My Guilty Pleasure
Part 16
Part 16
Mrs.Miller walked around the classroom.It was coloring time and this is when she got to see the students express themselves in their own ways.She saw a lot of houses,smiley faces and animals."Good job Chloe"she said
"Its my cat"she said to her
She walked over to Isaiah.But his was very extravagant,more detailed.On one side of the paper,there was a man in a house, on the other side looked like a woman in a house and in the middle was a boy and a girl."Interesting Isaiah"she said
"This is my dad"he said as he pointed to the man in the house,"This is my mom"he said as he pointed to the woman in the other house,"And that's me and Sarai,shes my babysitter"he said to her as he pointed to the boy and girl in the middle."My parents are not married anymore,they live in different houses"
"I see"Mrs.Miller said,very surprised.For one,that's the most he has ever said to her.Two,it seemed like the divorce was affecting him now because all he ever drew was Mickey Mouse."Very nice"she said to him.She went to the next kid and made a mental note to call the Dorough's.
"My parents arent married either"Isaiah heard someone say
He turned and saw that Cody was speaking to him?! "Really?"
"Yeah.My dad lives with my grandma now until he gets his own house"Cody said to him.He looked down at Isaiah's shoes."We have the same shoes"he said
Isaiah looked down at his sneakers,his new Mickey Mouse sneakers that he got for his birthday.He saw that Cody did have the same."I like Mickey Mouse"
"Me too"Cody said with a smile as he held up his picture of Mickey
"Have you been to Disney World?"Isaiah asked him
Cody nodded his head,"Once over the summer.I met Mickey"
"Me too!"Isaiah said.He drew a sun on his paper and colored it in
"You wanna be my friend?"Cody asked him
Isaiah looked at him and smiled.Sarai was right,other kids liked Mickey and were dealing with the same things too."Yes"he answered
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarai waited outside the school and she saw Isaiah run over to her excitedly, "Sarai! Sarai! Guess what!"he asked as he jumped up and down
"What?What happened?"she asked him,surprised that he was so excited
"I made a new friend.His name is Cody"Isaiah said as he pointed to a small black boy walking with his mother.He had a Mickey Mouse backpack as well."Cody!"he shouted.The boy turned and waved to him
"See you tomorrow Isaiah"Cody said with a smile
Sarai smiled widely,this was the first time that she has seen Isaiah so happy since meeting Mickey!She knelt down and hugged him,"Im so proud of you sweetheart"she said to him,she was very excited for him
"You were right Sarai.Me and Cody both like Mickey and his parents arent married anymore either"he said
"Lets go celebrate"Sarai said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarai took Isaiah out for ice cream and they ended up walking back.It was kind of a long walk but she didn't wanna take a cab if they weren't going to give it to her for free.
She helped him trace the alphabet and the first ten numbers for homework and then they played the Mickey Mouse game on Xbox.She was getting addicted to the game just like him.
"Hold on kiddo,lemme take a bathroom break"she said as he paused the game.She took their snack items out of his room and put it back in the kitchen. Then she noticed a drawing.A man and a woman were in two separate houses and there was a girl and a boy in the middle holding hands.Sarai smiled.Isaiah was starting to express himself.All he drew was Mickey Mouse.She was glad that he was coping with the divorce in some kind of way. She used the bathroom and then went back to playing the game with him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Howie put his briefcase on the counter and started putting some groceries away.Then something caught his eye.It was a picture that Isaiah drew.Unlike Sarai, he wasn't very proud of it.It seemed depressing to him even though everyone in the picture was smiling. Was he not over the divorce?
"Hey Dad!"Isaiah said as he and Sarai came out of his room
"Hey kiddo"he said,"We are gonna have breakfast for dinner tonight.I couldn't really think of anything to cook"
"Guess what?"Isaiah asked him
"Yeah?"
"I made a friend today.His name is Cody and he has the same sneakers as I do and he likes Mickey and his parents-"
"A what?"Howie interrupted him,not believing it
"A friend Howie"Sarai said,"What?You don't think that your son is friendly or anything?"
"No Sarai.Im just very surprised and very happy for you Isaiah"he said as he ruffled his hair and hugged him,"You are coming out of your shell,Im very proud of you"
"Sarai was right,making friends is easy"he said to him.Then the phone rang
"Dorough Residence?"Sarai answered,"Yes…..may I ask who's speaking?…..oh……hold on…"she said and then she looked at Isaiah with a smile,"Its Cody"she said to him
Isaiah smiled and took the phone from her,"Thanks"he said,"Hi Cody……Im ok"he said as he walked out the room leaving Sarai and Howie speechless.
"Sarai?What did you say to him?"Howie asked her
"What do you mean?"she asked him
"He said that you were right and its easy to make friends"
"That's what I said.Well since hes in kindergarten its easy to make friends.Kids that age arent as judgmental"she said,"I just got tired of him being so shy and not speaking to anyone and I made him promise to me that he would open up and he did"Sarai said,she
was very proud of herself.
"Well thank you Sarai.He has had a great improvement in his behavior.It seems like hes a totally different child"Howie said,then he looked down and saw the picture
"Yeah,he seems happier"Sarai agreed.She noticed his smile go away and he was looking down at something,"What?"she asked him
"Did you convince him to draw pictures like this?"he asked her as he held up Isaiah's newest creation
Sarai smiled,"No,hes fully responsible for that.I cant take credit for everything that he does"
"Oh….he did this on his own?"he asked,he didn't look so happy
"Yes……whats wrong with that?"
"I don't……..its very different from what he usually brings home…..its depressing"
"Its not depressing.Look all of us are smiling"Sarai pointed out,"He is finally coming to terms with your divorce,I think hes finally accepting that this is part of his life now.Not just Mickey Mouse"
"I would rather have him draw that"Howie said as he pointed to the 5 Mickey drawings on the fridge
"Are you serious?You don't want Isaiah to grow?You just want him to live a Disney fantasy all his life?One day hes gonna grow out of that-"
"I do want him to grow-"
"Then let him!That's what hes doing!He knows whats going on.He feels that me and him are caught in the middle of your and Kat's problems…..and that's bad.But I think that hes accepting that everyone is happy now that the divorce is final…I mean hes really happy,hes making friends"
"I don't want him to feel that hes caught in the middle of our problems"
"Well you cant help it….I mean hes being shipped back and forth every two weeks….it may not affect him now but it might"Sarai said.She looked at the picture,"Don't ridicule him on it,he seems very happy about what hes done"she said to him as she hung the picture on the fridge."Im happy that hes growing,life isn't just about Mickey Mouse.Soon he will be drawing pictures of girls,getting his first girlfriend"she said as she turned to him.She realized that Isaiah was like a mini Howie.Almost a split image."I bet when hes 18….he will look just like you"
"Yeah,he will"Howie said with a small smile
"Well if he does,make sure to have him call me"Sarai said with a wink
Howie cleared his throat.Just thinking about Isaiah having a girlfriend made him feel old. What if he met a girl like Sarai?Sarai was a great person,no doubt, but the things that she was doing….made him uncomfortable.
"Daddy,its Mommy"Isaiah said as he ran back in the room and gave him the phone.
"Thanks"Howie said,"Hello?"
"Hi…..um……Mrs.Miller gave me a call today.She said that Isaiah drew an interesting picture in class today and she thinks that we should talk it over.Have you seen it?"Katarina asked him
"Yeah.Im looking at it now.Lemme fax it to you"he said as he took the picture off the fridge
"Ohmygod….leave the picture alone!"Sarai said as she followed Howie
"Hold on"Howie said to Katarina and then turned to her,"Kat is interested in seeing it.It still disturbs me and Mrs.Miller called her saying that he drew it.Its bringing more attention then
we thought"he said as he put the picture in the fax machine
"Your making this drawing seem like it was colored by the devil"Sarai said
Howie ignored her,"There it is,its sending"he said to her
"Good"Katarina said,"Is it bad?"
"It seems a little depressing to me but I will let you be the judge.Sarai likes it though"he said as he turned to her.She was standing there with her hands on her hips.She looked kinda pissed,she looked hot……..STOP IT HOWIE!
"Well,besides the picture,Mrs.Miller said that he was making great progress.He actually talked to her today,he actually explained the picture to her and she said that he was actually talking to another kid today"Katarina said,"I think that's exciting.That's really good.Im very proud of him"
"Me too"he said,"But look at the picture,would you?And tell me what you think?"he asked her
"Ok,well you know how slow this thing is,so its gonna be awhile"she said to him,"Um I will pick him up tomorrow?My 2 weeks starts tomorrow so make sure to have everything packed and ready to go"she said
Howie sighed,his life seemed normal when he had his son around.Now that he was going back to Kat,the house was gonna be empty without him,"Ok.I will"he said
"Alright,see you tomorrow"she said
"Alright"he said,"Goodbye"and hung up.Sarai snatched the picture from him and put it on the fridge.
"You better not make him feel like shit"she said to him
"Thank you Sarai,but I know how to raise my son"he said to her.
Sarai rolled her eyes and then looked at the clock.Shit,it was past 5:15.He was probably gone.She picked up the phone and called her lucky taxi driver,"Hey"she said to him
"Your too late kid"he said to her and then hung up
Sarai sighed.She turned to Howie and saw him looking through his briefcase.He looked up,"Whats wrong with you?"he asked her
"I missed my cab"
"Sarai,you don't have to take cabs.I can drive you,its free"he said to her
"Speaking of taxi cabs.You don't pay me enough"she said to him
"What?"
"When Isaiah stays with you,we have to take a cab from his school to here and that costs about $20 everyday"she said,"Over a two week period,that adds up to $200 and you only pay me $175,Im not making any profit"
Howie shrugged,"Ok I will just give you money.Its not that big of a deal.Im sorry,you should have told me sooner"he said to her,"Oh Isaiah's last day is tomorrow…..so……."he said as he gave her a 20,"That's for his last cab ride"he said with a sigh
Sarai put it in her wallet,seeing Isaiah leave was really affecting him,"Thanks"she said
"Well ok….lets get you home"he said to her
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Katarina took a look at the picture once it was finally faxed in. She didn't know what to say,but she knew that she didn't expect this.Sarai liked it,but Howie found it depressing.She kinda saw both of that though but that didn't make any sense.She had to think long and hard about this.Was the divorce affecting her baby in a bad way?Was he really not over it?Or liking it?Or getting used to it?
Then the phone rang and that shook her out of her thoughts."Hello?"she asked
"Hey Kat,how are you?"It was Phil
"Im doing fine Phil"she said,"How are you?"
"Im doing good.Just got out of the office and was thinking about you"
"Oh really?"she asked him
"Yeah and I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me?"he asked her
Kat sighed,she didn't know what to say.She and Phil have been on a friendly basis ever since the divorce ended.She just finished doing the blueprints for J-Lo's parents house and she has been working on that.This was one of the first nights off in a long time.She did feel lonely a lot without a male companion to come home too but she couldn't move too fast.No matter how much she missed male attention."Um Phil I don't know-"
"Ok Kat,I know you are divorced I was there ok?"Phil said lightly.
Katarina laughed,"I know Phil.I just think its too soon"she said.Has Howie been out with another woman yet?Was he even thinking about moving on?
"Kat its been months and Im not saying that you have to jump into bed with me.Im just asking for a simple dinner date.Just think of it as one of our lunch dates just….postponed for a few hours"he said,"But I mean if you arent comfortable then I will accept that"
Kat smiled,she was glad that he was so understanding but what was the harm in going out as friends anyway?Maybe she was overreacting a little bit."I am comfortable Phil.I just cant help but feel guilty sometimes"she said to him
"That's understandable Kat"he said to her,"But think about this…..Howie is probably trying to move on and its hard to do that feeling guilty"he said to her
Kat nodded,he was right.Howie was probably hanging out with Nick and AJ at The Heat, getting hit on by young women…..she decided not to think about that,"So what time do you wanna pick me up?"she asked him
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mrs.Miller walked around the classroom.It was coloring time and this is when she got to see the students express themselves in their own ways.She saw a lot of houses,smiley faces and animals."Good job Chloe"she said
"Its my cat"she said to her
She walked over to Isaiah.But his was very extravagant,more detailed.On one side of the paper,there was a man in a house, on the other side looked like a woman in a house and in the middle was a boy and a girl."Interesting Isaiah"she said
"This is my dad"he said as he pointed to the man in the house,"This is my mom"he said as he pointed to the woman in the other house,"And that's me and Sarai,shes my babysitter"he said to her as he pointed to the boy and girl in the middle."My parents are not married anymore,they live in different houses"
"I see"Mrs.Miller said,very surprised.For one,that's the most he has ever said to her.Two,it seemed like the divorce was affecting him now because all he ever drew was Mickey Mouse."Very nice"she said to him.She went to the next kid and made a mental note to call the Dorough's.
"My parents arent married either"Isaiah heard someone say
He turned and saw that Cody was speaking to him?! "Really?"
"Yeah.My dad lives with my grandma now until he gets his own house"Cody said to him.He looked down at Isaiah's shoes."We have the same shoes"he said
Isaiah looked down at his sneakers,his new Mickey Mouse sneakers that he got for his birthday.He saw that Cody did have the same."I like Mickey Mouse"
"Me too"Cody said with a smile as he held up his picture of Mickey
"Have you been to Disney World?"Isaiah asked him
Cody nodded his head,"Once over the summer.I met Mickey"
"Me too!"Isaiah said.He drew a sun on his paper and colored it in
"You wanna be my friend?"Cody asked him
Isaiah looked at him and smiled.Sarai was right,other kids liked Mickey and were dealing with the same things too."Yes"he answered
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarai waited outside the school and she saw Isaiah run over to her excitedly, "Sarai! Sarai! Guess what!"he asked as he jumped up and down
"What?What happened?"she asked him,surprised that he was so excited
"I made a new friend.His name is Cody"Isaiah said as he pointed to a small black boy walking with his mother.He had a Mickey Mouse backpack as well."Cody!"he shouted.The boy turned and waved to him
"See you tomorrow Isaiah"Cody said with a smile
Sarai smiled widely,this was the first time that she has seen Isaiah so happy since meeting Mickey!She knelt down and hugged him,"Im so proud of you sweetheart"she said to him,she was very excited for him
"You were right Sarai.Me and Cody both like Mickey and his parents arent married anymore either"he said
"Lets go celebrate"Sarai said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sarai took Isaiah out for ice cream and they ended up walking back.It was kind of a long walk but she didn't wanna take a cab if they weren't going to give it to her for free.
She helped him trace the alphabet and the first ten numbers for homework and then they played the Mickey Mouse game on Xbox.She was getting addicted to the game just like him.
"Hold on kiddo,lemme take a bathroom break"she said as he paused the game.She took their snack items out of his room and put it back in the kitchen. Then she noticed a drawing.A man and a woman were in two separate houses and there was a girl and a boy in the middle holding hands.Sarai smiled.Isaiah was starting to express himself.All he drew was Mickey Mouse.She was glad that he was coping with the divorce in some kind of way. She used the bathroom and then went back to playing the game with him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Howie put his briefcase on the counter and started putting some groceries away.Then something caught his eye.It was a picture that Isaiah drew.Unlike Sarai, he wasn't very proud of it.It seemed depressing to him even though everyone in the picture was smiling. Was he not over the divorce?
"Hey Dad!"Isaiah said as he and Sarai came out of his room
"Hey kiddo"he said,"We are gonna have breakfast for dinner tonight.I couldn't really think of anything to cook"
"Guess what?"Isaiah asked him
"Yeah?"
"I made a friend today.His name is Cody and he has the same sneakers as I do and he likes Mickey and his parents-"
"A what?"Howie interrupted him,not believing it
"A friend Howie"Sarai said,"What?You don't think that your son is friendly or anything?"
"No Sarai.Im just very surprised and very happy for you Isaiah"he said as he ruffled his hair and hugged him,"You are coming out of your shell,Im very proud of you"
"Sarai was right,making friends is easy"he said to him.Then the phone rang
"Dorough Residence?"Sarai answered,"Yes…..may I ask who's speaking?…..oh……hold on…"she said and then she looked at Isaiah with a smile,"Its Cody"she said to him
Isaiah smiled and took the phone from her,"Thanks"he said,"Hi Cody……Im ok"he said as he walked out the room leaving Sarai and Howie speechless.
"Sarai?What did you say to him?"Howie asked her
"What do you mean?"she asked him
"He said that you were right and its easy to make friends"
"That's what I said.Well since hes in kindergarten its easy to make friends.Kids that age arent as judgmental"she said,"I just got tired of him being so shy and not speaking to anyone and I made him promise to me that he would open up and he did"Sarai said,she
was very proud of herself.
"Well thank you Sarai.He has had a great improvement in his behavior.It seems like hes a totally different child"Howie said,then he looked down and saw the picture
"Yeah,he seems happier"Sarai agreed.She noticed his smile go away and he was looking down at something,"What?"she asked him
"Did you convince him to draw pictures like this?"he asked her as he held up Isaiah's newest creation
Sarai smiled,"No,hes fully responsible for that.I cant take credit for everything that he does"
"Oh….he did this on his own?"he asked,he didn't look so happy
"Yes……whats wrong with that?"
"I don't……..its very different from what he usually brings home…..its depressing"
"Its not depressing.Look all of us are smiling"Sarai pointed out,"He is finally coming to terms with your divorce,I think hes finally accepting that this is part of his life now.Not just Mickey Mouse"
"I would rather have him draw that"Howie said as he pointed to the 5 Mickey drawings on the fridge
"Are you serious?You don't want Isaiah to grow?You just want him to live a Disney fantasy all his life?One day hes gonna grow out of that-"
"I do want him to grow-"
"Then let him!That's what hes doing!He knows whats going on.He feels that me and him are caught in the middle of your and Kat's problems…..and that's bad.But I think that hes accepting that everyone is happy now that the divorce is final…I mean hes really happy,hes making friends"
"I don't want him to feel that hes caught in the middle of our problems"
"Well you cant help it….I mean hes being shipped back and forth every two weeks….it may not affect him now but it might"Sarai said.She looked at the picture,"Don't ridicule him on it,he seems very happy about what hes done"she said to him as she hung the picture on the fridge."Im happy that hes growing,life isn't just about Mickey Mouse.Soon he will be drawing pictures of girls,getting his first girlfriend"she said as she turned to him.She realized that Isaiah was like a mini Howie.Almost a split image."I bet when hes 18….he will look just like you"
"Yeah,he will"Howie said with a small smile
"Well if he does,make sure to have him call me"Sarai said with a wink
Howie cleared his throat.Just thinking about Isaiah having a girlfriend made him feel old. What if he met a girl like Sarai?Sarai was a great person,no doubt, but the things that she was doing….made him uncomfortable.
"Daddy,its Mommy"Isaiah said as he ran back in the room and gave him the phone.
"Thanks"Howie said,"Hello?"
"Hi…..um……Mrs.Miller gave me a call today.She said that Isaiah drew an interesting picture in class today and she thinks that we should talk it over.Have you seen it?"Katarina asked him
"Yeah.Im looking at it now.Lemme fax it to you"he said as he took the picture off the fridge
"Ohmygod….leave the picture alone!"Sarai said as she followed Howie
"Hold on"Howie said to Katarina and then turned to her,"Kat is interested in seeing it.It still disturbs me and Mrs.Miller called her saying that he drew it.Its bringing more attention then
we thought"he said as he put the picture in the fax machine
"Your making this drawing seem like it was colored by the devil"Sarai said
Howie ignored her,"There it is,its sending"he said to her
"Good"Katarina said,"Is it bad?"
"It seems a little depressing to me but I will let you be the judge.Sarai likes it though"he said as he turned to her.She was standing there with her hands on her hips.She looked kinda pissed,she looked hot……..STOP IT HOWIE!
"Well,besides the picture,Mrs.Miller said that he was making great progress.He actually talked to her today,he actually explained the picture to her and she said that he was actually talking to another kid today"Katarina said,"I think that's exciting.That's really good.Im very proud of him"
"Me too"he said,"But look at the picture,would you?And tell me what you think?"he asked her
"Ok,well you know how slow this thing is,so its gonna be awhile"she said to him,"Um I will pick him up tomorrow?My 2 weeks starts tomorrow so make sure to have everything packed and ready to go"she said
Howie sighed,his life seemed normal when he had his son around.Now that he was going back to Kat,the house was gonna be empty without him,"Ok.I will"he said
"Alright,see you tomorrow"she said
"Alright"he said,"Goodbye"and hung up.Sarai snatched the picture from him and put it on the fridge.
"You better not make him feel like shit"she said to him
"Thank you Sarai,but I know how to raise my son"he said to her.
Sarai rolled her eyes and then looked at the clock.Shit,it was past 5:15.He was probably gone.She picked up the phone and called her lucky taxi driver,"Hey"she said to him
"Your too late kid"he said to her and then hung up
Sarai sighed.She turned to Howie and saw him looking through his briefcase.He looked up,"Whats wrong with you?"he asked her
"I missed my cab"
"Sarai,you don't have to take cabs.I can drive you,its free"he said to her
"Speaking of taxi cabs.You don't pay me enough"she said to him
"What?"
"When Isaiah stays with you,we have to take a cab from his school to here and that costs about $20 everyday"she said,"Over a two week period,that adds up to $200 and you only pay me $175,Im not making any profit"
Howie shrugged,"Ok I will just give you money.Its not that big of a deal.Im sorry,you should have told me sooner"he said to her,"Oh Isaiah's last day is tomorrow…..so……."he said as he gave her a 20,"That's for his last cab ride"he said with a sigh
Sarai put it in her wallet,seeing Isaiah leave was really affecting him,"Thanks"she said
"Well ok….lets get you home"he said to her
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Katarina took a look at the picture once it was finally faxed in. She didn't know what to say,but she knew that she didn't expect this.Sarai liked it,but Howie found it depressing.She kinda saw both of that though but that didn't make any sense.She had to think long and hard about this.Was the divorce affecting her baby in a bad way?Was he really not over it?Or liking it?Or getting used to it?
Then the phone rang and that shook her out of her thoughts."Hello?"she asked
"Hey Kat,how are you?"It was Phil
"Im doing fine Phil"she said,"How are you?"
"Im doing good.Just got out of the office and was thinking about you"
"Oh really?"she asked him
"Yeah and I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me?"he asked her
Kat sighed,she didn't know what to say.She and Phil have been on a friendly basis ever since the divorce ended.She just finished doing the blueprints for J-Lo's parents house and she has been working on that.This was one of the first nights off in a long time.She did feel lonely a lot without a male companion to come home too but she couldn't move too fast.No matter how much she missed male attention."Um Phil I don't know-"
"Ok Kat,I know you are divorced I was there ok?"Phil said lightly.
Katarina laughed,"I know Phil.I just think its too soon"she said.Has Howie been out with another woman yet?Was he even thinking about moving on?
"Kat its been months and Im not saying that you have to jump into bed with me.Im just asking for a simple dinner date.Just think of it as one of our lunch dates just….postponed for a few hours"he said,"But I mean if you arent comfortable then I will accept that"
Kat smiled,she was glad that he was so understanding but what was the harm in going out as friends anyway?Maybe she was overreacting a little bit."I am comfortable Phil.I just cant help but feel guilty sometimes"she said to him
"That's understandable Kat"he said to her,"But think about this…..Howie is probably trying to move on and its hard to do that feeling guilty"he said to her
Kat nodded,he was right.Howie was probably hanging out with Nick and AJ at The Heat, getting hit on by young women…..she decided not to think about that,"So what time do you wanna pick me up?"she asked him
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~