Love In the time of covid

Chapter 38

Giselle was in the kitchen wiping down the counters as she worked to complete her weekly cleaning of the house. She was dressed down in a black tank top, a pair of knitted shorts and her hair was up in a curly ponytail. She turned around to spray the kitchen island when she heard a knock on the door, signaling that Malcom was there to pick up Jeremy.

"Jeremy. Your dad is here." Giselle announced loudly as she made her way to the front of the house. She opened the door and was caught off guard by the woman that was there with him. "Hey."

"Hi Elle. This is Monica. We've been dating for the past 3 months." Malcom introduced the woman. "I thought it was time for you to meet her."

Giselle pulled herself together and stuck her hand out to greet her. "Hi, I'm Jeremy's mom. It's nice to meet you. Do you two want to come inside while you wait?" She asked as she took Monica's hand in her own.

"Yes, please." Malcom accepted as he let Monica step inside first.

"Jeremy. Your dad is here." Giselle shouted once again. "What is it that you do?" She asked curiously as she waited with them.

"I'm an attorney also." Monica explained as she wrapped an arm around Malcom's. " I accepted a position at his law firm 4 months ago and we started seeing each other shortly after."

"We just decided recently to make it official." Malcom chimed in. He and Monica looked at each other and smiled.

"Wow. That's awesome, I'm happy for the two of you." Giselle expressed genuinely as she observed they had an obvious affection for each other.

Giselle was happy that he was happy. The past 6 months their co-parenting had improved. They weren't close like old friends, but Giselle was impressed by his effort to be more involved in their son's life. "Do you have any children?" Giselle asked to gauge her experience with kids.

"No not yet. But I do adore Jeremy. You've done an amazing job raising him. He's probably one of the sweetest boys I know." Monica expressed.

"Thank you. He makes it very easy to be his mother." Giselle said smiling to herself. "What do you guys have planned for New Years Eve?"

"My parents are throwing a party at their city loft downtown." Malcom stated as he shoved his free hand into his pocket.

"Dad. Monica." Jeremy said excitedly as he joined the adults in the foyer.

"Are you ready for the big party?" Malcom asked Jeremy as he bent down to his level.

Jeremy brought his hands together and bounced up and down on his feet. "Yes."

Giselle smiled down at her son and joined him on her knees. "Give me a hug baby." She said as she opened her arms for him to stand between before she pulled him close to her body. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too mom." Jeremy returned the sentiment as he squeezed his mother tight, left a kiss on her cheek and picked up his duffel bag before looking up at his dad.

"Happy new years. It was nice meeting you." Giselle stood back and giving a little wave as Malcom, Monica and Jeremy headed toward the front door.

Once they were gone, Giselle found a comfy spot on the couch and grabbed her book from the side table. She opened it up from the last spot that she left off and pulled the blanket down from the back of the couch. Dodger joined her, laying his head in her lap and looking up at her with his puppy eyes, silently begging for scratches behind his ear. Giselle obliged and relaxed getting lost in her book while enjoying the softness of his fur under her fingers.