Box of Crackers - 5. Chapter 5

The alarm went off at six am. I went took my shower, finished my ablutions, dressed and went to fix breakfast. I started the coffee, then got the griddle ready for pancakes. I thought one of these mornings, I’m going to make french toast for Bobby. I started to prepare the battler for pancakes, threw in some blueberries and heated the griddle. I still had some turkey bacon, I put that in the microwave. As I began to stack the pancakes, I felt and arm around my waist. “Good morning Champ, how did you sleep.”

“I had a dream.”

“Want to tell me about your dream?”

“In my dream, my mother came to me and said I’m in a good place now. I got the feeling she was happy.”

I just looked at him. He had a smile and his eyes seem to smile as well. I bent down and hugged him, he put his arm around my neck and kissed me on my cheek. Then I had tears in my eyes. I quickly turned to finish the pancakes. I didn’t want him to see me with tears. He went and got the juice out of the refrigerator, filled the two glasses on the table. I set the pancakes down between us. With the plates in front of our chairs, Bobby set the silverware and got the milk out. “Bobby, would you prefer hot coco instead of milk?” His eyes lit up as I said hot coco, but I knew he’d be disappointed as I didn’t add chocolate mints like Luigi did. I made the hot coco, thank heaven for microwaves.

As we ate, Bobby kept looking at me. “Are you going to be ok while I’m at work?”

“Yes, I’ll just stay here until you come home.”

“Don’t answer the phone, people who know me, know I’m not home during the day. Don’t answer the door, I have a key. I’ll tell Andy at the desk that you’re here alone. If you need him, push this button on the intercom.” Leaving Bobby, I wasn’t very comfortable, but I had to go to work. I stopped at the security desk and told Andy that Bobby was home alone and what I told Bobby. He said he’d keep an eye on anyone who came in.

As soon as I was in the office, there was a message on the phone. Dave had called to say he would be out of the office the rest of the week. Evidently where he was, the snow and ice were too treacherous to drive. That left me alone in the office. I started to work on my accounts and soon I noticed, I worked straight through to lunch time. I wanted to get Bobby a cellphone, I went to the store where I bought mine, bought one for him and added it to my account. Now I felt a little easier.

Picking up a sandwich, I headed back to the office. Again I got lost in my work and when I noticed the time, it was five thirty. I packed up some unfinished work and headed home.

When I arrived at the apartment, I didn’t see Bobby. I panicked and began to check all of the rooms. He was asleep in my bed. “Hey little man, wake up.” Slowly he realized it was me and he was in my bed.

He blushed, “I missed you.”

“I missed you as well. Maybe tomorrow you can come to work with me.” Nice about being the boss, no one to ask if it’s okay.

We had baked chicken for dinner that night. I had some rolls and I noticed Bobby trying to use the salad to make a sandwich. “Not as good as Luigi’s”

The next morning after breakfast, I told Bobby to get dressed since he was coming to work with me. By the time I finished stacking the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, he was dressed standing next to me.

Bundled up, we walked to my office, Mrs. Marlow was there. “It was too boring at home so I had to come in.”

I introduced Bobby to Mrs. Marlow and her grandmother instinct took over. She had Bobby sitting in the chair, coloring and telling him stories. I looked and smiled, wondering how my parents would react if I told them I have a son. My relationship with my father was cool, we sort of tolerated each other. My mother was confused, she just didn't understand. I have an older brother, who wanted nothing to do with me. Life isn't all peaches and cream.

For lunch, we went to a small restaurant close to work. I have eaten there once or twice, mostly when I had clients. We were shown to our table and handed our menus. I knew that this restaurant was visited by a lot of businessmen and they prefer not to have kids present. Bobby acted better than some of the other patrons, particularly, if a mistake was made. I'm not sure how many waiters were disgraced in front of a client by the maître d’. The only reason I came here was because it was close.

We ordered our lunch and while the waiter was gone, I gave Bobby his phone. He looked at me, got out of his chair and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. The waiter look at him as if to say, ‘we don't permit that here’. Bobby look at the waiter, in a loud voice, “Are you saying I can't kiss my dad.” The waiter blush, every other patron close by smiled. What none of them notice, the tears in my eyes. If only he knew how bad I wanted to be his dad.

I paid for our lunch and on the way back, we stopped at the kiosk in the lobby. Bobby saw a book he wanted but didn't ask for it. “Bobby, have you read the Harry Potter series?” He shook his head no. I went and picked up several from the series, paid for them, I gave them to Bobby. You would've thought I gave him a hundred dollars.

As soon as we got to the office, Bobby had to show Mrs. Marlow his books. They chatted for a while and then he came into my office, stretched out and began to read. He was so engrossed in his reading that he never heard Mrs. Marlow say she was going home. I looked at the clock and it was five, “Bobby, ready to go home?”

“As soon as I finish this chapter Dad, I have only one more page to go.” I waited and watched him as he read. I wondered how Fred made out. When he was finished, he closed the book, “Dad, these books are fantastic. I like ‘Lord of the Rings’ but I also like these.”

“You know there are movies as well. When you finish a story, I'll see if we can rent a movie of that story.” He grab my hand as we walked to the elevator. So this is what having his son is all about.