The Unlikely Daddy

• 40 •

As promised, Mr Bentley ordered everybody dinner that evening. He wanted to make sure Alfie felt safe, so let him choose what they were going to have. After several minutes of deliberation, Alfie opted for pizza, which Logan was very much happy with.

"After we've all finished our dinner, how about we choose something to watch while we get ready for bed" Mr Bentley suggested.

Logan looked over at the clock that was hanging on the wall. It was only 7:30.

"Bed? I'm not going to bed this early" Logan protested.

"Look. We've all had a long and difficult day. I think we'll feel a lot better in the morning after a good nights sleep" Mr Bentley counteracted.

"You've got to be joking" Logan rolled his eyes.

"Besides, Mr Bentley didn't say you were going straight to bed. He said you could watch a movie or something first" Mr Dylan interjected.

Alfie didn't feel like arguing about the situation. Even though he had napped earlier in the day, he was still absolutely exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in a blanket watching something on the TV.

"This sucks" Logan continued to groan.

"Are you all done, Alfie?" Mr Bentley chose to ignore Logan's rudeness.

"Uh-hu" Alfie nodded, handing his half eaten plate over to Mr Bentley.

"You didn't eat much, champ" Mr Dylan noted.

"Alfie never eats much. He's only little" Logan stated, knowing Alfie didn't have much of an appetite at the best of times, let alone when he was feeling so anxious.

"I am not!" Alfie disputed, not wanting to look weak in front of Mr Dylan.

"I just don't want you to be going to bed hungry" Mr Dylan smiled, trying not to escalate the situation.

"Well, if you get hungry again later you can always come back and have some more" Mr Bentley continued clearing the plates away.

"Right, Logan, you go and pick something for us to watch, Alfie come here" Mr Bentley spoke once the table was cleared.

Logan was quick to get up from the table, wanting to choose something good to watch so the night wasn't a complete waste of his time. This left Alfie on his own with the two teachers, feeling suddenly much more vulnerable.

"Can I check your nappy, buddy?" Mr Bentley asked quietly.

"It's dry" Alfie lied.

"Can I just make sure. I bet Logan is going to choose something super long for us to watch, so I wouldn't want you feeling uncomfortable" Mr Bentley laughed.

Alfie looked from Mr Bentley to Mr Dylan, now worried that he was going to be caught out for lying.

"He said that he's fine. I'm sure we can trust him" Mr Dylan shrugged his shoulders, truly believing that Alfie was being honest.

Mr Bentley wasn't impressed by the suggestion, being much less convinced that Alfie was actually still dry. He raised then lowered his eyebrows in the direction of Mr Dylan, subtly portraying his frustration.

"Go ahead then. Go help Logan pick a movie" Mr Bentley gestured for Alfie to leave the room, not wanting to contradict Mr Dylan.

Alfie cautiously took himself out of the kitchen in search of Logan, who was sat sprawled on the sofa scrolling through Netflix.

"Freddie, there's absolutely no way that he's still dry. It's been almost 3 hours since he was last changed" Mr Bentley sighed once he was certain Alfie was out of earshot.