24. Kyle

24

KYLE

T he Field Museum of Natural History was a very different experience when viewed through the eyes of a five-year-old. We stood and stared at the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton for I don't know how long. I was ready to move on and look at anything else, but Leo was still completely fascinated and refused to budge.

"He loves dinosaurs," Clarissa repeated. She had warned me at least five times in the past ten minutes.

This was going to be a long morning.

As we continued through the museum, every new exhibit was his favorite. He had so much information about each and every dinosaur skull we looked at.

"And this one is Mommy's favorite," Leo said as we stopped in front of the triceratops.

I looked over at his mother.

She had a soft smile on her face. "He loves dinosaurs," she said again. This time, I caught the hint of exasperation in her tone.

"I see that," I replied.

Apparently, he also really loved everything about this museum—dinosaurs, rocks, gemstones, mammal exhibits. What I thought was going to be a few hours extended longer and longer. By mid-afternoon, Leo was exhausted and asleep against my shoulder. I carried him as we headed toward the exit.

"Thank you," Clarissa said. "This was a good day."

"I had a good time," I said, completely forgetting that I was supposed to be angry at her, forgetting that I doubted the little boy asleep in my arms could have been my child.

How different would things have been if I had known?

Leo made a noise and squirmed a little bit in his sleep. I gently patted his back.

"I can take him if he's getting too heavy," Clarissa said, reaching toward the boy.

"He's fine. He doesn't weigh a thing." And even if he did, at that moment, I didn't think I could have put him down. I felt it in my core that this child was my son, and she hadn't been trying to pull one over on me. "What now?" I asked.

"Normally, we'd go outside, and I'd let him run around in the park until he wore himself out." She gestured at him. "He's already out. If it were nicer, I'd suggest we sit outside and let him nap in the sunshine."

But it was not a nice day outside. It was one of those cold, wet fall days where the chill of winter threatened an early arrival.

"I guess I'll just take him home and put him to bed. He'll probably wake up before we get there, and then we'll just have a quiet evening watching movies."

"So, that's it?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Some days, he can go and go and go. And those days can be very exhausting. And others, he runs out of steam a whole lot earlier in the day. I think he was so excited to have someone to show all of his favorite things to, he just got overwhelmed."

"You could come over to my place and we could have dinner," I suggested.

She narrowed her gaze at me. "Are you sure that is really a good idea?"

She seemed skittish, and I didn't blame her. After all, we had been arguing mere days earlier.

"I've been to your place," she started. "It's not particularly child friendly. I don't know if Leo would be able to contain himself the way you might expect him to."

I let out a long breath. She had a very good point.

"I could follow you home, and we could have dinner somewhere in your neighborhood," I suggested.

"Are you trying to find out where I live?" she teased. Her eyes lit up as a smile danced across her expression.

"I'm saying I've had a very good day, and I don't think I'm ready for it to be over," I admitted. "I'd like to spend more time with you and with Leo."

"Really?" she asked. "Even without having completed the paternity test?"

I shrugged. She was right. It seemed like an out of character request, especially after I demanded proof that this was my son.

We stared at each other for a long moment.

She rested her hand on my arm. "I'll tell you what," she started. "I have no idea how sleepy or cranky he's going to be when he wakes up. Why don't I take him home and give him a chance to finish resting, and then we can meet somewhere for dinner?"

"You really don't want me to know where you live, do you?" I asked.

She shrugged me off. "There are some things I need to keep private," she admitted. "You never were interested in where I lived before."

"That's because you had a roommate," I said.

She shook her head. "I still have a roommate"—she ran her hand down the sleeping boy's back— "and he's five. We would love to have dinner with you, Kyle, but we'll meet you somewhere. Okay?" After a long moment, I realized this was probably for the best.

"How are you planning on getting home?"

"Same way we got here. We'll take the train."

"No, he's asleep. Let me call you a car, and promise you'll meet me for dinner."

"There's a great little Greek place that Leo really likes. How about we meet there?" She told me where it was, and I agreed.

I carried Leo as we walked outside and waited for her ride to show up.

She reached out and took Leo from me. She seemed to buckle under his weight. While he felt so small in my arms, he looked like a huge kid when she carried him.

"Let me know that you've gotten home safe," I said before I closed the car door and they drove off.

I watched the car drive off with Clarissa and my son. If there was ever going to be a future for us, I was going to have to put in a bigger effort. I shoved my hand in my pocket before I headed off to the train and found the paternity test.

I played with the box as I waited for the train in the station. I tossed it around and read the instructions. Everything was fairly clear, and I could have swabbed my cheek while sitting on the train. No one around me would have even noticed.

However, I did wait to complete it until I was in the privacy of my own home. I swabbed my cheek and stuck the extra-long Q-tip into a little vial and shoved it back into my pocket. I kept it on me so that I would remember to give it to Clarissa at dinner.

My phone pinged with a text message. It was Clarissa.

Made it back. Leo woke up on the way home. Told him about dinner, and he already plans on bringing his favorite dinosaur model to show you. Be prepared.

The kid is going to grow up and be a paleontologist , I texted back.

It didn't take her long to respond. That wouldn't be so bad. But I think he really wants to design enclosures for dinosaurs at theme parks. He still thinks that the dinosaur zoo from the movie is real and I'm just being mean by not taking him .

I will be thoroughly impressed when he shows me his toys. Promise , I responded.

See you at seven for dinner . I felt ridiculously happy to read her last message.

The few hours I had to kill before dinner felt like an eternity. I made it to the restaurant early, only to learn that Clarissa and Leo had also arrived early.

Leo spent his time telling me about dinosaurs and telling me about his day at the museum, even though I had to remind him that I had been there with him. This didn't seem to make a difference. My discussion with Clarissa was mostly about Leo.

"It was like magic. He went from not being able to read. He recognized his ABCs, but words were beyond him. And then less than a week later, he could read almost any word he got his eyes on." Pride shone through her eyes. "He's a smart kid."

"That reminds me." I reached into my pocket and handed over the vial with my cheek swab.

Leo reached out and grabbed it. "Are you doing the science experiment too?" He sounded very excited.

Clarissa extricated my sample from his fingers. "Yes, he is doing the experiment too. Now give me that. That's not yours. What have I told you about grabby hands?"

She opened her oversized purse and pulled out the mailer box that came with the kit. She looked me dead in the eye and said, "You're seeing this, right?" As she put the plastic tube into the box, she tilted it so that I could see that there were only two plastic tubes. She pulled one out, showing me that it was imprinted with the word Child on the side.

I nodded and watched her as she sealed the box.

She held it out to me. "Do you want to put it in the mail or should I?"

"I'll trust you to handle it from here," I said. "What are your plans after dinner?"

She narrowed her gaze at me. "I take him home and I put him to bed."

"Alone?" I asked.

She nodded. "Alone."

"What would you say if I invited you and Leo out to the country next weekend?"

"Sounds like it could be interesting. It could also be very cold," she said.

"I think the weather next weekend is supposed to be nicer than this week. We could go find one of those corn mazes. That's something Leo would like. They still have those, don't they?"

Clarissa laughed. "I have no idea. I thought those were only in horror movies."

"Not at all. I think it's just something they do with large fields of corn after they've picked everything. It could be fun."

"What, were you thinking about getting a cabin or just driving up for the day?"

"I could get a vacation house," I said. "We can make a whole weekend of it. It'll be fun. Come on."

"Can we, Mommy? I want to see a corn maze," Leo said. It was good to have the kid on my side.

She let out a sigh. "Well, if the two of you are going to gang up on me, I guess I should say yes."