Blue Plaid

Priorities

In which Tyson realizes what's important.

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I was pretty sure I'd ever been this exhausted in my entire life. Apparently my extensive workout regimen wasn't all that useful because I was practically wheezing when I came to a stop in front of the door of the high end French bistro. Though, I supposed the fact that I was wheeling around an eighteen-month old boy in a stroller also added to the intensity of the situation.

Stella was in meetings all day with her agent and her sponsors and a bunch of other people who were very important in the world of high fashion, so I was on parental duty. Seeing as I was unemployed, it shouldn't have been much of an issue, except that I'd failed to mention to my girlfriend that I actually had plans as well. Determined not to spend my days feeling sorry for myself, I had lined up back to back interviews throughout the day.

The trouble was that I hadn't anticipated Stella being busy on this particular day as well, but I didn't want to stress her out, so I was taking Cooper with me everywhere. In the end, it was actually probably a good decision. I had gotten fired from my last job because I had prioritized my son over my work and now that I'd started looking again, I realized it was important for my future potential employers to know that Cooper would always come first.

Squatting down, I unfastened Cooper from his stroller and lifted him into my chest, using my free hand to collapse the transportation vehicle before knocking on the locked front door. It cracked open about thirty seconds later and I smiled widely at the petite woman eyeing me suspiciously. "Hello, I'm here to see Trever DeMarco."

Recognizing the name, she stepped back to pull the door open further and gestured for me to enter. I placed Cooper's folded up stroller just inside the doorway, much to her disgust, and held my son close to my chest as I followed her through the restaurant to the kitchen. I had never been to this bistro before, but a friend of mine from Pavarotti's knew one of the hostesses and had heard they were hiring, so he'd had his friend slip my name in as a possible candidate. Seeing as things hadn't been panning out for me, I needed all the help I can get.

I was taken through the kitchen to a stove in the back where Trevor DeMarco was carefully setting up his pots and pans. He looked up as we approached and the petite woman scurried away before he spoke.

"Tyson, I presume?" he said coolly, his gaze shifting to Cooper. "What's that?"

My eyebrows furrowed at him referring to my child as a thing rather than a person. "My son, Cooper."

"Couldn't find a babysitter?" he asked, returning his attention to the stove and moving the handle of one pan to the right just slightly.

"She couldn't today, so I figured I'd bring him with me," I admitted. Once I'd realized Stella was going to be gone all day, I'd begged Dani to help out, but she'd ended up apologizing profusely and saying she couldn't because she had a major exam in her night class that she really needed to study for.

"Is this gonna be a regular occurrence?" He didn't look up from the stove, the tone of his voice just below angry.

I didn't think he thought I was stupid enough to bring my child to work with me, so I responded with a question, adjusting my grip around Cooper's legs as he reached up to tug at my hair. "I'm sorry, what do you mean?"

"I mean," he continued, turning to face me slowly. "Are you gonna go running to your kid every time he cries or are you gonna take your job seriously?"

I blinked, wondering why those two things had to be mutually exclusive. Couldn't I be a good parent while also being a good chef? Surely I didn't have to give up one to do the other. But perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised, because this was essentially how every interview I'd had today had gone. Maybe having a culinary career in New York City while simultaneously being a father just wasn't in the cards for me.