Infinite

About two and and half weeks after Arch started at Nicolas, there was a parent's lunch on a Wednesday. I had a meeting around noon, but I decided that it was important for us to go, at least for a little while, so that we both could fit in a little better and so that Arch would realize that the two of us were a united front.

Arch complained as we got ready around ten am. I'd dragged him out of bed just a half an hour before and stuck him in the tub to wash up since he'd evaded bath time the night before. "Atticus, I don't want to go," he complained as I pushed him out of the bathtub and back towards his room, "You're not even my mom."

I frowned and lightly shoved him through the doorway into his room. "Arch, you're as much my family as anyone else," I stated, closing his door, "and we're going to have lunch and get to know some of the other people there. You haven't even tried to make friends."

He stood in the middle of the room in just a towel as I went to his closet and opened one of the doors. Uniform pieces hung on hangers and I began flipping through them, trying to find the right bits to pair together.

"Your new bed should arrive soon," I told him changing the subject, "I ordered it forever ago, so it should get here within the next few days."

He watched me toss clothes onto the over-sized bed. After another moment, he whined again, asking me just to go to work instead of with him to the lunch.

I glared at him as I turned around to sort through his outfit. "If Ronnie was here, you'd want him to come," I replied, deciding to take another approach, "Just because I'm not a musician doesn't mean I don't have a cool job, too."

Arch rolled his eyes at me. "I just don't want to go," he said, putting on the underwear that I handed to him.

He finished getting dressed and I wandered over to my room to find something to wear for myself. In the last couple weeks I'd learned that the mothers of children who attended Nicolas had a dress code all of their own. I'd yet to see a woman in a pair of jeans or running shoes. Even when they were just picking up their children from daycare, they were dressed to the nines.

"Arch, come here for a minute!" I shouted through the closed door.

He walked in looking more glum than I'd seen him in awhile. He stood just in front of the door and crossed his arms over his blazer.

"Which one do you like better?" I asked, holding two dresses up over the pajamas I was wearing. One was white with short sleeves and fell just above the knee. On both sides there was a black, blocky stripe that went from top to bottom, continuing up around the sleeves to the neckline, and around the waist was a built in red and black belt that tucked under a strip of white and came out on the other side.

The other dress was simpler, light gray, a dipping neckline, and flowy with thin straps. The only thing similar about them was the length but Arch took one look at them and pointed at the white one before turning around and walking out of the room.

"Good," I called after him, "Now we'll both look sophisticated."

Arch wore black slacks that looked more like skinny jeans than the school had anticipated, a light blue Oxford, a blue and white candy-cane tie, and his school blazer over that had the school's coat of arms stitched right on the front.

I grabbed my favorite pair of black heels that I'd been wearing a lot more lately and went downstairs to make sure Arch wasn't anywhere near the kitchen.

Like usual, he was sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Do you want to call Ronnie before we leave?" I asked, slipping my shoes onto my feet at the bottom of the stairs, "You were asleep when he called last night."

"No, that's okay," Arch replied. He turned off the TV and got up to grab the shoes that he left in the middle of the room the night before.

We headed down the the school a little after eleven. It was about quarter to noon when we joined a row of cars heading into the parking lot. He sat in his booster seat and stared at the building we parked in front of. I turned the Escalade off and turned in my seat to get a better look at him.

Frowning, I asked, "What's wrong?"

He shrugged and looked at me with his big blue eyes. He'd grown up a lot in the last year and barely reminded me of the little boy who used to sleep in my lap at La Petite daycare. He no longer seemed like a child, which terrified me since he was only five months away from turning six.

His eyes were the only things that had stayed the same about him. Despite his grown up attitude, you could see everything in his eyes.

I sighed and moved my hair away from my face. "Arch, baby, if you really don't want to go to this today then we don't have to," I allowed, wishing there was a way to keep him innocent forever, "but if we go in, I think you'll realize it's not so bad."

"They'll think you're my mom," he replied, unable to look me in the eyes when he mumbled the words. He kicked his feet against the back of my chair without realizing he was doing it.

Everyone seemed to think that Arch was my child and explaining our story to them was complicated and long, so a lot times I just let them believe what they would. Chances were, they weren't going to be a permanent part in our lives anyway.

"I know that it's hard, sweetheart," I said softly, reaching back to put my hand on his knee, "When people see us together, they're just going to assume that and if you want, we can tell them that I'm not or we can just let them believe what they will."

Arch looked pained for a split second and that expression broke my heart. I took a deep breath and looked away from him for just a moment so I could regain my composure. Finally he nodded and said, "It's okay," and I assumed, then, that he wanted to pretend that I was his just as much as I wanted him to be mine.

I grinned and patted his knee because I wasn't sure what else to do. "Then we should head inside," I said, glancing at the building, "They want us all to check in before we go to the cafeteria."

He frowned and slid out of his seat, having undone his own seatbelt. "Are they gonna make us wear name tags?" he questioned curiously, waiting patiently for me to open the back door for him.

"I'm not sure," I replied, pulling him out of the car so that he wouldn't have to jump. "I guess we'll find out."

There were a lot of families pooling into the building and the parking lot was full of cars searching for somewhere to park. Each family looked picturesque and Arch and I fit in well among the rest.

I'd learned that a lot of children from high profile families attended Nicolas, although none of them would be recognizable if you mentioned them in conversation. It was mostly government official's kids and regular people who just happened to have a lot of money. It was one of the best private daycare/elementary schools in the area and one of the only ones that wasn't faith-based.

A different receptionist was at the main desk today, so I assumed Ms. Caty was off doing something more important than directing people to the 'cafe' in the middle of the building.

"Welcome, everyone!" Mrs. Gillian was greeting from a little stage in the cafeteria as we followed another group of families up the stairs into the eatery, "Thank you so much for coming to the annual Nicolas Play School family luncheon. We believe that Nicolas is more than just a place for your children to learn and grow, it's a community of people who believe in giving their children the best opportunities in life.

"On the table in the back of the room are name tags if you would like one," she explained, "The lunch will be ready soon so feel free to get to know one another. We have quite a few new faces at Nicolas this year, so be sure to seek them out and welcome them to our school. The upstairs hallways are full of artwork that your children have done so go ahead and check that out. . ."

I looked down at Arch and he looked back up at me with a skeptical expression. We weren't used to this type of get together. When Mrs. Gillian stopped talking and left the stage, the families began dispersing, some letting their kids lead them to the hall to show off their projects. The two of us moved to the closest unoccupied table and sat down, unsure of where to start the 'mingling'.

"This is nice," I said to Arch as he leaned his face onto his hand, "You should show me what you've done later," I suggested, glancing through the huge wall of windows into the hall where hoards of parents were proudly searching for their children's names.

Arch nodded, staring off towards the stage. I followed suit and watched some of the families around the room. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed a woman veering for us, holding a toddler in one arm and an older, familiar boy in the other. A man followed behind her with a little girl on his hip.

I stood up to greet the family. Arch turned in his seat and watched with his chain on his palm. "Jadeen, it's so good to see you again," I said pleasantly, easily remembering the woman's name, "This must be your entire crew." I motioned to the two squirming boys and father/daughter duo accompanying her.

She chuckled and nodded. "I'm glad you're here, Atticus, I was hoping that I'd get another chance to talk to you," she admitted, smiling softly at her husband as he walked up to her side, "This is my husband Anderson and our youngest, Iker."

I shook hands with the man and offered a polite smile. "It's nice to meet you," I stated, sparing a glance at the baby in Jadeen's arms, "You two have a beautiful family."

The large Arroyo family managed to squeeze around our table and I introduced Anderson to Arch, who hardly noticed them. I forced him to sit on his butt instead of his knees and turn around to face the table. Both the adults seemed interested in Arch and I as a family.

"I'm really glad that we ran into you two again today," Jadeen announced genuinely, "It's hard to find a family that we really connect with at Nicolas. A lot of people pretty much keep to themselves, or rather they've known each other outside of Nicolas, so they stick together."

I glanced around the room as most people piled back into the cafeteria following an announcment for everyone to find a seat for lunch. "It seems like there are plenty of options," I responded, "One of the reasons I wanted to come today was to get to know other parents here. With Ronnie on the road, it's nice to have others who are in the loop around here."

Jadeen shifted the baby on her lap. "Ronnie?" she repeated, picking up on the fact that I mentioned someone who wasn't here.

"My boyfriend. He's a musician," I explained, knowing it was unusual, "His band left on tour a couple weeks ago, so now it's just Arch and I here at home."

"Wow, that's cool." She and Anderson looked honestly surprised as they glanced at each other. "How did you meet a musican?" Jadeen questioned, playfully grinning at her husband.

"I grew up in that world," I replied with a shrug, "I was bound to find one who caught my eye. It just happened to be the most frustrating and amazing man on the planet."

Arch paid attention during the conversation about Ronnie. They were best friends and any time someone had something to say about the older man, Arch wanted to be privvy to the conversation. The little boy perked up and rested his elbows on the table, catching the attention of the Arroyo children as he spoke up.

"Ronnie's a singer," Arch explained to the other family, looking proud of the man, "He's awesome." He finally showed them an expression other than disinterest and they smiled back, noting his excitement.

"I would love to hear him sing sometime," Jadeen said to the little boy, "If his band is on tour then he has to be something worth noticing."

I chuckled and nodded. "They're good," I replied, "but it's hard not to notice Ronnie. He definitely catches the attention of everyone around him. That and his voice is what has gotten him this far."

Arch nodded animatedly and continuously. "He's amazing." His eyes were wide as he kept nodding, staring across the table at the Arroyos.

Neither of the adults asked if Ronnie was Arch's father. I'm guessing they assumed that he wasn't by the way I introduced him. Arch rambled a bit more around the singer before Mrs. Gillian walked out onto the small stage again and announced that lunch was ready. I pushed Arch down into his chair and made him sit on his butt again as they brought food to each of our tables.

Silvi sat next to her father and Camillo next to his mom. They were the most well behaved kids that I'd seen in a long time, but when the food was brought out Silvi playfully threw a carrot at her little brother, who was barely three. He picked it off the table and was about to throw it back when Anderson yanked it from his fingers and gave his daughter a look.

"Sorry, Papi," she murmured, trying to keep a little grin off her face as Jadeen told Camillo not to copy what his big sister did.

Arch turned and looked at me with his cheeks stuffed with salad. Despite being a vegetarian before ending up in mine and Ronnie's care, and hating it, he would still chow down on the stuff - so long as he got to eat meat too. I leaned down and kissed his forehead before eating my own first course.

When I glanced back across the table at the family, Jadeen was smiling at me. I raised my eyebrows at her and looked skeptical. She shook her head and turned her smile down to her younger son who was sitting on her lap.

I peered back at Arch. He'd seemed to forget about his worries from earlier in the day and I couldn't be more relieved. He was incredibly sensitive to things like this, but he always trusted us that everything would be okay. And I took it on my shoulders to make sure that it always was.