Take A Walk In My Skin

Chapter 5

Blake's POV

The wetness of slobber was the first thing to wake me up the next morning. Queen was licking me all over, attempting to get me out of bed.

It worked.

I knew it was only Sunday...and a weekend, but I was hoping I could have five more minutes. Everybody's one wish.

Once I heard Liam shouting from his bedroom, I got straight up, changed clothes, brushed my teeth, and made pancakes. Blueberry stuffed ones were Liam's favorite. He loved all things consisting of blueberry, insisting on having it in every meal, and I knew I had to make it for him before he headed over to his friend's house for the day. I wouldn't be seeing him again until later on in the day when I was done with my shopping trip.

In some ways, I was constantly worried about who my kid decided to hangout with. There just weren't many good, honest people left in this world raising good, honest people.

I mean, there was this one friend of Liam's, Rodney, who came over and spent his time regularly. He somehow was able to smell exactly like beef jerky and fried pickles, nutty bars and tasty cakes all in one sitting. Although those sounded like amazing, delicious snacks, they did not smell good together whatsoever. His clothes were never clean, constantly torn with holes, worn twice, and he overwhelmed himself to the point there was no life of a kid in him. He was very depressed, very anxious.

As a kid once myself who decided he wanted to become a teacher and now teaches a whole classroom of kids, I learned the early signs and causes and oftentimes kids don't seem to understand it themselves. Oftentimes, they stray away to avoid it. Hell, as an adult and going back to my younger years, I struggled with my weight and my identity, trying to find out who I was in an already corrupt society, so I know what it's like. I was concerned for him, seeing myself in him, and my brain opted to help him. My own family neglected me. He was being fed improperly. He would stress eat, stuff his face with anything, not ever knowing when he was full.

Not that it was his or his parents fault, there was supposed to be someone to help. Someone to pray to. They were church goers, but poor situations can cause poor dietary habits. He would come over and beg me for actual food that wasn't from a vending machine at school during lunch and that's when I drew the final straw. His parents had to be seen for help, or at least talked to.

   I wasn't close enough to the parents to know about their situation at home and the way they raised their son or any other children, I'm not sure, so I never dared to judge them, just wanting to assist them wherever they needed support. I wanted to be there for them if they didn't have anyone else. I eventually forgave my mother as I grew up, because she had no one else.

Who knew fruits and veggies were more expensive than tasty Little Debbie's anyway? That's the problem with today's world.

Annie, the one time, tried offering them baked cookies as a housewarming gift; they were kind enough to accept it. Other than that, they were decent people we were friendly with. They chose not to accept our help. Rodney still sometimes came over and it remained peaceful...up until the accident. Not a whole lot has happened with them since Grace died. He really liked her. His parents, too. We haven't spoken since the funeral.

    When Liam finally ate up and finished his food, putting away his plate in the sink, he peppered a candied kiss on the bridge of Queen's pink snout before heading out to visit his friend who lived right down the street.

    "I love you, Queen and Dad" was the last thing my little man said and then he left.

    I exited the house a few minutes later for what could only hopefully be a successful day of shopping. Shopping is a walk in the park for adults. I thought I would start in the meat section. Tossing a bone, I couldn't go wrong there.

    Ribs, steak, pork, beef, bacon, sausages, hot dogs. There were a bunch of options to choose from and I almost bought all of them.

    I decided on hot dogs, bacon, and steak. I thought Liam would appreciate hot dogs for lunch and bacon for morning breakfast, and steak for dinner. He always loved protein, just like his dad.

    When I went to pick up a huge bag of steak, it slipped from my clumsy fingers. I watched as the frozen, hard, and heavy bag landed with a thump directly on a girl's foot.

    "I'm so sorry," I said without so much as a look at the woman. "That was a mistake." Embarrassed, I just bent down to grab the bag that could have bruised the hell out of her or damaged something.

    "Don't bother. My foot shouldn't have been in the way." She laughed with a contagious smile, hinting that she was joking when all of a sudden my brown eyes locked onto hers. Teddy bear brown eyes exactly like mine.

    "My bag wasn't meant to fall on your feet, I'm sorry," I replied apologetically. I guess you could say I was nervous, because I was. Oh, god, I was. My palms were practically sweating up puddles. Her effect on me was evident.

    "I see how much you enjoy your meat." She was eyeing my cart full of delightful choices, taking in the different kinds, and licking her lips. "Sorry, that sounded awfully dirty," she giggled.

I was staring beauty right in the eye of the beholder and I didn't want to turn away or avert my gaze, loving this open hearted conversation and friendly connection. "It's okay, my son and I both love eating it. Sorry, now that sounds dirty."

    "Well, same here. If I'm being honest with you, I've never had homemade steaks before, so I bet your take on it is so yummy. The only steaks I've ever had came from a takeout restaurant. They're good. Can't say they're amazing, though. I wonder what you could conjure up with those hands."

    All too quickly my eyes were searching around for my hands. Was she flirting? Could it be possible she was interested in me as much as I was interested in her?

    "H-how about dinner tomorrow night then? I'll put their steaks to shame." Did I just say that?

    "Sure," she said, leaving me her number on the palm of my hand with a pen she picked from a rack.

    "Could I get your name with that?" I smiled, feeling the pen brush against my skin, tickling the flesh on my bones.

    "Emma." She winked at me and then wandered off without saying a word.

    But I didn't leave that store worrying about how my date with her tomorrow would go. Instead, I worried about what I was going to say to my son. It was going to be the first time I had a girl over that wasn't my wife.

    I kind of felt like I was cheating on her, yet at the same time I knew she only wanted me to be happy. Same with Liam.

    After I got everything I needed, including two huge doggie bowls and food, I got home with an urgent need to stare at the fine ink on my palm. I wondered what her first impression of me was.

    Or maybe I was just the man who dropped steak on her foot and I owed her one...

    Dismissing the idea immediately, I entered my home and it appeared empty. Something seemed off. The place fell silent at my feet. The dog wasn't crazy to run towards me. There was no barking or sounds of movement.

    Queen...she was gone.