Unsettled

Borrowed Trouble

He's cycled through the pep talk a few times during the day, but once more during the drive to Isabetta's can't hurt. Unavoidable, really, this umpteenth attempt at easing his nerves. Izzy has agreed to watch Max for a few hours during this first date night – one he hopes will open the door to more. It's not that it was as a surprise that Izzy agreed – she loves Auntie Betta time – but her agreement came with a single stipulation: that Tom, alone, would be the one to drop Max off. He can only guess that it means that she wants to discuss something with him without her best friend being present. His imagination soars with possibilities as to the subject matter. Izzy used to be his friend too, before. These days Izzy treats him with a coolness that can only be considered cordial if squinted at from a distance.

Being fair- he hurt her best friend. More than hurt. Betrayed. His own battles with his guilt, showing remorse, fighting to regain the heart of the woman he loves – none of that will ever factor into the way Isabetta sees him. He will forevermore be the cheating scoundrel. Perhaps she faces her own guilt over having introduced them.

Max's excitement over spending some extended time with Auntie Betta is impossible to ignore. The babble from the backseat doesn't cease during the short ride between dwellings, not that it serves to much distract him from his internal worries. After dropping Max off and facing whatever Isabetta has to say to him, he'll hurry back the few blocks to make his way up to the stoop he'd previously been barred from – ready to begin date night. They've got to start somewhere, after all.

He's just got to run this gauntlet first.

They've done so well lately – he and Max's mother. Sure, they still have their moments of being at one another's throats, but they've held to the promises made – that they'd both make more an effort to work through the problematic moments together rather than shoving each other away. When he finally gathered enough courage to ask, she'd said yes to this – to just the pair of them spending some time. Progress. Progress.

The child safety locks on the backdoors of the car are the only thing preventing Max from launching out of the vehicle before Tom can shift fully into park. His little Houdini is not one to wait. Having mastered extracting himself from his booster seat without assistance, Max is already on to saucing out an escape route from the car. Max is halfway through the opening between the front seats before Tom can turn to press his fingers into the buckle and attempt to remove his own seatbelt.

"Woah, mate! Wait. Let's wait and exit..."

Max doesn't pay him much mind, still clambering over the gearshift and into the front seat. There is no reasoning with a nearly four year old, not that that knowledge ever stalls him from trying. Tom smiles, the antics of his son momentarily distracting him from the looming conversation with Isabetta. Tom rushes to extract himself from the car and be ready to catch Max.

Over short distances it is hard to say who is faster. Tom benefits from his long stride, but Max – Max's overabundance of energy and willingness to hurdle himself headfirst in any given direction make the outcome a tossup. Though in a residential area, Tom scoops Max into his arms, unwilling to take the chance that Max will decide to launch himself towards the street at just the wrong moment.

Isabetta is waiting for them in the doorway when Tom turns to approach the dwelling. Not unlike Max's mother, at least until recently, Izzy watches them with a wariness – her welcoming smile focused mostly on Max. "Hello there, Monster. I've missed you."

After closing half the distance to the door he gives up on carrying Max. The moment his son's feet touch the ground the little being rockets towards Izzy's front door. She's experienced his full-force greetings often enough to know to crouch and be ready to intercept. After dutifully delivering a hullo hug Max squirms in Isabetta's arms, ready for the next thing. "I brought Rex! Can we color first?"