Chapter Thirteen-MIAN
1519 Words
Saturday mornings were supposed to be quiet.
At least, that was what I believed.
But apparently, nobody had informed my five-year-old son.
“Daddy.”
I ignored him.
“Daddy.”
I pulled the blanket over my head.
“Daddyyyy.”
A tiny hand grabbed my arm and started shaking me.
“Daddy, wake up!”
I groaned.
“Baby…”
“Daddy, it’s time for breakfast.”
I opened one eye.
Kai was standing beside the bed, already dressed and looking entirely too energetic for that hour.
I smiled.
“I’m awake.”
“Good!”
He immediately grabbed my hand.
“Come on.”
“Where?”
“Breakfast.”
I laughed.
“Baby, you know you can eat without me.”
“No.”
He shook his head firmly.
“I don’t want to.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to eat with Daddy.”
There was no arguing with that.
So I got out of bed.
I was still wearing my comfortable pajamas, and I hadn’t even bothered fixing my hair.
Saturday was the one day I allowed myself to be completely lazy.
Kai dragged me downstairs.
And the moment we entered the dining room, I stopped.
Rex was already sitting at the table.
He looked like he had been awake for hours.
Kai immediately smiled.
“Good morning, Papa!”
Rex looked up.
“Good morning, buddy.”
Kai climbed into his chair.
“Good morning, Daddy.”
I smiled.
“Good morning, baby.”
Then I looked at Rex.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
We sat down.
Breakfast was surprisingly peaceful.
Kai was talking between bites, as usual.
Then suddenly, he looked at me.
“Daddy!”
“Yes?”
“You remember you said you’re taking me to the aquarium today?”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
“Are we still going?”
“Of course.”
He immediately smiled.
“Yay!”
Rex looked between us.
“You’re going to the aquarium?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
Kai suddenly turned toward him.
“Papa, are you coming with us?”
Rex looked at Kai.
Then he looked at me.
There was something almost uncertain in his expression.
“So you’re inviting me?”
He wasn’t really asking Kai.
He was looking at me.
I understood.
I shrugged.
“Sure. If you don’t have work.”
“I do.”
He paused.
“But I can finish it when we get back.”
I nodded.
“Okay.”
Kai practically bounced in his chair.
“Papa is coming!”
I smiled.
“Looks like it.”
⸻
We didn’t leave immediately.
It was almost two in the afternoon before we finally got into the car.
Kai sat in the back.
Rex and I were in the front.
For most of the drive, Kai talked.
“Daddy, do you remember this?”
“Yes.”
“Look, Papa!”
Rex turned around.
“What?”
“That building!”
“Oh.”
“Do you see it?”
“I see it.”
Kai kept talking.
He pointed at everything.
Buildings.
Cars.
Restaurants.
People.
Anything that caught his attention.
I listened, occasionally answering him.
Rex was unusually quiet.
He wasn’t on his phone.
He wasn’t taking calls.
He wasn’t checking emails.
He was simply driving.
It was strange.
Almost peaceful.
And for some reason, I liked it.
Because this was what a family was supposed to look like.
Three people going somewhere together.
No business.
No hospital.
No responsibilities.
Just a Saturday afternoon.
⸻
The aquarium was enormous.
Kai’s eyes widened the moment we entered.
“Daddy!”
I laughed.
“Slow down.”
“But look!”
There were enormous glass tanks everywhere.
Fish of every color.
Sea turtles.
Jellyfish.
Sharks.
Stingrays.
Seahorses.
Kai was fascinated by everything.
I explained things to him as we walked.
“Do you know why that fish looks like that?”
“No.”
“Because—”
I started explaining.
Rex walked beside us quietly.
Sometimes Kai would run back to him.
“Papa!”
“What?”
“Look!”
Rex would stop.
“That’s nice.”
Then Kai would run back to me.
“Daddy, did you see that?”
“Yes, baby.”
At one point, Kai grabbed both our hands.
One of his hands in mine.
The other in Rex’s.
And he pulled us toward another exhibit.
“Come on!”
I looked down.
Rex looked down too.
Neither of us said anything.
But something about it felt…
Right.
Natural.
I didn’t know whether Rex noticed.
But I did.
For once, he wasn’t the businessman everyone feared.
He wasn’t the billionaire.
He wasn’t the man constantly buried in meetings.
He was simply Kai’s father.
Walking around an aquarium with his son.
And strangely enough, I appreciated it.
Because I knew what stability meant to a child.
Kai needed days like this.
Days where his father was simply there.
⸻
After the aquarium, Kai was already talking about ice cream.
“Papa.”
Rex looked at him.
“Yes?”
“Can we get ice cream?”
Rex smiled.
“Sure.”
Kai turned to me.
“Daddy!”
I laughed.
“I heard you.”
We found a small ice cream parlor nearby.
It was cozy and quiet.
We sat at a table.
Kai chose his favorite flavor.
Then, halfway through eating, he pushed his spoon toward me.
“Daddy, taste mine.”
I took a bite.
“That’s good.”
He smiled.
Then he turned toward Rex.
“Papa, taste mine.”
Rex took a bite.
“Very good.”
Kai laughed.
Then he tried to feed both of us.
“Daddy.”
I opened my mouth.
He fed me.
“Papa.”
Rex leaned forward.
Kai fed him too.
I smiled.
There was something almost innocent about the moment.
Then I noticed Rex looking at me.
Not at Kai.
At me.
His eyes were different.
There was something in them.
Something I couldn’t quite name.
Wanting.
Longing.
Maybe loneliness.
I looked away.
I didn’t know what he wanted.
And I wasn’t going to pretend that I did.
We stayed at the parlor longer than expected.
We ordered some food.
Kai ate.
We talked.
We laughed.
It was getting late by the time we finally left.
⸻
Kai fell asleep on the drive home.
When we arrived, I carried him upstairs.
He barely woke.
I changed him into his pajamas and tucked him beneath the covers.
“Goodnight, baby.”
He mumbled something I couldn’t understand.
I smiled.
I kissed his forehead.
Then I walked back downstairs.
Rex was standing near the staircase.
“I’m going to my office,” he said.
“Okay.”
He nodded.
Then he walked away.
I watched him for a moment.
I knew he was struggling.
I could see it.
But I didn’t know what to do.
And I wasn’t going to pretend that I understood him.
I didn’t.
Rex was complicated.
His emotions were complicated.
Our marriage was complicated.
But one thing was simple.
He had come with us today.
And Kai had been happy.
Very happy.
That mattered to me.
⸻
I went into the kitchen.
Mrs. Harper was there.
“Mrs. Harper?”
“Yes, Mian?”
“How does Rex normally take his coffee?”
She looked surprised.
“Mr. Sullivan?”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Black coffee. No sugar.”
“Okay.”
She showed me how she prepared it.
I made the coffee myself.
Then I carried it upstairs.
I stood outside Rex’s office.
I knocked.
“Come in.”
I opened the door.
Rex was sitting behind his desk, looking at his laptop.
He looked tired.
Again.
I walked over and placed the coffee on his desk.
“I know you must be tired.”
He looked up at me.
“Yeah.”
I nodded.
“I brought you coffee.”
He looked at it.
Then at me.
“Thank you.”
I smiled faintly.
“And thank you for coming with us today.”
He seemed surprised.
“Okay.”
A small silence followed.
“You’re welcome.”
I nodded.
“Goodnight, Rex.”
“Goodnight, Mian.”
I turned and walked out.
I closed the door behind me.
As I walked back toward our bedroom, I thought about the day.
Rex hadn’t done anything extraordinary.
He had simply spent a few hours with his son.
But sometimes, the simplest things mattered the most.
Kai had laughed more today.
He had been excited.
He had held both our hands.
He had looked happy.
And that was enough for me.
I still didn’t know how to be Rex’s husband.
I still didn’t know what he expected from me.
But perhaps I didn’t need to figure everything out tonight.
Maybe for now, it was enough that we had spent one day together.
One ordinary Saturday.
One day where, for a few hours, we almost looked like a real family.
And for Kai’s sake…
I hoped there would be many more.
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