"Braxton stop it! You have to see your father one month out of a year. Deal with it." He groaned. "But he's a bum. All he does is play video games and mope around." I turned to face him. "Then you should get along great." Braxton groaned again. For a nine year old he had a lot of sass and stuborness. Guess he got that from Ronnie. I heard a knock on the door and got up to open it.
I opened the door to see a bright and cheery Max with two lattes and chicken nuggets from McDonalds. Braxton jumped up immediatly. "Max!" He ran over and hugged him. He was also eyeing the chicken nuggets. "Are those for me?" Braxton asked hopefully. Max squatted down to him. "Hm, well I was going to eat these..." Braxton laughed. "Max!" "I'm just kidding buddy. They're for you." He handed Braxton the chicken nuggets and stood up to face me. "And for the lady, one medium irish creme latte with extra whipped cream!" I laughed lightly and took the drink from him. "You know me so well." This time he laughed. "So squirt, what are you gonna do today?" He asked turning to Braxton. Braxton groaned. "I have to go see dad." Max gave me a look of empathy. He knew all about Ronnie but he still remained friends with both Ronnie and I. "Sorry bud. You know it's only one month. Besides, your dad isn't as boring as you remember. He's got himself a pretty little lady that makes him happy." He smiled at Braxton. Braxton just rolled his eyes and popped a chicken nugget into his mouth.
Was it true? Ronnie had a girlfriend? He moved on?
Max must have sensed my discomfort because he motioned for me to follow him. I called out to Braxton. "Mommy and Max will be right back. We're going to talk." Braxton nodded but he didn't care. He was too busy with his food.
"Sorry about what I said, Lain. But it's true." I shook my head. "It's fine, Max. I expected him to move on at some point." It was silent for a moment. "You should start dating again. It would be good for you. And while Braxton is at Ronnie's this month it will give you time to get out there and find a guy." Max said sincerely. I sighed. "I don't know Max. How would Braxton react? He might not like the idea of me dating someone." "Braxton doesn't care about Ronnie dating somebody." I laughedv "Yeah but Braxton also could care less about Ronnie. You and I are really all he's got." Max was silent. Suddenly a tiny voice spoke up. "Maybe you should make Max my daddy." I turned around to see Braxton standing in the doorway. "Braxton, your Mommy doesn't want Max to be your Daddy. But I can be your friend." Max said softly. Braxton ignored Max and motioned for me to pick him up so I did. "Mommy? Do you want Max to be our family?" I kissed his head. "Max is our family." He poked my nose. "Noooo Mommy! Like our real family! You can marry him like you married dad and then Max could be my dad!" He smiled brightly. "Braxton honey-" He jumped from my arms and scurried away. I turned to Max. "I'm so sorry Max. You know how he is and-" Max cut me off. "Yeah, kids." He laughed nervously. "I gotta go, Lain. I'll drop by tomorrow. Braxton! I'm leaving!" Braxton came to Max. "Okay bye." He hugged Max and left.
