Blue Plaid

Private Eye

In which Stella is good at getting honest answers.

//

Tyson was acting weird.

Not that Tyson wasn't generally a strange individual, but he was being weirder than normal. It was as though he was keeping something from me, an idea I hated partly because if we were going to have a healthy relationship, we shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other, and partly because my curiosity was getting the better of me and I wanted to know whatever it was that he knew and wasn't telling me.

Unfortunately, he was becoming somewhat of an expert at avoiding having a serious conversation. Whenever I tried to ask what was going on, he'd say it wasn't something we should discuss in front of Cooper, but whenever I brought it up after Cooper was asleep, he'd change the subject or distract me, usually with sex. As much as I enjoyed the physical aspect of our relationship, I did want him to know that I could be there for him emotionally as well, so I decided I needed to take action and confront him, once and for all.

But first, I needed someone to watch Cooper for the afternoon, which was where Dani came in.

"Thanks so much for doing this," I said as I let her into our apartment, calling over my shoulder to Cooper, who was playing on his mat in the common area. "Hey, Coop, look who's here."

Looking up, Cooper's face lit with excitement as he pushed himself to his feet and toddled towards the door as fast as his little feet would carry him. "Dan Dan!"

"No worries. It's not like playing with your kid for a few hours is such a chore," Dani replied as she squatted down as the toddler raced towards her, scooping him into her arms and pressing a kiss to his cheek as she stood up straight again. "Hey, Coop! Guess what? We get to hang out today!"

He clapped his hands together in excited response and I laughed as I shut the door, following them over to Cooper's play area, where Dani set him down and he returned to building castles with his blocks.

"So what's going on?" Dani asked, plopping down on the floor beside my son and stretching her legs out to her front, leaning back on her flattened palms. "What's with the last minute need for a babysitter? Where's Tyson?"

"With some friends," I explained, raking my hair back from my forehead and using the hair tie on my wrist to twist it into a bun at the crown of my head. He had gone to a buddy's house to watch that morning's English Premier League games, so I'd texted him not to come home right away and suggested we meet at our favorite dim sum place for lunch, to which he'd heartily agreed. "I'm about to go meet him."

"Everything alright?" she replied, lifting one eyebrow, apparently sensing the fact that I was a bit off kilter. "You seem stressed."

"I don't know," I admitted with a sigh, twisting my torso to pull my coat off the barstool it was hanging off of and stick my arms through the sleeves. "I just feel like something's up with Ty; like there's something he's not telling me. I'm hoping that maybe he'll be more willing to talk if it's just the two of us."

"Fair assumption," she nodded. "It's probably nothing, though. Like, he's probably just stressed out about being unemployed."

"Maybe," I shrugged, squatting down in front of Cooper and lifting my lips into a smile. "Hey, buddy, I'm gonna go meet your daddy, so you be a good boy for Auntie Dani, alright? Can I get a kiss?"

Nodding, he leaned forward and smacked his lips against mine, waving one hand happily as I stood up straight again. "Byeee, mama."

"Bye, sweetie," I laughed, glancing towards Dani once more. "Thanks again, Dan. It won't be too long."