Unfriending the Dr by Piper Sullivan
Persy
“Iwant the bacon mac & cheese please.” Titus didn’t even bother looking at the menu placed in front of him. He simply climbed into the chair that sat between me and Ferguson before he declared what his order would be.
Ferguson frowned and leaned forward. “What about vegetables? You know they help you get big and strong, don’t you?”
Titus bristled at Ferguson’s attempt at friendliness. “It has broccoli in it,” he practically growled.
Ferguson’s brows dipped in either confusion or hurt, I couldn’t be sure as he sat back and hid behind the oversized menu.
“Titus, I raised you with better manners than that.”
His shoulders slumped forward and he let out a heavy sigh. “I know. Sorry, Mom.”
I shook my head. “Don’t say sorry to me, you owe Ferguson an apology.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Ferguson.”
“It’s all right. Meeting new people is hard.” I had to give Ferguson credit, not much, but it was difficult to deal with Titus when he was being surly.
“What’s it like in Canada?”
Ferguson blinked at the abrupt topic change. “It’s nice most of the year but in winter, it gets really cold. The only good thing about the cold is hockey season. And skiing.”
“Do you have other kids?”
It felt like the entire restaurant froze at that question, but I knew it was just my imagination. Ferguson choked on his answer and shook his head. “No. I mean yes. Yes, I do have children with my wife.” His gaze slid to mine, wary since he’d just told me his intentions in a place where I couldn’t react.
“Did you bring them?”
“Ah, sorry, I didn’t. No.”
I wasn’t a religious person, but I briefly closed my eyes and sent a prayer to the heavens in gratitude for the waitress who’d chosen that moment to come take our orders. She’d saved Titus from a follow up question that Ferguson, no doubt, could not answer satisfactorily.
“We should get an order of bacon mac for Ryan. He loves it as much as I do.” I could have sworn I saw mischief lighting up my son’s eyes, almost as if he knew this dinner with his father was a one-off, never to be repeated.
“What do you like to do for fun, Titus?”
“All kinds of stuff. Hang out with Rosie, she’s my best friend even though she’s a girl. Her dad is a chef, and we like to go really high on the swings. Do you like to play with ropes?” Even if he didn’t want to know the answer, Titus looked up at his father with hope burning in his eyes, begging him to have one shared hobby or experience.
“Can’t say I play with ropes all that often. Well, we do have a boat and in the summer months I try my hand at steering. But I’m not very good at it either.”
Titus giggled. “Me either. Ryan says I’m too young even to drive one of his old clunkers.”
It was Ferguson’s turn to laugh. “Can you see over the steering wheel?”
“Not yet, but soon. That’s why I eat my broccoli.”
Thankfully the food arrived quickly since we beat the dinner rush by an hour out of deference to Titus, who was already acting like a tired little kid. We ate quickly with very little conversation and I had a feeling Ferguson was happy to get away from the little boy who had inherited my bad attitude. “How was the meal?”
“Good,” Titus said with a wide cheesy grin.
“Excellent!” Ferguson wiped his mouth, slowly and politely, but the signs of wanting to get the hell out of dodge were evident in the way he sat on the edge of his seat, the way he covertly tried to get our waitress’ attention.
“It’s all right, Ferguson. No one has room for dessert, do they?”
Titus perked up at the mention of his favorite meal of the day, his gaze bounced between me and Ferguson half a dozen times before his shoulders fell. “No.”
“See?” I turned to Ferguson’s look of relief and smiled. “Go wash the cheese off your face so we can go.” Just as expected, Titus scrambled off his chair, taking great care not to run through the restaurant on his way to the bathroom. “Is your curiosity satisfied?”
“No, it’s not, sadly.” Ferguson looked so devastated that I might have felt sorry for him, if not for Titus. “I was hoping to get to know him a little more, to form some type of bond.”
“Kids are tough customers. He might come around, but it doesn’t look like today is that day.”
“No it’s not, but I have to tell you, Persy, that you have done a wonderful job with Titus. He’s strong willed and smart, two things a boy needs before he becomes a man. I’m sorry for walking away, truly I am, and it has nothing to do with how things are with me and Sabrina.”
“Thank you for saying that. I’m sorry Titus isn’t as open as I thought he might be.”
Ferguson shrugged. “I sprang it on him, but I’d like to stay in touch if that’s all right. Not in an intrusive way, maybe a few cards throughout the year to keep the lines of communication open so that if he ever changes his mind, he’ll know where I am.”
“Wow, I think you’ve matured in the few days you’ve been in Jackson’s Ridge.” It was nice to see the growth and I appreciated that he wasn’t just walking away from Titus. Some day in the future my stubborn boy might want to know the man Ferguson was becoming finally. “I hope you and Sabrina can fix things, if that’s what you guys want. Just remember, those kids see you as their dad, DNA be damned.”
He smiled. “That’s what I’ve been thinking about. Titus has Ryan. It seems you do too.” His teasing tone was accompanied by a smile.
“I did, but I’m not sure that I still do.” One day passed and then another after the hottest kiss of my life inside Ryan’s office and he still had yet to call or text, or even send a message by carrier pigeon. But I was hopeful. “It’s complicated.”
“Not because of me, I hope?”
It would be easy to blame Ferguson, but it wasn’t completely his fault. Things with me and Ryan were too new for a complication like an ex. “Yes and no.”
We would fix it because I loved Ryan, and though he hadn’t said it outright, I knew he loved me too. In just a few minutes, Ferguson would be nothing but a memory once again and Ryan and I would get back on track.
I’d make sure of it. He could ignore me now, but Ryan couldn’t ignore me forever.
I wouldn’t let him.
