3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Ralphie

“Ohhhh, Daddy Marcel likes you,” Orion sang after he shut the door to the playroom which was by far the coolest playroom I’d ever seen. There were dinosaurs everywhere and a super awesome prehistoric rug to play on. I think he had every stuffie in the world, too.

“I thought he did too at the party when he held me and whispered sweet things, then he ghosted me.” Just like the other Daddies, only this one didn’t get to come first.

“Daddy said he’s been super sad since his boy died,” Jacob sighed. “Daddy said he would be too if he lost me. Maybe he just needs to find his happy place again.”

“Maybe.”

Orion and Jacob wandered off to play dinosaurs. Tess sat in the dino chair at Orion’s T-Rex desk.

“Tessy, what’s wrong?”

“I have a confession to make.”

This couldn’t be good ‘cause she was way too sad. “For what?”

“I invited Marcel to the Valentine’s party on purpose. He’d been so sad after Elion died and I thought he would make the perfect Daddy for you. Then afterwards he just disappeared. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I’ve been wondering the same thing since then but hearing him talk tonight, he’s still sad. He’s a Daddy with no boy and his heart hurts.”

“You are wise beyond your years, Ralphie. One of the many things I love about you is your big heart.” Tessy was the absolute best, but little did she know, her heart was way bigger than mine.

“You should go talk to him,” Jacob said. “He was really sad until he got to feed you.”

I thought so, too. When I snuck a peek at him he smiled, and my tummy did loopy-d-loops.

“Go.”

“Go.”

Jacob and Orion were of the same mind, but what did Tessy think?

The three of us watched and waited and still Tessy said nothing. She just stared down at her lap and I wondered if she was broken. Finally, Tessy sighed then glanced up at me.

“Everything I know of him says he’s a good man but just because he’s hurting it doesn’t give him the right to hurt you.”

That much I did know but it was sometimes hard to remember.

“Go talk to him. Set safe boundaries and keep your eyes open. You love with your whole heart, Ralphie, and I don’t want to see it broken.”

“Okay. Okay. What do I say?”

Jacob and Orion looked at each other and shrugged.

“Ask him to give you rubbies. Always works for me.” Orion was the king of rubbies but that wasn’t how I worked.

“No, don’t listen to him.” Even Jacob disagreed and those two were glued together.

“Ralphie, hun, just be you. You’re perfect the way you are.” Tessy hugged me. “Go.” She gave me a gentle shove while Orion and Jacob jumped up and down and clapped.

Slowly, I crept down the stairs and listened for their voices. I had no idea where the Daddies were, and this place was so big I’d likely get lost, and they’d never find me. That was a scary thought.

“I don’t know, Richard,” I heard Daddy Marcel say. “I’m just not in a good place mentally right now.”

I sat at the foot of the stairs to wait until they stopped talking. I didn’t want to be rude and interrupt them.

“You’re perfect for him, Marcel. I can’t imagine what losing a boy is like, but I think it’s time you gave a new one a try.” Alex was trying to set Marcel up with another boy. Was that new boy me?

“Gentlemen,” one of the ladies who cooked dinner said. I wasn’t sure which one because I forgot their names. “You should know there are little ears listening.”

Ut oh…

Marcel came around the corner and spotted me and I gave an embarrassed wave.

“Hi.”

“Hello, Ralphie. Would you, um, do you have a moment to talk?”

I nodded. Talking, in my opinion, never meant anything good but we might as well get it done and over with.

Daddy Marcel held his hand out and helped me up, but he still held onto mine as we walked down the hall.

“Marcel, shall I serve you and Ralphie your desserts in the study?” the same lady asked.

“Yes, thank you, Lisette, and could you please show me where the study is?”

At least I wasn’t the only one lost in this house.

We followed her down a hall to a huge set of double doors. “Here you go. I’ll be right back with your pie. Coffee? Milk?”

“I’ll have coffee with cream. What would you like, Ralphie?”

“Milk, please and thank you.”

As soon as the door was shut, Marcel tugged me toward the couch, and we sat side by side.

“I owe you an apology, Ralphie.”

“You do? For what?”

“For not reaching out after the party. For not explaining my situation.” He nervously rubbed his hands on his slacks. “I’ve been lost since Elion died and I’ve kept myself locked away inside our home, avoiding the world.”

“That’s okay, I understand.”

“But you shouldn’t have to. Dealing with a grouchy old man should never be a little’s problem. You should be carefree, basking in your Daddy’s love and attention and enjoying your life. I’m sorry for giving you the wrong impression when we first met.”

“I liked it when you held me.”

“Truth be told, I liked it, too. Possibly too much.”

“Do you have a picture of your boy?”

His eyes widened. “You-you’d like to see my Elion?”

“Yes, I would. Is that okay?”

His eyes teared and I figured I’d messed up big time.

“Dear, sweet boy, that’s more than okay.” He slid his wallet from his pocket and pulled a picture from it. Marcel stared at it for a few seconds then handed it to me. “That was on our wedding day.”

“You both look so handsome in your suits.” The way they gazed into each other’s eyes was so romantic. It filled me with hope that I’d someday have a Daddy who looked at me like I was his world.

“Thank you. It wasn’t long after that when things went downhill. He began having seizures, constant headaches, and his vision would come and go. By the time he was diagnosed there were multiple inoperable tumors. He died six months later.”

“I’m so sorry.” I handed him the picture back. “Maybe sometime you could tell me more about him.”

“I’d like that, and I like you, Ralphie, but you should know, I’m broken.”

“Everyone is broken until the right person comes along and puts them back together.”

“You’re wise beyond your years, sweet boy. How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“I’m forty-seven. Much older than you.”

“Age doesn’t define a person, their actions and how they treat others does.”

“Again, wise beyond your years. You know much more about me than I do about you.”

Lisette arrived with a silver tray with two drinks, two plates of pie, and a weird bone thingy. “Enjoy, you two.”

“Which piece would you like, Ralphie? Pumpkin or lemon meringue?”

“Oh, lemon, please.” When that first bite hit my tongue, my toes curled. “This is super nummy.” Daddy Marcel smiled at me. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No, sweet boy, you don’t.”

“What is the bone thingy for?” I didn’t dare touch it, wasn’t sure it was safe.

“That is called a wishbone, dear boy. We each pull a side of it and whoever has the biggest piece makes a wish.” Daddy Marcel picked it up. “Shall we?”

I nodded and pinched the other side of it. It didn’t feel as yucky as I thought it would.

“Okay, on the count of three pull your side away. One, two, three.”

“I got the bigger piece!”

“You did, now make a wish but don’t say it out loud.”

I scrunched up my face and thought hard then it came to me, and I made my wish.

“You are an absolute delight to be around. So, tell me, do you have any family besides Tess? Do you two live together?”

“Well, we have family, but they don’t like us and yes, I live with Tess.”

He blinked at me and didn’t say anything. Did I break him more?

“Your family doesn’t like you?”

“No. I wasn’t man enough for my dad, his words not mine, and our mom really never wanted kids. Tessy is ten years older than me and moved out the day she turned eighteen, but she always found a way to spend time with me. As soon as I graduated my dad kicked me out and Tessy took me in.” That was my sad existence all summed up in what, four sentences?

“I’m sorry to hear that. No child should be brought up in an unloving home but I’m glad you have Tess.”

“She’s the best. When I’m sad she always finds a way to turn my frown upside down. One time I was really, really sad because this wanna be Daddy, her words not mine, used me for sex then dumped me. She took me out to make a snowman and snow angels then we had hot cocoa.”

I think I broke him again. He just stared at me and didn’t say anything.

“Let’s, um, can we rewind back to the wanna be Daddies using you?”

I shrugged. “I met them on an app and every time I thought they were nice they ended up not being.”

“And they said they were Daddies? It wasn’t a hook up app?”

“No, it’s a kink app, and then we’d meet in person at a munch and go home together and play. Then we’d have sex, I’d take a nap and when I woke up they were gone. All that’s left was a note that I’m not the boy for them.” My turn to dive face first into sadness.

“I don’t know what to say, Ralphie. That’s terrible and I’m sorry that’s happened to you. You’re a very sweet boy and you deserve better.”

“Too sweet is what they said. They like sassy boys. I’m not a bad boy, I don’t like to get into trouble and yelling scares me.” I remembered listening to my parents fight and covering my head with the pillow to drown it out so I could fall asleep.

“Do you work? Go to college?”

Glad he changed the subject because that was too depressing.

“I work at a diner by our apartment. I’m a bus boy. College never interested me.”

“Do you like your job?”

“I do. The owners are really nice, and they give me lunch and sometimes send dinner home for Tessy, too. Plus, I don’t drive and it’s close enough I can walk there.” It really was a great deal, at least for me.

“I’ve learned so much today, thank you for indulging me.”

“So, you don’t work anymore? Sorry, I heard you tell the other Daddies you sold your business. What do you do all day now?” Was that the right thing to ask?

“Mostly mope around a house that’s far too big for just me.”

“You should get a puppy. I’ve always wanted one, plus it would keep you busy for sure.”

There it was, he finally smiled again. Guess I wasn’t doing too bad. But would it be enough?

“That it would. I’ll take that into consideration. Sweet boy, would it be too forward of me to ask if you’d agree to have dinner with me this weekend?”

Giddy bubbles danced in my belly again. “I’d like that.”

“Excellent. What’s your schedule like? Are you off on Saturday night?”

“Yes, I work daytime shifts. The other bussers are still in school, and they only work nights and weekends.”

“Lovely. May I ask for your number? Then you could text me the address of where to pick you up. Or you could even call me sometime, if you were so inclined.”

Too excited to sit still, I bounced on the couch. “Yes. Absolutely. Here,” I practically flung my phone at him. “Sorry.”

“You are adorable, Ralphie.”

I watched, probably closer than I needed to, as he entered his contact info into my phone then texted himself.

“There you go.”

“Thanks. Can I text you or call you? Will you text back?” Wait, did he already say that?

“Ha-ha. You are a breath of fresh air. You can call or text me anytime but don’t get upset if I don’t answer right away. That just means I’m not available, but I promise I will return your messages the first chance I get.”

“Pinky swear?” I held the little digit up and he wrapped his around it.

“Pinky swear. Are you ready to rejoin the others?”

“Absolutely.” I gathered the dishes on the tray and picked it up to return to Lisette.

“Job hazard?”

“Good boy hazard.”