I took the stairs, two at a time, my chest heaving. I still couldn’t understand why I was feeling so unsettled. As I neared Finn’s room, I heard Max’s low chuckle, followed by Finn’s loud shriek. Burning with curiosity about what they were up to, I grabbed the door handle, pushing lightly.
“Come on, Finn, my boy. Bounce higher!” Max screamed.
“I… can’t… go… any… higher than this, Daddy!” Finn replied breathlessly, launching himself higher, on his heels, on the bed. I stared at the both of them jumping in sync, my eyes popping out of their sockets in shock.
“Oh, my goodness! Finn!” I gasped, rushing in. “What do you think you’re doing? I warned you never to jump on your bed!”
My blood boiled as I glared from him to Max, and back to him. He stopped bouncing, falling on his back. Max beckoned on him to hide behind his back. I stared at the both of them in horror, not believing what I’d just seen.
“Hi, Mommy,” Finn muttered quietly, taking a shy peek at me from Max’s back. “It’s all Daddy’s suggestion. He said we could play bouncing castles on my bed.”
I wrenched my glare to Max. “What do you have to say for yourself, young man?”
He shrugged, beaming cheekily with raised brows. “Oh, come on. Don’t be such a killjoy. We were just having fun. Nothing to get worked up over.”
“For Christ’s sake, Max. You’re an adult. I expected you to know better. What if Finn had fallen out of bed and hit his head on the floor? What would you say, then? Would it still be, ‘we were just having fun?’ ”
He scratched his head, tongue-tied for a minute. “Well, no. But what other choice have you left him with? His room is so boring. No toy trucks, no fun games. Just books and Scrabble, and more, goddamn, books.”
I clenched my fists, my insides sparking like petrol on a fire. “He’s a child, Max! It’s all about foundation. You could have simply read to him or something than settling for dangerous activity. And you, Finn, why didn’t you tell your Dad you wanted him to read to you instead?”
“I did, Mommy.”
“Calm down,” Max mumbled. “We’re not fighting here.”
“I never said we were,” I exploded. “Just stay out of this. Finn and I are talking.”
“Mommy, Daddy got me lots of new clothes and toys,” Finn exclaimed excitedly.
I exhaled, trying to work up a surprised face. “Oh, really? That’s nice.”
He hopped off the bed, rushing towards his closet to pull the doors open, and began pulling out brand-new jeans, hoodies, and shirts. I bit my bottom lip, my eyes welling up at the sight of so much luxury. They had to be the most expensive clothes a kid ever possessed.
“And new boots! Come on, Mamma, I’ll show you,” he crouched, grabbing three boxes from the bottom compartment and took out one new pair of blue Nike high top, and two brown Timberland boots. “Aren’t they lovely? I picked them myself.”
I nodded, lowering my wet eyes, my brain hardly processing anything. This was the happiest I’d ever seen him, and I hated the fact that I wasn’t the one who made him smile this much. “You picked them well. They’re stunning. You’re so lucky,”
“Oh, and the toys,” he ran over to the cabinet beside the bed and whipped out a tall, metal soldier, as well as two red trucks. “Daddy said boys my age play with trucks all the time. He said I can bring them along each time we go to the park.”
Ugh, how could a child be so adorable? Such a cute soul. “Hope you remembered to thank him, hun?”
“Uh,” he swiveled round to face Max. “Thanks, Daddy. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Max winked, a huge grin on his face. “Don’t mention, son. It’s nothing.”
We lapsed into silence. Folding my arms over my chest, I tapped my foot and stared at Max. “So, I heard you got a new car seat for Finn. That’s… thoughtful.”
He snorted. “Bet you didn’t think I would. I’m also planning to get a new car for the three of us as well.”
My brain swiftly short-circuited. “What?”
He raised his chin up defiantly. “You heard me crystal clear, alright.”
“You’ll do no such thing. That’s a whole lot of money, and we’re surviving just fine without a ride, thank you,”
He shook his head. “Over my dead body will I let my son go to school every morning on foot. He’s my son. My prince. He deserves to be treated as one.”
“You seem to be forgetting that he’s my son as well. I gave birth to him,” I snapped.
“With the help of my semen, of course,” he rolled his eyes.
“Shh,” I hissed, swatting his arm. “Don’t say that in front of him, you dick. I still maintain that a car is unnecessary. I know you have the money and all, but my answer remains no.”
“But Mommy, I want Daddy to ride me to school every morning,” Finn chipped in, batting his eyes adorably. I scoffed, well aware that this was a tactic for him to get me to give in. “All my friends have their Daddies drive them to school every morning.”
I hissed at him. “What did I tell you about not saying anything when two adults are conversing? And I don’t care about your friends and their daddies. My answer is no. Aunt Cora will take you to school every morning, on foot, and that is final.”
Finn recoiled quietly, while Max frowned. “Why are you so insufferable? I’m trying my best to help. To make your lives easier, but you’re so damn determined to make my efforts futile.”
I scowled, looking away. In a way, he was right, I realized. But I couldn’t admit that I felt intimidated by his wealth right in front of him. I couldn’t. “You can say whatever you like,” I shrugged coldly, walking over to the door. “I’ll be downstairs making dinner with Cora. No more playing bouncing castles on the bed.”
“But, Mommy. Daddy wants to take me to see his house,”
I froze in my tracks, swiveling around to face them slowly. “What?”
“Well, I was hoping if you could let me take Finn to my house. Just for thirty minutes. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
“No one’s going anywhere – ”
“Mommy, please.” Finn pleaded.
I shut my eyes, my stomach sinking even more. Oh, God, help me.
“We won’t take long,” Max promised. “Thirty minutes, and we’ll be back.”
“Alright, fine. But I’m coming along, too.”
There was no way in hell Finn was going to leave this house without me.