“Seriously, I think that you should spend this time with Gavin,” she said, shooting me a significant look.
I nodded, understanding what she was getting at. This seemed to be the first time since we met when I felt like I was forming an actual connection with the kid, and Naomi could surely see that. She was giving us a chance to take advantage of it, to bond.
“Well, you heard her, G. Let’s go.”
Gavin led me into the living room, going to the small entertainment center and picking up something that looked more like a tablet than any game system I’d ever seen. It had what looked like a touchscreen with red and blue plastic on each side. There were buttons and control sticks that looked familiar enough to figure out.
He sat beside me on the couch as he pulled up the online store on the screen, sorting through the games there.
One of them caught my eye. “The original Mario Brothers,” I said, actually feeling slightly excited. “I used to love this game.”
“Let’s buy it!”
I couldn’t say no to that, but I pulled out my own credit card. I didn’t want him to charge it to Naomi. Looking around the apartment closer this time, it was even more obvious to me that money must be tight around here.
Gavin and I spent the next hour on the couch, taking turns playing a game that brought me right back to my childhood. Gavin was the most relaxed around me that he’d ever been, so I finally felt like I was progressing with this whole fatherhood thing.
As we played, I found my eyes trailing to the kitchen, where Naomi was cleaning up the dinner dishes. She might have done me wrong, but it didn’t escape my notice she had nudged the conversation in the direction of video games. I had a feeling if it hadn’t worked, she would have kept trying to help us find a topic that appealed to both of us. She was helping me, and I couldn’t help the warm feeling I felt for her.
Bones had been right. It was better this way. I’d keep putting in an effort to move past my bitter feelings toward her, and Gavin would be better off for it. We all would.