Luca stiffened in excitement. “That would be great! I would love to.” He hopped off the bed, so excited that he couldn’t sit still.
Carter chuckled. “Luca, don’t forget to ask your mother if that’s okay.”
“Oh, sorry.” Luca turned to me. “Mom, can I go swimming with Carter?”
I watched my son ask for permission, and the tears filled my eyes with unstoppable force. This was exactly what I wanted, to be a mom. I wanted my son to ask me these things, to turn to me as his parent. It was so normal, something mothers did on a daily basis, and I missed it so much. “Yes. I’ll join you.”
Carter worked with Luca, teaching him to kick and use his arms to pull him forward through the water. Luca was so thin that he didn’t have much buoyancy, so Carter had to hold him most of the time. He held him by the stomach and carried him across the pool as he asked him to kick. He headed toward me as I stood on the other side of the pool.
Luca kicked hard, splashing water everywhere and getting Carter’s hair wet.
“Good,” Carter said. “Keep kicking.” He carried him to my side of the pool and to the ledge.
Luca grabbed on so he could hang in the water and catch his breath. “Did you see me, Mom?”
“Yes, I did. You were great.” I grabbed him by the hips and carried him to the stairs so he could touch the bottom. “Let’s take a short break and try again.”
“Okay.” He sat on the top step and held on to the metal pole of the railing. “I’m hungry.”
“I’ll make us something,” I offered. “What do you want, Luca?”
“Grilled cheese.”
Not having me around seemed to have destroyed his manners. “Grilled cheese, please.”
Luca lowered his voice. “Please…”
I got out of the water and dried off with a towel.
Carter stared at me, watching the water drip off my body in the bathing suit. He didn’t seem to care about looking at me while my son was around. “Is it okay if I keep showing him?”
I knew Carter didn’t have any experience with kids, but I trusted him. He took care of me, and I had faith he could take care of my son. “Sure. You want some lunch too?”
“Please.” He waggled his eyebrows, showing manners the way I’d just taught Luca.
“Coming right up.” After I was dry, I walked into the kitchen and whipped up lunch. I came back fifteen minutes later to see Luca swimming back and forth across the pool by himself. I set the lunch on the table under the umbrella along with a pitcher of lemonade.
“You got it, little man.” Carter stood in the deep end of the pool and watched Luca on the other side. “One more time and then we’ll eat.”
“Mom, watch!” Luca let go of the ledge and swam across the pool toward Carter. He kicked hard, splashing water all over the concrete as he made his way to the other side. When he reached Carter, he turned around and swam back the opposite way.
“Wow.” I clapped my hands. “That was great, Luca.” The afternoon was the best day of my life, and it was so ordinary that no one would understand the feeling inside my chest. My imprisonment seemed like a lifetime ago now that I had Luca in my life again. We were living the life that we deserved, enjoying the sunshine and the pool. And none of this would be possible without Carter. “Now, let’s go out and have some lunch.”
Luca climbed up the steps with Carter and got water all over the concrete. Like Carter had done this before, he grabbed a large towel and wrapped it around Luca to dry him off. He rubbed the fabric into his skin and hair to make sure he was completely dry before they both walked to the table. Carter did the same to himself next, drying off his muscular physique with the towel.
My natural impulse was to stare at him, to watch the drops slowly roll down the grooves between the muscle, but that seemed inappropriate while Luca was there, even though he was far too young to notice things like that.
We sat together at the table, and Luca ate his sandwich quietly, kicking his legs and looking at the acres of land of the backyard. Luca had never experienced anything luxurious like this before, so this must be especially impressive to him. It was obvious he was already comfortable with Carter because he was being himself, eating quickly and resting his elbows on the table. He must be comfortable with me too because his shyness was gone.
Carter ate the garden salad I made for him, topped with grilled chicken and light dressing. “Thank you for lunch, Mia. It’s great.”