Page 61 of Mr. Infuriating (Mister #1)

Gretchen

I noticed a few things when I pulled up to my house after work.

One, the main garage door was open. And two, the box truck that had been parked in my driveway yesterday was gone. In its place was Gabe’s black Ford truck.

“What’s he doing here?” I wondered aloud.

I mean, I had a good idea what he was doing—working on the cabinets, but I was surprised he wasn’t at his shop doing work that he’d actually get paid in full for. Not that I wasn’t paying in full, I reminded myself. It was just going to take time.

I parked in the driveway in order to not obstruct Gabe’s path from the cabinets to the house. After getting Jake from his car seat, we went inside through the front door.

Poking my head through the plastic barrier to the kitchen, I paused to take in the sight in front of me before announcing our presence.

Gabe, wearing his black-rimmed glasses and a pencil tucked behind his ear, was concentrating on the level he’d lined up against the wall. It was such a benign scene, yet my heart skipped a beat looking at him.

“Hey! We’re here!”

He broke out into a big grin when he saw us standing in the doorway.

“Hi, guys!”

After making a quick mark on the wall, he lifted his glasses onto his head, and came over to kiss me on the cheek and offer a high-five to Jake .

“How was your day?”

“Really good, thanks. And thank you again for making my lunch. I wasn’t expecting anything more than a sandwich.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied with a wink. “Didja get my note?”

I couldn’t hide my smile.

“I did. That was sweet.”

Sweet was putting it mildly. It’d made my whole afternoon.

“Britt said I had to put a note in her lunch, so I thought I’d add one to yours, too.”

“Well, I hope she appreciated hers as much as I did mine.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

We stood grinning at each other for a beat until Jake broke the spell, asking, “Mouse, mama?”

Gabe made a quizzical brow, so I explained, “His favorite game on the tablet is ABCMouse.”

“Ahhh.” He directed his attention at Jake. “Why don’t you go get your toolset and help me finish up while your mom does a few things.”

My son’s eyes got wide, and he wiggled his body until I had no choice but to set him down. The minute his feet hit the floor, he took off running toward his room.

“Are you sure you’re okay with him ‘helping’ you?”

I used finger quotes when I said “helping”.

“Of course. We got to get him started young.”

We do?

I didn’t ask that, just said, “Let me go pack a few outfits. It shouldn’t take me long. ”

“Take your time, sweetheart.” His mouth turned up in his signature wicked grin. “Maybe pack some lingerie if you have any. And don’t forget the baby monitor.”

“I don’t think you want me to bring any lingerie. The only things I have are what Troy gave me.”

“Good, then you won’t mind when I rip it off you.”

Gulp! No, I would not mind that at all.

“Um, yeah…” I mumbled as I awkwardly gestured with my thumb toward the bedrooms. “Let me go pack,” then turned on my heel and made a hasty exit.

I passed Jake in the hall on my way to his room. His eagerness at helping Gabe was palpable as he raised his toy toolbox and proudly proclaimed, “I help!”

I loved how excited he was. The only time he got this animated was when he was going to my mom and dad’s.

“I know, baby. You’re going to be a great helper!”

He scurried away and I had to stop and think, what was I doing ?

Oh yeah, packing.

****

Gabe

There was something about seeing Gretchen’s Honda in my rearview mirror as she followed me back to my place that made my chest twinge.

Tonight, it was just going to be the three of us; Britt had reluctantly gone back to Becky’s.

She agreed her mom would not be on board with her staying with me two unsanctioned nights.

Frankly, I’d been surprised when Becky agreed to let her come last night, but I suspected she was curious about my guests and wanted Brittany to get the scoop and report back.

I knew our daughter was going to give Becky the version that Britt wanted , and I found I didn’t mind; it was good to keep everyone on their toes. But when Gretchen and my time was up, I wouldn’t be offering any explanations about what happened.

Because I’d already told them— she’s just a friend .

But when she pulled to the front of my house, I thought, I should make room for her car in the garage.

That’s when I realized, I might have a problem with our expiration date.

I walked to her car and opened up the rear door, planning on grabbing her bag. But I went to the wrong side of the car, and Jake held out his hands and cried, “Mister Mxchshl!”

“Call me Gabe, buddy,” I said as I unbuckled his car seat and caught him as he jumped into my arms.

“You got him?” Gretchen asked as she pulled the diaper bag, her work satchel, and purse from the other side of the back seat. How the heck did she manage all that and Jake every day?

Single moms were fucking rock stars.

And yes, I’d include Becky in that group. She pissed me off a lot, but I had to admit, she did an amazing job with Brayden and Britt.

“I got him.” I motioned to her loaded down arms. “You need me to grab any of that?”

“Nope. Thank you, though.”

Then she went to the trunk and took out the suitcases she’d packed, like she was going to haul everything into the house by herself .

Uh, no. Not on my watch .

Still holding Jake, I followed her to the trunk and took the two handles in one hand.

“I got these.”

Fortunately, she didn’t argue.

They were lighter than I was expecting, and I found myself disappointed about that. It meant she hadn’t packed much because she wasn’t planning on staying long.

She clicked the Honda’s lock and followed me up the porch steps.

I set the bags down, opened the screen door, and punched in the numbers to unlock the door.

“The code is zero, one, one, three.”

“That’s Jake’s birthday!”

Instead of opening the door, I slowly turned around to gape at her dumbfounded.

“That’s Bodhi’s birthday, too.”

****

Gretchen

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I opted for, “Oh.”

Did Jake sharing a birthday with his deceased son bother him?

He softly remarked, “That’s quite a coincidence, huh?”

I proceeded with caution.

“Yeah, it is. Does that upset you?”

Gabe shook his head and looked at Jake, still in his arms, with a warm smile.

“No. I think it’s kind of cool. ”

He opened the door, then turned back and brought the bags inside, asking Jake as they walked through the threshold, “What should we have for dinner?”