“Good morning Ashton,” I greeted Ash as he appeared before me. His dark brown hair was sticking up in some places. It was adorable. I’d been watching him contently as he slept soundly under the blankets on the couch.

I had woken up early, around 6, and helped myself to some cereal. I wondered whether Grace would have expected me to leave. Ashton was my kid and if I left without saying goodbye I’d hurt him.

The skin around Ashton’s mouth started to form a smile but, within seconds, faded to a grim expression and the glint in his eyes darkened. ‘Why is he in a gloomy mood?’ I thought. He sat down at the tattered and old looking bench without as much as a ‘hello’.

“Ashton, are you okay?” I asked vigilantly. This was the first time I’d seen my son unhappy. I didn't know how to deal with it. He shrugged his shoulders in response. My eyebrows furrowed. “Ashton? Little guy?” I asked.

“What?!” he retorted, his entire body jolting as he peered across the counter me.

“Hey, don’t speak like that. What’s wrong?” I replied, not believing I would have to tell him off so soon.

My tone wasn't angry or upsetting. It was firm. He seemed like a good kid. Was my son rude? Grace wouldn't let her son grow up with a lack of manners.

“Maybe you should ask mom!” he replied angrily. My confused expression became more intense. He got up and walked behind the bench, grabbing out a glass from the bench cupboard, his body language showing childish anger with every action.

“Why? What’s wrong with mommy? Did she upset you?”

“No, but you did!” he put the glass on the bench and just stood there and glared at me. He held onto the glass, it down on the bench and looked up at me defiantly. This kid could have attitude. I wonder where he gets that from.

What had I done to upset him? I was beginning to question whether I would be a good father. I had this gloomy feeling in my gut I did not like. I began to question his opinion of me. Was he beginning to think I wasn’t a good dad? Was he going to start hating me?

“I upset you?! How did I?” I asked panicky. How could a child - a kindergarten-aged child - answer a simple question and make a fully grown adult feel like a villain?

“You made mommy upset and that makes me upset!” he replied. I upset Grace? She was far from upset last night, if you get what I mean…

“What do you mean I upset Grace, Ashton?” I asked.

“She was crying last night and she hasn't cried in ages! It’s your entire fault! She never cried untiled you came,” he retorted.

I was flabbergasted. Grace had been crying? Was it over my being here? I knew she recognized last night as nothing but a one night stand so what could she be upset about? Did she think Ashton had, or would, become too attached to me and want to leave her for me – his father?

“She was crying? When?” I asked, huddling my shoulders unconsciously in my seat.

“Last night when I woke up, she was up too and she was crying,” he told me, going to the fridge to grab out a bottle of orange juice.

“How do you know it’s because of me? Just because I’m he-”

“Mommy always acted weird when I asked about having a dad and she was acting the same way last night. There’s no other reason she would cry,” he replied childishly. I was silent as he walked around the counter and sat down, processing Ashton’s theory. What the hell was I meant to do now?

At that thought, Grace decided to grace us with her presence. See what I did there? I’m so funny.

“You’re both up,” she captioned the current situation.

“Good morning,” I replied.

“Hi mom,” Ashton rubbed his eyes before sitting at the small counter with his glass, taking a big gulp.

“’Morning. Hey sweetie, what do you want for breakfast?”

Narrator

Grace got out Ashton’s favorite cereal and Andy took note of it. He found it amusing as it was a cereal he’d never heard of and didn't seem like one a child would like. Andy settled himself in front of the TV, Ashton joining him quietly. Grace ate her own bowl of cereal before leading Ashton into the bedroom to be dressed. She closed the door over.

“Mommy, is daddy now going to stay with us?” Andy heard Ashton whisper, “I mean, forever?” Andy froze, anticipating Grace’s reply.

“I don’t know what is going to happen in the future Ash but dad can’t stay here. Maybe we’ll work something out so you’ll be able to see him but he can’t stay here,” Grace said, unraveling a clean shirt over Ashton’s head.

Andy turned down the volume on the TV to be able to hear the pair’s conversation better. Andy hadn't even thought about Grace’s reaction to his entrance into Ashton’s life. Nor had he thought about what he would want to happen in terms of he and Ashton’s relationship.

Ashton held his mothers shoulders as she crouched down, holding the top of his jocks open for him to step into. He did and she pulled them up to his waist line. They then repeated these actions with Ashton’s worn jeans.

“But what if I want him to?” Ashton asked naively.

In the other room, Andy smiled to himself, happy that his child wanted him around.

“I’m sorry, Ash,” Grace apologized. Andy paused in his seat, analyzing the situation. ‘What the hell now?’ he thought.

Ashton came out, now dressed and sat on the floor in front of the TV silently. Andy looked down at him from his seat and just took in the fact that chromosomes between he and Grace had joined to form another human being. The train of thought inside Andrew’s head was going crazy. He thought over everything, from the idea of new life to how Grace got where she is now since he’d last seen her at his door.

“If you’re going to have a shower, you’ll have to make it quick. We have a water limit,” Grace broke Andy out of his thoughts. He moved to the end of the couch cushion.

“Ah… No, I won’t. Thanks for the offer,” he told her.

“All right, I’m having a shower,” Andy nodded as Grace headed into the bedroom and grabbed some clothes out of the drawer.

Andy watched the morning news, Ashton watching attentively beside him.

After checking the time on his phone, Andy got up and went into the bedroom for his shoes. He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled them on, doing up the laces of his combat boots. He began to exit the room before stopping, a flash of hot pink stopping him. He glanced down to find pink lace, faintly emerging from between the main body of the tall boy and its top drawer. Glancing at Ashton, making sure he was still sitting innocently in front of the television screen, and glancing at the bathroom door to make sure the water was still running, Andy slid the drawer open quietly to find a treasure trove of revealing, frilly underwear.

Andy’s eyebrows went up, surprise consuming him. There were pairs and pairs of panties and thongs of all different types and colors; some with a tiny amount of frill and ones basically entire lace. Andy exhaled along with a tiny scoff; he found it amusing. The pictures that began flooding into his mind of Grace in the revealing panties excited him in ways he knew were wrong. Quickly closing the drawer, which was followed by the stop of water flow from the bathroom, Andy hurried into the living area and sat back down without Ashton noticing his rush.

“So…” Andy sighed, “Ashton, where does mom work?” he asked with curiosity. What would Grace have told Ashton about her job? Ashton unraveled his small legs from having them crossed and got up to sit on the couch beside his dad.

“She works at a café and a house,” he replied. Andy gave a small nod. “But mainly at the house though,” he added. So, a house?

“Ash, you ready?” Grace called out, walking out of the bedroom, dressed in waitress clothes with a towel in her hand wrapped around her hair.

“Yep!” Ashton jumped to his feet.

“Ready for what?” Andy asked from the couch.

“For day care,” Ashton replied with a glowing face.

“Day care?” Andy replied, the idea blowing up inside his head. “How about Ashton spends some time with me today instead?” he asked, a funny feeling building up inside his stomach.

What were all his friends going to say when he brings home a kid? They didn’t even know! He knew he needed to call them but he didn’t know what to say or how to say it!

“Uh…” Grace thought. She had no idea what to do.

“Ooh, ooh! Please mom!” Ashton begged. “I’d like to spend time with daddy! Please?” Andy smiled at him and grinned at Grace, hoping she’d be okay with it. He begged her with his eyes. It wasn’t the first time he’d done that.

“You can trust me. I won’t let anything happen to him,” Andy assured her. Grace didn’t look confident at the thought.

“Yeah! I can look after myself too! I’ll be good!” Ashton added childishly. Grace smiled half-heartedly.

“All right. I better give you my phone number in case you need me.”

***

Andy

I watched from the opposite side of the booth as Ashton looked around, taking in the restaurant. I’d taken him to McDonald’s, figuring it would be something he’d like. It turns out he’d never even been to a McDonald’s before! He’d never been a kid yet! I didn’t really know where else to go that would kill some time while Grace worked. She was working in a café about a block away.

“Ashton, what would you like?” I asked him, getting out my phone from my pocket. He glanced at my phone before looking at me.

“I-I don’t know what they have,” he replied, looking embarrassed.

“All right, that’s okay,” I said in a hopeful tone, not wanting him to feel embarrassed, “Let’s go have a look.” My gazelle legs basically fell out of the booth for me while he pushed his little body with his hands, little by little, on the seat to get out.

We stood at the back of the line, hearing all the beeps of food manufacturing apparatus and shouts of working teenagers shoving fries into cardboard holders, all behind the counter.

“You can get a meal which has a cheese burger, hamburger or chicken nuggets, both with fries, apple slices and either: normal or chocolate milk or apple juice,” I told him, looking down to him. He must feel overwhelmed. He bit his lip, glancing at the play equipment visible through the window.

“Which one is nicer?” he asked me, tapping the insides of his shoes together. He reminded me so much of myself.

“I don’t know. Do you like chicken?” I asked him as we moved closer to the counter. Had he even had chicken before? I couldn't believe I was thinking stuff like this! Glancing at the server ahead of us, he nodded his head with enthusiasm.

“All right, you’re getting the nuggets then?” I asked for verification. He nodded again.

“Hello, what would you like?” the server asked as we got to the front.

“Hi, can I please get two happy meals with chicken nuggets,” I told her. She nodded, tapping the screen in front of her.

“What drinks would you like with them?” she asked, smiling a little, looking from me to Ashton.

“Apple juice, Ash?” he nodded, slipping his arm around my gazelle leg like he did to Grace when I first met him. Beaming, I passed the lady the money as a proud father.