I'll Be Waiting up Counting the Stars

I pulled up to the daycare building nervously. I could probably go to jail for this, even if Tina gave me the okay. I was picking Jack up from daycare to try to show Janie that I could do this. I could be a good role model for this kid, and even if she wouldn't take me back, I was doing a good thing for him.

I thought about just staying out of her life, but I couldn't. After a few days I quickly learned life didn't mean as much without someone special.

I opened my door and walked into the building and up to the front desk.

"Hi, can I help you, sir?" The woman asked. She could tell I definitely didn't belong here.

"Um, Tina Brown called you. She's sick so I'm here to pick up Jack Carter."

"Oh, I'll just call Miss Carter to confirm it with her." She chirped as she picked up the phone.

"No, no you don't have to do that. Jack knows me." I assured her.

"Okay, just let me get him." She said before picking up the phone and telling someone that Jack's ride was here. I started getting nervous, knowing he probably wouldn't want to go with me.

I stared at my shoes until I heard some little footsteps make their way to me. I looked up and saw the boy I'd only seen once before staring up at me in awe.

"Austin?" He asked.

"Jack, do you know him?" The desk lady asked.

"Yes, Karen. He's mama's friend." He answered.

"Well, now looking I can tell you obviously do know him. It looks like you've taken the little guy shopping." She laughed as she went back to doing something on the computer.

I was confused at first, but then I looked at his outfit and my own, which were creepily similar. He was wearing a green plaid shirt with a jean jacket, whereas I was wearing a red plaid shirt with a jean jacket.

"Hey buddy, I was thinking we could go get some grub, what do you say?" I asked as we walked out to my car.

"That sounds good. I want to talk to you." He said.

We were about to cross the parking lot when he held out his hand. I looked at it for a second, wondering what he wanted.

"Mama says I have to hold hands with an adult before crossing." He said, shaking his hand.

"Oh, right." I nodded, taking his tiny hand in mine and walking to my car.

"Do you have my car seat?" He asked as we approached my vehicle.

"Ah, shit. Sorry man, I totally forgot. You'll be good in the backseat, I promise." I told him as I got the door for him and buckled him in.

"Austin, you made mama cry. That wasn't very nice." He scolded me from the back.

"I know, Jack, I'm sorry. I love your mama. I didn't want to make her cry." I apologized, gripping the wheel a little tighter as I pulled out onto the street.

"If you love her you should tell her all the time. Mama tells me she loves me all the time." He said.

"She's not really speaking to me right now, bud." I gulped.

"If you say sorry really nice she'll forgive you. She always does." He suggested.

"I will, but listen, I don't want you to tell her that I picked you up today, can you do that?" I asked, looking back at him in the rear view mirror.

"You don't have to talk to me like I'm stupid. I can keep a secret." He quipped.

"Sorry little man. Do you like pizza?" I asked as I pulled into an italian restaurant.

"I like the chicken parmesean here." He sighed as he unbuckled himself and got out of the car.

"You're pretty cool, you know that?" I asked with a chuckle as I put my arm around him and walked through the parking lot.

"I've been told." He shrugged.

Damn, I wish I was that cool when I was a kid.

As we sat down at a table and ordered our food, Jack was staring at me the whole time.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Are you mama's boyfriend?" He asked, interrogation style. The kid looked like a little mobster sitting there. Minus the crayons and coloring page.

"Um, well Jack I don't think she wants to be my girlfriend right now, so no." I answered. I can't believe a three year old is making me this nervous.

"Rats. She's never had a boyfriend before." He sighed.

Obviously she has if she had him, but she probably hasn't had one for a long time if he doesn't remember. Maybe the last guy she dated was his dad.

"Hopefully we'll be together someday. I really love her, and I want to be with you too. Your mom loves you a whole lot, kid." I said.

He looked up at me with a big grin. "Mama's the best. She works to buy me toys and food. She never yells at me and she always lets me buy a candy bar when we go to the store. She hangs up all my pictures on the fridge and she helps me draw things when I can't, but she's not very good."

"That's kinda mean." I laughed.

"She knows it's true." He shrugged.

"What else do you guys do together?" I asked as I took a sip of my coke.

"Well, on Fridays we go out to eat and sometimes we bake cookies for dessert. We see lots of movies too. We saw Zookeeper and she loved the lion, but I liked the monkey. We go swimming a lot because mama loves to swim, but I can't so I use floaties and stay in the shallow end. Uhh, we went to the big zoo once, but all the animals in captivity looked sad, so we left. Sometimes we go to the airport to watch planes take off. I've never been on a plane before but I really wanna go on one before I die." He finished. God, this was so fucking adorable that it was impossible not to fall in love with him.

"I think you've got some time before that happens." I chuckled.

"You never know. I could die as I walk out the door." He shrugged. "Now, why do you smoke?" He asked.

"What?"

"Smoking is very bad for you. When guys who smoke get old, they die sooner than the other ones." He lectured.

"Well, those years on the end of your life suck anyway." I remarked.

"I like you." He stated as he narrowed his eyes at me.

"I like you too." I smiled genuinely. Something about this kid just... made me happy, I guess.

"I want you to date mama." He said, as if he was reading the verdict at a trial.

"Deal. Will you help me get her back?" I asked, stretching my arm across the table to shake hands with him.

"Ab-so-lutely." He replied, grabbing my hand.

I explained to him that we'd get to know each other more, and we would hang out a few more times before telling Janie. I didn't want her to react badly, and I didn't want her to keep me from Jack at this point either. He wasn't just your average three year old. He was awesome.

We ate dinner and talked about a lot of weird things. He mostly asked me questions about history and the world that made me feel dumb. If he knows this much at three, then maybe America is getting smarter.

He ordered off the regular menu instead of the kids menu, and ate almost the entire plate of chicken parmesean. How could I kid that size consume so much? It was insane. I paid and left the tip before I took him back home. I had to remember to buy a car seat. Tina was waiting when I got there to babysit Jack until Janie came home. I gave him a hug goodbye and left, feeling strangely empty afterward.

Janie

"Mama!" I heard as I walked in the door.

"Hey honey, how was your day?" I asked before bending down to pick him up.

"The best day ever." He replied with a huge grin.

"You smell like garlic." I laughed before paying Tina and saying goodbye to her.

"I had pasta for dinner." He told me excitedly.

"Mmm that sounds yummy." I said before setting him down and walking over to the fridge to find some leftovers. I still was rarely in the mood to cook since everything with Austin happened.

"It was really good. Did you know that you can go see the Liberty Bell? Can we please go?" He asked.

"That's a pretty long trip, sweetheart. Maybe we'll go this winter."

"Okay. You're the best, mama." He said before hugging my legs.

"What's up with you? Why are you in such a good mood?" I asked with a laugh as I popped some pot roast in the microwave.

"I made a new friend today."