“Positive.” By this time, his mother had reached us and thanked Monty for taking care of her precious son.
As they walked away, the little boy waved at Monty from over his mother’s shoulder. I watched Monty’s face as he waved back. He looked wistful, and faintly jealous. And then it hit me.
“You want to have a family, don’t you?”
He whipped around his head to stare at me. “No, I don’t.”
Liar. “Yes, you do. I saw it in the way you handled that kid just now, and how you watched the interaction between mother and son. I think you’d make an exceptional father, if you put your mind to it.”
“Well, mine wasn’t a peach, let me tell you.” I decided to pester him for more on that story later.
“Doesn’t matter. It’s about you, not him, and I think you might surprise yourself.”
He waved away my
