My Buddy Archie [1]

19..

“Don’t,” Archie yelled, smacking my hand away.

“I’m just going to erase—”

“No!”

I frowned, “Don’t yell Archie. Why can’t I erase the board? Don’t you want to draw on it?”

“Connie put that there.”

“I know she did, but it’s okay to erase it.”

“I don’t want you to!"

I sighed, crossing my arms as I stared at him. It’d been a couple days since Christmas and Archie was practically glued to that whiteboard Connie got him. He played with his other toys too, but it was clear Connie’s gift was his favorite. A whiteboard and a marker. It was such a simple thing and yet he was in love with it. He especially liked that she wrote his name on the top, putting a box around it—it was the only thing that stayed on the board for more than five minutes.

I was glad, well, more than glad, that Archie liked Connie…more than glad that she liked him too. Maybe I was reading too much into things, but, it’s a good sign that the woman I like gets along with my kind of kid, right? It made me kind of hopeful; hopeful that maybe I have a chance. Do something to show her I’m interested. The problem with other women has always been whether Archie will like them or vice versa, and since it’s clear Connie and Archie like each other…

…maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I—

“He really likes that thing, huh?” Liv said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up from Archie, as he made zigzags on the board, to her as she sat on the couch with her hands folded in her lap. Nodding, I sat next to her. “Can he write already?”

“No, he just scribbles on it, thinking he’s writing something. Or he—”

“Put Livy on here,” Archie interrupted, holding the board up.

I chuckled and took the marker from him as I continued. “Or he asks me to write something for him.” He looked at my scratchy handwriting spelling out Liv’s name, before merely erasing it. “I wish I knew what was going on in that head of his.”

“He’s learning. It’s part of being a toddler. Don’t you know that by now?” She let out a little laugh before it was cut off by a series of coughs. Liv really didn’t look so good today, but she insisted we come over.

“Want some tea?” She asked, starting to get up.

I put a hand on her shoulder, “No, let me make it for you. You look kinda sick Liv.”

“Well,” she frowned. “Jeez, I know I’ll be fifty-four soon, but you don’t need to go and call me ugly too.”

“C’mon, you know you’re a babe.” I kissed her cheek. “I’m just saying you look like you should rest a little. Besides, I’m just making tea. Let me practice being a gentleman.” She huffed, but let me go into her kitchen to fill the tea kettle.

“So, who are you practicing for?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re practicing being a gentleman, for who?”

I looked over my shoulder, “So I don’t look like an ass…or Jerry.”

“Who is Jerry?”

“Some idiot from work.”

“Is he the one that yells when he talks?”

I chuckled and leaned against the counter, “Yup.”

“Oh…well…yeah, you don’t want to look like him. But what I was hinting at is—are you trying to impress a girl you’ve finally met?” I kept my mouth shut, and it was apparently all the answer she needed. “I knew it! I knew it would happen one day!”