Standing up from the couch, Paul followed him into the room. The boy had by now lain down on the bed and was crying into the pillow, his shoulders quaking. Paul sat down on the bed beside him and gently rubbed his back, and after a moment Roger turned around and clung to him tightly, his face buried in the tenor’s shirt.
Sometime later, Paul looked up as a shadow crossed the doorway and blocked the light coming in from the living room. Kathryn stood there, watching the two of them with a strange expression in her eyes, and when she met Paul’s inquiring gaze she glanced away, down at the small brown-haired head just a foot below those blue eyes.
Finally, Roger forced himself to look up at the tenor with a tear-stained expression. “Y-you won’t leave, will you, P-Paul?” he stuttered, hiccupping. “I don’t want you to, and mom i-is really happy when you’re around. Please?”
Paul looked down at the boy with a mixture of surprise and joy that the seven-year-old had taken to him so easily, but then his ears turned red when the second part of what he had said sank into him. This time, when he looked at Kathryn, she did not avert her gaze but watched him steadily.
“Well…if your mother will have me, I would love to stay; but if she says no, then I can't go against that,” he murmured quietly, his blue eyes watching her green ones for some sign. There was a long pause as they stared at each other, waiting for an answer.
Kathryn looked at them, those two pairs of bright blue eyes staring at her with such undisguised hope. Roger definitely needed someone to step in as a father after so long without one, especially now. And Paul…Paul. What did he want, what did he hope for from them? Did he just want to be there as a friend, or did he want something else, something more?
At long last, she gave an almost imperceptible nod, but it was enough; Roger all but strangled Paul as he wrapped his arms around the tenor’s neck, squeezing hard before turning to attack his mother with a similar hug, whispering “thank you” into her ear, and then he ran back to Paul and jumped onto the bed beside him, grinning happily.
“Can you sing that song again? Please?” he asked, eyes shining with excitement.
“Which one?”
“’The River,’” he replied as if it was the most obvious answer. Paul laughed, glad that the atmosphere had changed and the tragedy was temporarily forgotten.
“I’ll leave you boys to it, then,” said Kathryn with a smile, but two pairs of identical eyes looked at her simultaneously, heads shaking.
“You have to hear this song! It’s so beautiful! Mom, stay, you have to hear this!” pleaded the boy, his eyes doing a “puppy dog” expression. A few moments later, Paul looked at his audience and began to sing, smiling despite what had just happened as the boy watched him intently, memorizing the lyrics of his favorite song.
When he moved on to sing “O Holy Night,” Roger fell asleep half-way through even though it was morning and he had just had a night’s rest, his eyelids drooping until he was lying in his mother’s arms, snoring lightly as the notes softened and tapered off without being completed. Together, they got him in bed and then escaped to the living room.
There, however, the truth became startlingly apparent again, and they moved about wordlessly. Kathryn made the phone calls saying that Roger would miss school and she stayed back from her job, but Paul wasn’t sure what to do, just hung around on the balcony, hoping that he wasn’t intruding. Finally, she joined him outside in the crisp air. Automatically, Paul pulled her close and enveloped her in his coat to keep her warm, and they stood like that for several minutes, just silently watching life continue in the snow on the ground, his chin near her temple with his arms around her waist. Sighing, she leaned her head back on his shoulder and closed her eyes as everything came flooding back.
“Let’s go back inside,” Paul suggested quietly. “It’s getting a bit cold, and this coat can only do so much.” Kathryn straightened immediately, blushing as she realized what she had been doing.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to steal your coat,” she said, already back inside.
“No, it’s alright,” laughed Paul, shutting the door as he followed her into the kitchen. “Any chance you can at least try to teach me how to make those scones?” he asked, coming up behind her. “If, of course, you’re willing to risk your kitchen.”
“Are you really that dangerous in here?” she teased, but she pulled out the ingredients nevertheless and set them on the counter.
Twenty minutes later, they were covered in flour after he had bumped into the table and spilled the cup he had been holding all over both of them, but the scones were baking and had seemed relatively safe to the taste.
Just as Paul was pulling the baking sheet from the oven, frowning when he saw that one in the corner had burned a bit, Roger ran into the room with a horrified expression on his face.
“Mom! I have school today!”
Setting the sheet on top, the tenor smiled over his shoulder at the boy. “Glad to see you’re concerned about school, and that’s a good thing, by the way. You get to stay home today, so sit down at the table and let’s experiment with these scones. With any luck, they aren’t radioactive,” he laughed, putting a plate on the table, but Roger eyed them with a curious look on his face.
“You made them yourself?” he said in disbelief.
Groaning at the surprise in his voice, Paul nodded. “Thank you
very much for the utmost support you have shown me. Yes, I made them myself, and if you criticize me again I will make sure to cook even more,” he said mock-sternly, cocking a brow, but the boy had already dug into one and was beaming up at him.
“These are awesome!”
Smiling in satisfaction, Paul joined him at the table and then looked up as Kathryn came into the room with tea, smiling at him when she saw the successful cooking experience. Mouthing a “thank you” to him, they sat down for a late breakfast, doing everything to keep their minds off of what would inevitably have to be discussed.
* * *
how do you like this?
oh, and i need help from now on, so please pm ideas or post them as a comment!