Page 43 of Bred By the Minotaur
He gives me one of his rare smiles. “I’m glad we could give you that.” He straightens up and pushes the chair under the desk. “Feel free to use the closet, the dresser, anything you want. This is your home now, too.”
It sends a sharp pang into my chest. Home.
My home is gone. But maybe... this could feel a little like a safe place. Like a home away from home.
I smile in return, because he’s already made me feel so welcome here. “I appreciate that.”
Hank nods, then shows himself out, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him.
First, I unpack my few clothes, which I’ve been slowly acquiring paycheck to paycheck. Even though I don’t have a house anymore, the mortgage payments haven’t magically stopped.
There are some hangers already in the closet, and it’s not long before I have my few things neatly tucked away where they belong. I fill up the desk with some new office supplies, then I sit in my chair.
It’s eerily quiet with Milo coloring somewhere and Hank doing his chores. It’ll be far too easy to get comfortable here.
Around five, after a few extremely productive hours at my new desk, I head into the kitchen to find out if I can help with dinner. But Hank’s already there, taking a container of marinating tofu out of the fridge. Meat probably isn’t so easy to eat with big, wide teeth like his, so I’m not surprised when their meal is mostly vegetables and starches.
At his direction, I get the rice going, and then I stand nearby while Hank fries the tofu.
“Milo likes that kind of stuff?” I ask.
“Oh, yeah. Kid is a freak of nature. Kind of a health nut without realizing it.” Hank throws some broccoli into the tofu fry for good measure. “I’ve never told him what foods are good and what foods are bad. He just picked what he liked—which means a lot of broccoli and tofu.”
I lean on the counter, watching him. “You’re a really good dad.”
He’s done such a wonderful job raising Milo so far, with love and care. He must have really wanted a child if he was willing to go through DreamTogether.
“I try. Every day.” Hank stirs some soy sauce into the pan. “I feel like there’s so much I could be doing better, but?—”
“You’re doing amazing.”
Hank’s ears tilt back shyly. “Thank you. I knew being a parent would be intense, but I didn’t realize quite how much.”
I remember when Milo came down with the flu, and I thought my heart might burst out of my chest every moment he was in pain.
“I can see why. He needs so much, and you’re the only one that can provide it. It’s a lot of pressure.”
Hank shoots me a surprised look. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m lucky I have Mom to help out, though.”
“And me, too,” I say, and his lips curl in a grin.
“Yeah. And you, too.”
Soon, dinner is ready, and Milo comes thundering down the stairs with five new drawings in hand. He thrusts them in front of me and insists I tell him what I think. Hank says that show and tell will have to wait until after dinner, and Milo whines before learning the contents of the meal—and then he hurls himself into a chair and starts spooning it onto his plate.
I’m mesmerized by the messy way he eats, and how Hank tries to help him. Milo asks what I think of the food, and I make sure to gush, so Hank turns his head away and scratches behind his ear.
When we’re all done, I clean up, and wave Hank away when he tries to help. It all feels... natural. Easy. Comforting and warm. I love how Hank’s sweetness emerges when he’s with Milo, how he towers over him while looking through his drawings and complimenting them.
Then I have to hustle away after dinner to make something for Sandra. When I sit down to stay with her while she eats, she waves me off.
“I know that you’re having a nice night with Hank. Go on.”
I give her a grateful smile, and wave as I head back out the door.
At bedtime, Milo insists I go upstairs to read to him, and I can’t possibly turn him down. He picks out a book about a mouse and a strawberry, and I read it to him from cover to cover twice before he falls asleep.
“He really likes you,” Hank says as we exit the room, leaving the door slightly open. “He forced himself to stay awake.”
