One Night of Liquid Courage

Chapter 6

"Mom! Mom!" I slowly peek my eyes open to see James on top of me jumping up and down. "James" I mumble as i rub my eyes. "Mom! Up!" he yells as he continues jumping on the bed. Slowly sitting up and rubbing ups i notice Paisley wasn't in the room. "Where'd Paisley go?" "She left this" he hands me a piece of folded up paper. "Thanks. Why don't you go brush your teeth and get dressed. Make sure you bring your zip up jacket just in case" I tell him. "Yes mom" he says then walks into the bathroom. Unfolding the note i smile at my sisters perfectly written cursive. 'Hey sis! I had to meet the girls at the mall to get last minute things for our trip. It was the only time our schedules meet up. James is an awesome kid! We should meet up tomorrow. Call Me! Love you, Paisley'. Crazy girl. "Mom im done!" James announces as he exits the bathroom wearing jean pants, avengers t-shirt, and a dark green zip up sweater. "Okay! Okay! Im moving!" I say putting my hands up in surrender. "Give me twenty minutes bud" I tell him as i close the bathroom door.

Dressed in short jeans, black tank top, white lace kimono, and black vans. As i just finish putting mascara, my phone goes off. Shit! Putting on lip gloss as i grab me phone. "Uh...Hello?" "Tori?" "One second." I finish the lip gloss and toss it back in my purse. "Sorry! Who is this?" "Its Kalen. Are you okay?" "Shit" i mumble. "Tori?" "Sorry. Im running behind." "MOM! IM HUNGRY!" James yelled from behind me. I turn to look at James as he turns his attention, "Boy you better hush! You dont even have your shoes on" i tell him. I hear Kalen laugh. "Sorry. Are you already downstairs?" "Yeah. Just got here." "Okay. We will be down within 10 minutes." "Okay. Ill grab a table. Is that okay?" "Sure. Ill see you in a few." I hung up the phone, then knelt in front of James to help him finish his tying his shoes. Once finished i stay kneeled in front of him. "James, when we go down stairs to the restaurant your going to meet someone. Someone that mommy was very close to before I moved to Italy" i explain. "Is it daddy? The one you ran away from? The one in the picture frame in your room" he asks curiously. A fight letting the tears crawl down my cheeks. "Yes bud." I grab his hands in mine. "And he is very excited to meet you. If you like, he said he would go to the different places today. Does that sound okay?" He looks hesitate then nods, "Yeah. That sounds good!" He jumps up and embraces me into a hug, "I love you mama!" "I love you to bud" I kiss the top of his head.

Once we make it down stairs to the restaurant, we walk in looking for Kalen. I notice him in a booth towards the back of the  restaurant. "Ready?" "Ready Momma." We walk up to the table hand in hand. When Kalen takes notice to us he stands up. "James this is your dad, James" I introduce them. "Hey James" Kalen says with a smile. Could clearly see his nervousness. "Hi" James says with a small wave. Kalen steps aside so James and I sit down on one side of the booth, while Kalen sits across from us. A waitress immediately walks up and asks our drink order. "Ill have coffee and James do you want milk or juice?" "Juice" he answers as he plays with the condiments on the table. "We have apple or orange. Oh and cranberry" the waitress says. "Apple." Kalen orders coffee as well and then she walks away. "Surprised he didn't order orange juice the way you drank it back in high school" Kelan chuckles. "Im allergic to oranges" James says without stopping his stacking of condiments. Kalen looks at me with shock displayed on his face. "Yeah, when he turned a year we learned that" i chuckle softly. "Haven't had an orange since." "Really. Thats crazy. Does he have any other allergies?" I nod, "yeah, he has an allergy to nuts. Besides that havent had any other issues." "Im sitting right here" James mumbles. "Well bud, you can join the conversation at any time" I ruffle his hair. "Mom!"

The waitress came and took our order. Ten minutes later our food was placed in front of us. "So where did you want to go today James" Kalen asked. James finally makes eye contact with Kelan, "The aquarium." James said it barely loud enough for us both to hear. Kalen nods then turns to me, "Did you buy the Seattle pass? It will be cheaper and easier then having to buy tickets at each place." Giving a sheepish smile, i shake my head. "No, I didn't even think about it." "Oh okay. No big deal. So James your mother told me you like soccer. Are you currently on a team?" James swallows the food in his mouth then gives a slight nod. "Season is over. I start back up in fall" he says. "Do you go on a new team each season? Or do you get to stick to the same team" he asks. James seems to relax at the topic of soccer. "No each year we have try outs. I play in the Italy Competitives now." "Italy Competitives?" Kalen glances at me confused. After a second of James not responding, i answer for him. "Italy Competitives is almost like the USA team but for kids. He is really good. At six years old he gives the older kids a good run for their money" I chuckle. "James loves the sport" I smile at my son. "Really? Wow! Thats great James!" Kalen pauses, "Does it affect his-" "No it doesnt" James spoke up before he could finish. I give him an apologetic smile, "James when your done eating, go use the restroom before we head out okay." James nods and gives me a side hug, "Im done now." I stand up to let him out of the booth then sit back down. I watch him walk away and once he is out of sight i look to Kalen to catch him staring at me. Even knowing I caught him staring, he doesn't look away.

"So it doesnt bother him at all" he asks. "Nope. At first we had troubles with he prosthetics, but I was able to buy him one just for soccer with some adjustments." He leans back in the booth, "By the way you look great." Shocked at his comment i look down as i feel my cheeks heat up. My phone goes off. "Hello?" "Oh hey." "Are you sure?" "Ill ask him. Ill text you with his answer." "Okay bye." I hang up the phone and slip it into my back pocket. "Sorry about that." Kalen gives a slight nod, "No problem." "Paisley wants to have a sleep over with James again" I chuckle. "Really? They must have really clicked then." I nod, "yeah. She said she wants nephew and auntie time so i cant be back before 11pm" I laugh, remembering how she demanded it. "Oh well what about-" but before Kalen finished James walked back up. "Can we go to the aquarium now?" he whines. I stand up and throw down a few bills for lunch and tip. Kalen was about to object to me paying but i glared at him and he instantly shut up. "Yes honey, lets go." Once we make it outside the hotel Kalen stops me, "Do you guys want to ride with me? Instead of taking two cars." James jumps up in excitement, "What kind of car?" "I have two cars, but today I have my truck" Kalen tells him. "What kind of truck?" he steps closer to Kalen in interest. "Dodge Ram?" Kalen says it as thought its a question. "Yes! Lets go" James decides. I chuckle at his reaction. Kalen looks to me surprised. "Second favorite thing is cars" I chuckle as Kalen leads us to his truck. I hadnt thought of it til it was sitting in front of me. The truck. It was the one from high school. The one where we shared so many memories. "Tori?" I look to Kalen watching me with sad expression as knowing what is going through my head. Realizing ive stopped a few feet from the truck, i shake my head to rid myself of my thoughts. "Wait ill have to get him a booster seat from my car" I say getting ready to head back to my car. He grabs my arm and shakes his head, "Nope. I had my nephew and niece over often so i have my own sets of seats. I have a booster he can use." I nod and watch as Kalen helps James get into the camo booster seat. Once he buckles him in and steps down, I notice him taking in the prosthetic. The first time he gets a clear view of it. After a second he moves to the passenger side and opens the door for me. "Your carriage awaits, my 'lady" he says. I chuckle at his reference to what he used to say to me every time i got in his truck. "Thanks" I say as i blush.

After a few minutes on the road my phone goes off. "Yes Paisley?" "No not yet." "Hold on." I turn to James, "hey bug Aunt Paisley wants to have another movie night but just you and her. How does that sound?" His face lights up in excitement, "Well duh!" My smile fades, "Excuse me? I guess that means a no" I snap and turn back around. James sighs, "Sorry mom. Yes i would like to." I look around and see him look sincerely apologetic, "Okay James. This will be your only warning on attitude. Im your mom. Not Nico. Not your friends." I put my phone back to my ear. "Yes Paisley. Ill be back by elven." "Midnight!" "Another room?" "Your nuts!" "Fine. Okay but no where else!" With that i hang up. "Paisley will be at the hotel at 5:30 tonight to hang out with James" I tell Kalen. "Okay, then we better get going with some touristy stuff" he jokes.