“As long as you’re sure. I don’t ever want to upset Johnny. He’s an amazing little boy.”
“He is, I’m lucky to have him in my life. Luckiest day of my life was getting legal custody of him. I thought I was going to have a long drawn out court battle. Yet, I didn’t. The drugs were more important to my brother than his own son. No matter how much I tried or wanted to help him, he wouldn’t accept any of the opportunities given to him. It took me years to finally quit asking and that was after I had Johnny.” I can see that this still guts him. During one of our long conversations at night, Dylan told me about his brother’s past. His jaw is tight, and I do the only thing I know I can do. I hug him and hold onto him.
“I’ll stay the night, as long as Johnny is okay with it. I can even sneak out early in the morning, so it doesn’t confuse him,” I offer.
“Johnny,” he hollers out.
“Yes,” he replies.
“You mind if Ms. Candy spends the night?” he asks. My face is flaming red from embarrassment. How can he just blurt out what he wants? It’s something I’m definitely not used to.
“Can she help me with my reading then?” Johnny asks.
“I can help you, anytime you need,” I respond to Johnny.
“I think that settles it, but I want you to know now. I want you here, always. Not just for a fleeting moment,” Dylan states and then his lips are on mine, it’s not just a peck either. His tongue seeks entrance and I let him in. I’m lost in the kiss, in the way Dylan is holding onto the side of my neck and I want his mouth on mine till the end of time.
When he backs away, my body sways toward his, “Wow.”
“Yeah,” Dylan replies. We both turn to look at Johnny as he yells, “Daddy, Ms. Candy, watch this!” My heart is in my stomach as he swings so high and then jumps off the seat of the swing. I only let out a breath when he lands on his feet.
“You did great, buddy,” Dylan says.
I smile at Johnny and give him a thumbs up, my heartbeat finally slowing down.
“It’s okay, you’ll get used to his antics,” he says with a smile and we both watch him until it’s time to go inside.
13
Dylan
The three of us ate dinner as a family. It was another moment that I know I’ll cherish forever. If that makes me seem like a giant sap, then so be it. Seeing Candy smiling and interacting with my boy, it brightens my whole fucking day.
I helped Johnny hop in the tub and though he usually stays in there for what seems like an hour, he was in and out in fifteen minutes. He wants to read a book with Candy. Even though he’s made a lot of progress reading, I know he still struggles.
Now we’re all sitting on the couch. Johnny’s sitting in between the both of us, and he has a book on his lap.
“Ready? I can’t wait to show you how well I read now.” He has a smile on his face. It makes all the hours I work after he’s fast asleep worth it. I try to work on new apps that will help other children with reading as much as possible, while still maintaining a few other mainstream apps too.
“I’m ready, buddy,” I tell him.
“Absolutely, I can’t wait,” Candy says, with a smile.
I look at Candy above his head and smile. Her head is down and she’s watching him the whole way through as he starts reading. He stumbles here and there, but he’s doing really well. On the words he does get stuck on, she helps him sound it out, never losing any patience.
We all sit there for fifteen minutes until Johnny closes the book and says, “The end.”
“You did so good, Johnny. I’m very proud of you,” Candy says, as she hugs him.
“Thank you,” he replies, and you can see his big grin with a tooth missing in his smile.
“Time to brush your teeth, then I’ll tuck you in,” I tell Johnny.
“Can Ms. Candy tuck me in, too?” he asks.
“I sure will, as long as it’s okay with your dad,” she replies.
“I have no problem with that,” I tell them and then he takes off running down the hall, his book abandoned on the coffee table.
“He’s doing really good.”
“He is, his dyslexia trips him up sometimes but for the most part, it’s getting better every day,” I respond.
“You couldn’t even tell. You should be proud of yourself and of Johnny. I grew up with a girl who had dyslexia. Her parents always told her she was dumb. I tried to help her as much as I could, but then she started to get resentful. It was hard to take a step back,” she says as she’s wringing her hands.