he wear diapers in the pool?"
"No, he has special swim trunks, he won't leave any souvenirs in the water."
"Good, I was worried there for a while. There might be some pool toys in the mud room too."
"Don't worry, we brought our own."
"You go and change, I'll get some snacks out and I'll see you on the patio."
We had fun splashing and playing in the pool for hours. After the snack, Theo was all tuckered out and fell asleep on one of the loungers.
"He's an amazing kid, you've done an awesome job raising him alone."
"Thank you. I'm lucky I've had the support of my co-workers and Gabby since I have no family here. And he's always been an easy child, rarely sick and he's seldom clingy or crying when I leave for night class."
"I hope you don't mind me asking if you date much?"
"I don't mind. And no, I don't date much, not at all really."
"Would you like to go on a date with me? Dinner and dancing?"
"I would love to, but could I pick the time and place?"
"Sure, I just want to spend more time with you. I hope you don't think I'm creepy and weird if I tell you that I thought about you a lot during the last three years."
"I left that much of an impression, huh? As you can see on the lounger, I never forgot about you either."
"Would you like a tour of the house while Theo's sleeping? We can put him up in one of the bedrooms if he doesn't wake while carried."
"He sleeps like a log, he won't mind. I'd love a tour."
"The house was originally built in 1953 and the previous owners had started on some renovations. However, the couple died in a car accident and since they had no relatives, the house went to foreclosure. Now, it has five bedrooms and five baths, his and hers walk-in closets in the master bedroom, a kitchen I'm not really sold on, a two-car garage, and a two car autoport. There's no boathouse since I don't have a boat, yet."
"It is truly beautiful. Five bedrooms seem quite large for a single man."
"Yeah, well, you never know. I thought about converting two of the downstairs bedrooms to a movie room and one bedroom for a home office. But that has to wait till after my parents leave."
"Your parents live here?"
"No, I just talked to them this morning and they want to come visit. It's been six years since we've last seen each other. So, I predict a lengthy stay. And I think some of my nieces and nephews would like to continue spending some of their holiday time here."
"Looks like Casa Mañoso will be fully booked for quite some time. Are you sure you have time to date?"
"That will be a definite yes! And I would also like for you two to meet my family."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Ok, then! Let's head back, Theo will be waking up in a moment."
"Before we go, you see that piece of grass to the right."
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Do you remember I said we could look into some playground equipment? I found a set with swings, slides, and a climbing wall that would fit there nicely."
"You really don't mess around when you want something do you?"
"No, I don't. I'd love to babysit him sometime when you go to class. That way we could form a bond between just us two."
"At the moment he's happy in a sandbox with a pail and spade. It does look nice though, is it expensive?"
"I can afford it, Babe, don't worry. But if you must know, it's under a thousand."
"A thousand dollars for a swing set? That's insane. I can't let you do that."
"You're not 'letting' me do anything. I want to buy it. And he'll grow up to the slides and climbing wall."
"If you're sure?"
"I am."
"And I suppose you want to do this right away? You don't want to wait and see if we even get along in the long run?"
"I told you, you've been on my mind constantly for the past three years."
"Yeah, but you also accused me of sleeping around just a week ago."
"I'm truly sorry for that. I was shocked and tired, I didn't think straight. I didn't even react to the fact that Theo looks just like me as a toddler. I'm surprised Tia Ella didn't recognize it. Has she ever said anything?"
"No, not in so many words. She has low-key disapproved of my actions. I think it stems from her strong Catholic upbringing. I try not to let it bother me, and as long as she's good to Theo, I can take it."
"Do you want me to have a word with her?"
"No, I'll handle it, if it gets out of hand."
"Ok, if you say so."
"I do."
"Sounds like someone's up and awake. Let's go get Theo and look at some playground stuff."
"Hello!"
"Hi Pumpkin, how are you, how's Theo?"
"Hi, daddy. We're good, we're visiting with Carlos this weekend."
"Carlos, as in…?"
"Yes daddy, as in Theo's father. I told him."
"It obviously went well if you're visiting. Where are you?"
"Believe it or not but he has a house less than two miles from us."
"So, he's a Miami native?"
"Newark originally, but his company HQ is here."
"What does he do?"
"You'll never believe me. He's the CEO of RangeMan."
"The security company where Lester and Bobby work."
"The one and only. And get this, Lester is his first cousin."
"Small world."
"Small world indeed."
"So, what have you been up to?"
"Just spending the day, getting to know each other, you know, like dating with a kid."
"Has he said anything about making it official?"
"I told him I don't have any demands, it has to come from him."
"Did he ask for a DNA test?"
"No, but I think it would be smart to have one, just in case."
"I'm with you on that."
"I'd better go save Carlos from diaper duty. Theo just woke from his nap. Or do you want to talk to him?"
"No, I'll call later. Have a good day honey, I love you."
"Talk to you soon, love you too."
Alright, diaper duty next.