Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Xavier

The last thing I expected to wake up to that morning was a text from Kate’s number telling me to call her with no other context given

While normally at that point I would’ve been pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t in some sort of horrible nightmare where my ex was threatening to take my kid away from me again, my blaring alarm had those thoughts straightening right out and bringing me back down into reality.

Pulling myself out of bed while clutching my phone tight in my hand, I made my way into the kitchen to brew myself a cup of coffee that I’d most definitely need before I had any conversation with Kate.

While her text to me was simple in terms of her request, it also left my mind wandering far too much for my liking.

Obviously, the only reason she’d be contacting me was to discuss my upcoming trip with Dexter. And of course, judging by her text, I had absolutely no idea which way she was swaying toward.

The fact that she was even trying to contact me at all spoke to what little progress we’d made from the last time we’d talked. Sure, it wasn’t much, but it was better than what we had before, which was complete stonewalling.

I’d take the stunted communication over that any day.

With my coffee finally brewed and a few sips down the hatch, I set my phone down on the counter after putting it on speaker and let the warmth from my mug seep into my hands to keep me steady.

Talking with Kate always set me on edge, no matter what the situation was. I wanted to lie to myself and pretend that I had no lasting effects from our divorce still lingering within me after running myself ragged going through therapy. However, the pounding of my heart told me otherwise.

Thankfully, she didn’t keep me waiting too long, answering on the third ring. “Hey.”

“Morning,” I said, hoping my pleasant tone was at least a little bit of a buffer for the inevitable awkwardness that was about to happen.

She didn’t waste time on any of the pleasantries, cutting right to the chase. “I need to lay out some ground rules for this trip.”

My heart fluttered in my chest. Jesus, she was actually going to let me take him. No trying to stonewall me into changing my mind or negotiating me down into keeping him here for a local trip. I was actually going to get to spend an entire weekend with my son and share an important experience with him—just the two of us.

I didn’t know whether to thank Dan for talking some sense into her, or for Kate finally wanting to bury the hatchet for the time being. Either way, I was eternally grateful.

Clearing my throat, I said. “All right. Go ahead.”

“He needs to call me every night before bed. I don’t want any excuses that you guys got too busy and didn’t have time. He’s my son, too, Xavier. I want to hear from him. I see and talk to him every single day and this trip isn’t going to keep me from that routine.”

I could work with that. “Done.”

She let out a soft sigh. “I also want updates on what you guys are doing. I… I may have went a little overboard in accusing you of wanting to take him to gay bars and stuff the last time we talked. I know… I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. I just?—”

My mouth dropped open in disbelief while I stared down at my phone and her number lit up on the screen still.

Not only was that sounding a lot like an apology, but the fact that Kate was recognizing she’d fucked up in accusing me of doing something so heinous to our son was the exact last thing I ever expected to hear out of her mouth.

Maybe deep down, Kate really did want to trust me.

Her years of being resentful toward me made that nearly impossible—a situation of my own making, unfortunately—and while I never blamed her for hating me, I wished things could’ve been different.

If I was less of a coward in being honest with myself and those around me, if she and her family were less bigoted… So many possibilities of our futures having turned out differently could’ve happened.

Perhaps with this trip, I could show her that I wasn’t out to get her or take our son away like she was so fearful of. All I wanted was to have some kind of relationship with him, much like she had this past decade without me in the picture.

I’d meant what I said when I’d told her about Dexter eventually spreading his wings and flying from the nest, leaving us far behind in his wake. The nature of kids was that was what eventually happened and as parents, we were supposed to come to terms with that on our own time.

Wanting to form some kind of bond with Dexter while he was still around was only natural. Especially, with him getting up there in age. He’d soon moving from needing protective parents to needing us as guides while he began his own journey through life.

“How about I have him keep you updated every few hours,” I suggested. “Sound fair?”

She was quiet for a while, eventually letting out another sigh. “Yes. That’s fine.”

“All right.” This was all going so well that I had half a mind to ask her if I was being pranked. “Anything else?”

“Just… keep him safe. Please.”

My heart softened at that. Deep down, Kate was just being a mom. Albeit, an overprotective one. But a mom, nonetheless. In her shoes, I’d be the same way. “Of course I will.”

“Thank you.” Her voice was quiet as she spoke.

“I’ll book us plane tickets and send the itinerary over to you once I’ve got it all sorted out.”

“Okay. I’ll be checking my email for it. And… Xavier?”

“Yes?”

“I hope you both have fun.”

Smiling, I said, “Thanks, Kate. I hope so, too.”