Changing Seasons

Twenty-One

****

"The house looks beautiful," Atira said brightly, entering the kitchen.

Linda's face lit up, "Thank you, it's a work in progress," she beamed and then looked at Krist, "Do you want to get Rocco up, dinner is done?"

"I suppose so, he's in a mood though," he warned her.

Atira began to help Linda set the table while Krist went to wake his son. Rocco was passed out and difficult to wake, "Hey bro, wake up, dinner."

Rocco whined, rolling over and trying to go back to sleep. Krist shook him, "C'mon you got to go eat, you can go back to sleep after."

Rocco sat up, eyes still closed, "I wanna go back to sleep."

Krist scooped him up and carried him to the table, Rocco sat quietly, bleary eyed for a few minutes. Krist made his plate and sat beside him, "Eat up." Rocco held his fork and slowly began to eat.

Atira handed Krist a plate full of food, he looked at her appreciatively, other than Nina, no girl had ever plated his dinner for him, "Thanks, babe."

She smiled, rubbing his shoulder, "No problem."

Rocco gave her a look of "what the fuck"? Krist always called it his "Ice Cube face", "Who are you?" He wanted to know.

Atira crouched down, eye level with Rocco, "Hey there, I'm Atira," she said gently, "I'm your daddy's friend."

Rocco stared at her, then Krist and back to her. Wordlessly, he ate his dinner.

"Is he upset?" Atira mouthed over his head.

Krist shook his head, "He's tired," he explained.

Dinner was uneventful, Krist and Atira cleaned up while Rocco cuddled with Linda in their favorite chair. Afterward, Atira bid farewell to Bill and Linda. Krist loaded Rocco into their car and walked to Atira to say goodbye.

"When can I see you again?" Krist asked, embracing her.

"I can come down Friday when I get off if you'd like."

"I got to work from 8 pm until 3 am Friday and Saturday night but you're welcome to come down and stay," he kissed her, "And then we have all of Sunday for us."

"I can do that," she grinned.

"Fuck, I'm gonna miss you," he whispered.

After a few minutes of kisses and "I love yous", Atira slid into her driver's seat and left. Krist sat down in his own car, smiling to himself.

"You have a girlfriend," Rocco said sourly from the backseat.

Krist knew he should have kept the PDA down with Atira, at that point lying to Rocco would have been pointless, "I do, you're right." He admitted, "She isn't going to take away any time or love from you, Rocco," he turned in his seat to face his son.

"You said she was your friend, you lied," Rocco pointed out.

"I didn't mean to lie, bud, I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Rocco mumbled, "Are you going to marry her?"

Krist let out a breath, "Not any time soon, ok? Look, she's a really nice person and I think you'll like her. Can you give her a chance?"

Rocco nodded, "Ok," he yawned.

****

Krist felt guilty about not hiding the fact Atira was his girlfriend and rushing things with her and Rocco. Krist spent the evening focusing on Rocco. They watched the SpongeBob Movie, built a city out of Duplo blocks , and played with his Batman figures, anything Rocco felt like doing.

"Dad," he said, stacking a red Duplo cube onto a purple one, "Why do you want a girlfriend?"

Krist looked at his son, "Sometimes dad gets lonely," he told him earnestly.

"But ya got me," Rocco looked into his face.

"I know I do, are you worried I won't have enough time for you?"Rocco nodded his head slowly. Krist hugged him tightly, "No matter who is a part of our lives, you will always be the most important person to me. You understand that?"

Rocco nodded, "Yeah, I guess."

"I love you, Rocco."

"I love you too, dad," Rocco replied.

"Let's clean up here and get you ready for bed."

They put away Rocco's toys, Rocco took his bath and put pajamas on him. He tucked him into bed and read " I'm Programmed to Love You " before kissing him goodnight and flicking the light switch off.

He took a shower, dressed in a pair of sweats, and retired to his bedroom. A pang of loneliness filled his chest, he missed her already. Atira had texted him earlier, letting him know she was home safe. Krist picked up his phone and FaceTimed her.

"Your bed looks all empty without me," she told him when she answered the call.

"It feels empty," he told her.

"Aw, baby I miss you already," she told him.

"I miss you too, Atira," he replied, "Was your cat happy to see you?"

Atira laughed, "Jacque? Oh my gosh, he's right here," she held up an overweight gray tabby cat.

Krist wasn't a big fan of cats but Atira clearly adored him, "He's cute."

She waved his paw at the phone, "Say hi, Jacques." The cat glared at him the same way Rocco had in the car. The cat glared at Atira, jumping off her lap. Atira grinned at Krist, "How will I go a whole business week without you? I was so freaking sad my whole car ride home."

Krist groaned, "I felt the same way. I'm glad I got Rocco home but I wasn't feeling coming back here without you."

"Would it be weird if I said I kind of wanted to move down there?" Atira asked sheepishly.

His rationalizations prior to her visit had been taken over with lust, love, whatever you wanted to call it, "Would it be weird if I said I wanted you to?" He sighed, "I'm not even playing."

"If I wasn't in a lease until March, I'd be down there in a heartbeat," she confessed.

"We just need to get Rocco on board," Krist told her.

"Oh no, did he not like me?" She looked genuinely sad.

"It's always just been me and him, he's just worried about change."

"I understand," Atira told him, "Should we take him to do something fun on Sunday?"

Krist smiled, "Yeah we could do that, Santa is at the mall now so maybe we could do that?"

"That sounds like a plan."