The Perfect Life (Ianthony)

Chapter 10: Renee's Advice

I expected the rest of the night to be filled awkward silences and gestures while Maya basically pushed our heads together for us to kiss, but  the went surprisingly well even after a rough start. We were all laughing, enjoying each other's company, and Maya even eat all of the food that was on her plate. Even her peas! After we were all finished eating, Ian helped Rae with the dishes while I put away the leftovers.

"Daddy?" Maya said as I placed a large bowl of mashed potatoes into the fridge.

"Hmm?"

"Can we watch a princess movie with Ian?" I thought for a moment before answering.

"I don't know, Maya. It's a school night. Plus, Ian and I have to work tomorrow and I don't want to hold him here and deprive him of sleep."

"I don't mind, Anthony. If Maya wants me to watch a 90 minute princess movie with her I don't care to." He said, drying off a plate with a washcloth. I looked back over to my daughter to see her on her knees with her hands put together, shaking them back and fourth.

"Please! Daddy, please!" She begged. I let out a chuckled sigh.

"Alright, but you're going to bed as soon as it's over."

"YAY!" She exclaimed, running into the living room to pick a movie. She returned about two minutes later. "I can't decide! I need help from the princess expert!" Ian looked over at Renee to see if she was fine with Ian leaving.

"Go ahead, Ian. I got the rest." Ian smiled and nodded, drying off his hands and taking Maya's hand into his as they walked towards the living room. "He's so good with her." Rae said, drying off a cup.

"Better than Jesse ever was." Rae nodded.

"She loves and misses Jess, but I've never seen her that attached to anyone but you. She usually never trusts anyone else with her princess knowledge."

"I know. It's strange."

"It's not just Maya that likes him, though. You like him too. You might not like to admit it because Jesse's departure is still fresh and you still feel "loyal" to him for some reason, but I know you like Ian. You might not be together, but you want to be." I let out a light sigh.

"Well... He is attractive and is very talented and unique, but I'm not looking to date anyone right now."

"So, you do like him?" Renee asked deviously.

"If I was looking to date, then yeah. I would be interested in Ian, but I don't want to put Maya through a new guy already. That's a little too much for her. First we loose Jesse, then we have to go to court just so she can still live with me,  and then we move across the city. Dating a new man would just be too much in such a short amount of time." Rae stopped what she was doing and kept her focus on me.

"I could see your point if it was some guy that Maya didn't like, but she loves Ian. She talks about him all the time and tells everyone about him any chance she gets no matter who they are. I know it's been a rough year for you and Maya and that it feels a little sudden, but if you genuinely like this guy, you don't need to pass him up. From what you and Maya have told me and from what I've seen, I think he's a great guy. Not only does he have a good job, but he's also great with Maya and is VERY sweet."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you should give Ian a chance, Anthony. You guys obviously have feelings for one another. Why not try it out, at least?" Rae is right. Ian and I do have some sparks flaying in between us and Maya is really attached to him; but there's another side to the spectrum as well.

"Okay. Let's say I give it try, but we can't get along at work. Our work performance would drop and so would the care for our patients. Not to mention that Ian is in his residency which is the most important time of is career. He needs to be learning and not be distracted by his mentor who just so happens to be his boyfriend. Then what happens if we don't work out? Not only will work be SUPER awkward, but it will crush Maya. She's already watched one person walk out of her life while she begged and cried for him to stay and I don't want to see that happen to her ever again." My voice broke at the last sentence. Rae heard it and came over to me, wrapping her arms around me and tightly hugging me. I hugged her back and let a tear spill over my eyes, feeling it roll down my cheek as she rubbed my back a little.

"It's okay, Anthony. I know it's hard to let go of someone you loved for so long; but don't be so consumed by the past that you fail to see what you have now. Ian has been put into your life for a reason and I think you should honestly give him a try. If it doesn't work out, then fine. You and Maya will pull through because you two are a team and you stick together no matter how rough the waves are." Rae and I continued hugging as I processed what she said to me. I'm so torn. I don't know whether to follow my heart and give him a chance or to follow my brain and keep my distance from love for a while. I just don't understand why this is so har-

"Daddy! Ian and I found a movie! Hurry up before it starts!" Maya exclaimed from the living room. Renee pulled away from our embrace and smiled up at me.

"You okay?" I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm just don't know what to do. I'm torn."

"It'll be okay, Anthony. Just follow your heart." I let out a snorted laugh and was about to say something about how Maya's Disney fangirl has rubbed off on her, but a scream coming from the living room caught my attention. Afraid that Maya might've gotten hurt, I left Renee standing there as I sprinted towards the living room. I stopped at he archway and looked into the living room expecting to see my daughter injured, but she wasn't. Instead, she was being tickled senseless and was screaming for Ian to stop.

"STOP IT, IAN!" She giggled.

"Not until you admit that Eric is the cutest prince!"

"NEVER!" Ian let out an over exaggerated sigh.

"You made me do this, little one." He whispered, starting to tickle her again. I leaned up against the archway and watched them play with one another for a couple of minutes. I remember when Jesse used to play with Maya. He was always so rough and would usually end up hurting Maya in some way by an accident. We would then get into an argument about how he was too rough with her while I patched her up. Seeing someone like Ian play with Maya for so long without hurting her was astonishing to me. I had never seen another full grown man, besides myself, play with Maya and not accidentally hurt her because they were too rough. He was so gentle with her and treated her as an archaeologist would treat a precious antique vase from the 18th century. I know there would be a lot of things at stake if I did decide to date Ian and my brain does a good job of reminding me of that every five minutes, but for the first time in almost a year, my heart was speaking louder than my brain and it was yelling at me to give Ian a try.