After filing his company for bankruptcy, Kyle's wife leaves him and his three-year-old son. Now a forty-two-year-old divorcee with no parenting skills or money, Kyle decides to move back to the small home town he grew up in.
He should have lost all...
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They had moved into the townhouse after New Year's Day with no problems. A bulk of the furniture was stuff they had moved from Chaska's house. The remainder of it were privies they had snagged from a thrift shop outside town.
Otis had liked his room, but he had cried when he realized the separate bed and bedroom meant being on his own. Kyle has fixed the situation by suggesting that he slept alone on school days and slept with them on weekends. Otis wasn't pleased but he blinked back his tears and nodded his head at his father's offer.
It was weird at first—getting used to the fact that they would wake up next to each other every day.
"It feels weird, doesn't it?" Kyle asked one morning as he poured out the eggs he's finished making into a plate. He had watched Chaska from the corner of his eyes as the man had looked through the fridge for a quick bite before work.
They had gotten up a bit late and were scrambling about to eat breakfast and do the needful before they had to head out.
"What's weird?" Chaska had asked, stuffing a muffin into his mouth before pulling on the roll of paper towel for something to dust crumbs off with. "Eating a muffin?" Chaska had asked after he swallowed the food in his mouth, making Kyle laugh.
"No, having so many things to think about when you wake up," the man had said, watching as Chaska, and smiling a bit when the younger man nodded in agreement.
Taking care of Otis without Kyle's grandmother, tending to the cats, and having a place bigger than an apartment to clean and upkeep by themselves has been tiring but fulfilling.
The narrow hallways, the cramped layout of the house, and the three cats that wandered about made the house seem lively. Even more so when Kyle's mother came to visit occasionally like she had promised she would.
Amongst many of the things the duo was doing together; Chaska and Kyle had started working on building a chicken pen in the backyard. The younger man had plans of starting a little garden and raising chickens so that groceries wouldn't be a bit less expensive. It didn't matter that they were working on two salaries now—they had more expensive commitments to address.
Since it was nearing February, it got colder, and the snow stuck around after short drizzles and night storms. At least the air wasn't thin and dry, and men didn't have to worry about the toddler coughing. There was a thin sheet of white on the ground, and Otis reminded the two adults about it by running in and out of the house with his wet shoes as he chased the cats or bothered one of their neighbor's dogs.
They hadn't made enough to cover it yet, but Chaska and Kyle were working towards getting him to see a therapist. Anastasia was helping and trying to see if she could get them on her insurance.
The woman and Chaska had grown to like each other. At first, it had been odd having her call to speak to Otis every day, but it was something they grew used to. The boy looked forward to their discussions with his mother, and Chaska grew to be less insecure about their relationship. They weren't fighting for his affection. The boy loved all of them. Chaska still wasn't over how good it felt to have the toddler refer to him as his father.
