Page 13 of Colvin
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean for you to get trapped playing demolition derby. It’s one of his favorite games.”
“No problem. I’ve done this kind of thing with my nephews and nieces before. Their enthusiasm is contagious.”
As a special treat, Ivy allowed Colvin to watch a trideo in the living room, while she and Colvin sat on the couch with him. Once her son was engrossed in the plot and had moved himself to the floor, the adults chatted in low tones.
“What would you like me to do here, Ivy?” Colvin asked. “I can’t imagine you’re in the right frame of mind to continue our date, even if his teacher is available to babysit. I’d be happy to simply hang out with the two of you for the rest of my stay and we can figure out how to keep what we’ve started going long distance after I leave.”
She took his hand and squeezed it. “I’m so grateful you’re here and I’m relieved you understand how I’m feeling. It was so scary, getting the com yesterday about him being in the hospital. I can’t leave him again so soon and I wouldn’t be good company if I did.”
“I wouldn’t dream of asking you to do so. Do you want me to pack up your things and bring them from the hotel?”
“I feel so guilty but yes, if you could do that, I’d appreciate it. You’d be welcome to spend the night here, if you’d like. On the couch,” she added firmly. “Have dinner with us, spend the evening.”
If anyone had told Colvin he’d be so pleased at an invitation to sleep chastely on a couch after spending the evening in the company of a toddler, he wouldn’t have believed it, but this was Ivy and her son which made all the difference. “I’d be honored. Let me buy dinner though, all right? Does Darien like pizza?”
“Pizza!” the boy in question shouted loudly and with glee from the floor.
Ivy laughed and Colvin was happy to see her in such a good mood after her scare the day before. “He loves pizza, as you can tell.”
Chapter Five
After an uncomfortable night on the couch, Colvin ate breakfast with Ivy and Darien, played endless games with him and enjoyed being in a family situation with his mate and her son. He was already contemplating how to broach the subject of eventually adopting Darien, who was quite a scamp but highly intelligent and affectionate. In the afternoon they went to the beach and built sandcastles for the waves to demolish and played in the surf. Darien loved riding on Colvin’s broad shoulders and was quite fearless when it came to the ocean so both adults kept a close eye on him.
Then Colvin drove them to the zoo, which wasn’t open to the public yet but Ivy’s employee pass got them inside the gates. Many of the enclosures were under construction still but there were enough animals to make it interesting and Darien’s enthusiasm and awe over the six-legged Muranese giraffe and the two headed pyrunok was loud and long.
Ivy cooked a pasta dish for dinner and they spent another leisurely evening watching trideos.
Colvin was going to spend the night at the hotel and then he and Ivy were going to have lunch at the hotel tomorrow and supposedly spend the afternoon discussing their future and how to move forward. He was confident they’d also be making use of the luxurious bed in his suite. Both he and Ivy loved being with Darien and doing fun things as a family, but he knew they were both suffering frustration over not being intimate. Their one afternoon of passion at the isolated beach seemed like a long time ago and Colvin was anxious to make love to Ivy again. She’d made it obvious she was in the same mood, although they kept it lightly affectionate in front of the boy.
Surprisingly Darien had started asking to go back to the childcare facility, wanting to see his friends and teachers and play with his favorite big toys there, especially the climbing structure and sandbox in the facility’s lower yard. There was also a friendly dog he missed and a pair of kittens. To Colvin’s relief, Ivy agreed he could go to school once the twenty-four hour exclusion for his previous fever had expired.
“He’ll have to go back when I return to the office,” she said to Colvin in the kitchen while Darien took a nap. “It’s better to do it now, when he’s asking to go, than to get him too used to you and me spoiling him with the beach and the zoo every day. I love working outside the home but my biggest regret is not having enough time with him when I’m not tired and stressed from the office, you know?”
“I can see how happy the two of you are together,” Colvin said tactfully.
“But I need to work, not only to support us, but for my own personal fulfillment. I just wish I could work fewer hours and still pay the bills.”
“Once we’re together on Ardanna Prime having enough credits won’t be an issue,” Colvin assured her. “I’ve saved most of my salary over the years and made investments which prospered.” He held up a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. “I’m not saying don’t work outside the home. I merely saying you can do it for all the right reasons, as much or as little as you want, because we won’t be depending on your income alone.” He was actually quite wealthy and his family held a high position in Ardannan life which created even more opportunities but he could tell the whole topic was a sensitive one to Ivy, including her mixed feelings about the work/life/motherhood balance. He didn’t want to get too deep into the discussion in whispers in the kitchen when Darien might interrupt them at any moment. “Tomorrow. Lunch. We can lay out our expectations for life together and find the agreements and the areas where we need to do some work.”
She stared at him, eyes wide. ”I love you.”
“I love you too but what did I say to earn that right now?” He was genuinely puzzled.
“You want to work out things together. No arguments, no laying down the law, no ‘your way or the spaceway’, no edicts?—”
“I’m guessing your ex was a control freak,” he said. “If this was a military subject and you were under my command, I’d listen to your input and make my decision and issue orders, expecting to be obeyed. This is us, you and me, two people in love trying to build a life and neither one’s needs or opinions are more important than the other’s. Give and take. The one thing neither of us can compromise on is what’s best for Darien.”
Ivy brushed away a tear. “Whatever I did to deserve you, I’m so lucky.”
He took her in his arms. “Whatever I did to deserve you must have been a gift from the gods.”
Darien ran into the room, a red car in one hand and a yellow block in the other, with Fred tucked into the waistband of his shorts. “I wanna hug too!” He wriggled between the two adults and Colvin swept him into the air, tossing him high and catching him easily while Ivy gasped and tried not to object. She wasn’t used to the way he and Darien played more physically than she did but the boy loved it and she trusted him to be careful. Her trust and Darien’s meant the world to him.
* * *
Ivy hummed as she got dressed after a long, leisurely shower. She’d dropped Darien off at the childcare facility early, in time to have morning snack with his friends and then returned home to get ready for her actual date with Colvin. His absence last night and this morning had been depressing for her and Darien, although Colvin had stayed long enough to read two bedtime stories in his deep voice. It wasn’t ideal having Colvin sleep on the couch—he had too big a frame to be able to be comfortable there and she wasn’t ready to explain to Darien why Colvin might be in her bed. Her son got up during the night after bad dreams on occasion and always came straight to her, so there’d be no way to hide Colvin if they were sharing her bed. More and more she longed for the day when the three of them could live as a family, although realistically that was going to be months away.
She’d also been daydreaming a bit about having a child with Colvin. A daughter perhaps. Darien would be a great big brother and she knew Colvin wanted a big family like his siblings had. Ivy was fine with the idea now she had a true partner in Colvin. She loved kids and had been sad at the idea Darien would grow up as an only child.
