Epilogue

EPILOGUE

“ I think you should contact John,” Grey said, lifting a bite of mashed potatoes to Mack’s mouth. He loved taking care of his Little boy.

“Really? I thought you felt it was better to leave him alone,” Mack answered before opening his mouth to accept the bite. “Mmm! I love Onelia’s potatoes.”

“I promised you Onelia would cook your favorite meal if you finished all your chores for the week.”

“All my chores. You don’t let me do that many. It’s pretty easy to make the bed in the morning when I wake up and text you when I get to work,” Mack pointed out.

“A Little boy needs some responsibility but not an avalanche of jobs to do,” Grey answered easily as he dipped the baby carrot into ranch dressing and held it to Mack’s mouth.

Grey watched Mack’s face as he crunched. He could almost hear the wheels turning in his Little’s mind.

“Do you really think I should answer his messages? I stopped looking at them. It still hurts that he believed such crappy things about me.”

“Before you give up on him completely, wouldn’t you like to check in one last time?” Grey asked.

“I’d feel better about it. We were friends for a long time. I’ll message John tomorrow. I won’t say anything about getting together until I have a chance to gauge how he feels about me. It would be awful if we met for a beer, and he brought Joanie.”

“That would be uncomfortable,” Grey agreed, before popping a carrot into his mouth as well. He hadn’t hinted at the information that Lazzaro had shared. It was better that Mack checked on his friend before closing that door completely.

“How was coffee with John?” Grey asked.

Mack wrapped his arms around his Daddy’s waist and hugged him tight. “Thanks for telling me to contact him. He’s really messed up. You wouldn’t believe all the things that Joanie did to him. Not just trying to put me in jail—believe it or not, that was minor.”

“Let’s go get some dinner and you can tell me all about it. Where should we go?”

“Would you mind going to Armando’s? I haven’t had lasagna for a while and it sounds superb,” Mack pleaded, using his secret weapon and batting his eyes at his Daddy.

“You, Little boy, are manipulating me. We ate there three nights ago. Don’t you get tired of Italian food?”

“Never. Please?”

“I love it, too. But next time, I get to choose the restaurant.”

“That’s fair, Daddy. Thank you.” Mack knew he’d get to choose next time as well. Grey didn’t really care where they ate. He simply wanted to be with Mack. And Mack couldn’t imagine enjoying time with anyone else as much as with his Daddy. “I can’t wait to hear what happened in court against Simone Saunders.”

“She’s transferred to a firm in Boston. I think she needed a new start,” Grey said. “I was pitted against a new associate at that firm. She was good. Not experienced enough to win this time, but she will be in a few years.”

“When are you bringing her to Armando’s for an interview?”

“Next Tuesday. I’ll be interested in knowing what you think,” Grey told him as he opened the door into the restaurant, allowing the scent of oregano, parmesan, and fresh bread waft out to greet them.

“Thanks for being interested in my opinion,” Mack told him. Knowing that Grey trusted his intuition about people made him feel good. “Not too many people listen to their favorite waiter…”

“You are way more than my favorite server, Mack,” Grey reminded him before looking past to greet the restauranteur. “Armando, could you find a table for this charmer and me?”

“Of course. I’m glad to see you tonight. Want to try the new scallops that came in this afternoon?” Armando tempted Grey.

“Scallops? I wouldn’t miss them.”

Mack felt himself grin. The exchange between the two happened each time they came in. Grey never had to look at a menu. Armando created something special for him.

They followed the talented chef to an isolated table where he seated Mack first before helping Grey with his chair. One of Mack’s friends rushed over with water and fresh bread to wait on them. Soon, he lifted a glass of ruby red wine to clink against Grey’s.

“I’d like to propose a toast. May we be as happy ten years from now as we are today,” Mack suggested.

“Make that thirty and I’ll drink,” Grey teased.

“I’ll take every day of that and hope for more. I love you, Grey.”

“I love you, too, Mackie.”