Slow Dancing in the Darkness

“Mama” Noah’s little voice chirped as he sped up the hall, his backpack bouncing against his little shoulders. Gabriela, who stood in the door way, smiled and crouched down, greeting him with a tight hug. “Did you have fun with papi?” she questioned gently as she pulled away, her blue eyes scanning his face. It had only been a couple of days, but still she had missed the little boy when he hadn’t been around and she was glad that he was back. The apartment had seemed a little quiet without him for company.

Noah nodded his head. “We went to the zoo, mama” he grinned “I got a new toy too” he added, pulling the stuffed lion out of his bag and showing it off to Gabriela. The brunette admired it for a second before she noticed Elliot who stood a little away from them, his eyes peeking down at his ex-wife bearing an expression she knew all too well. Shaking her head, she pressed a kiss to Noah’s head and ushered him inside before she stepped towards her former husband.

“What is it, Elliot?” she muttered.

“Why must there be something wrong, Ela?” he posed.

Gabriela rolled her eyes. “I know that look, Elliot. It’s your ‘something’s come up’ look, so what is it?” she posed, folding her arms over her chest.

“I can’t take Noah next weekend” Elliot noted.

Gabriela rolled her eyes. It was not the first that Elliot had cancelled on a weekend with Noah and she highly doubted that it would be the last. “Of course you can’t” she mumbled “Why this time?” she added, offering him an unimpressed look.

“Ela…”

“I don’t want your excuses, Eli, I have had my fill of those for life. So, what is so massively important that you can’t have Noah next weekend?” she muttered, ensuring that the little boy wasn’t in ear-shot. The last thing he needed to see was his mother and father fighting again.

“I have to work” Elliot sighed “We’re trying to secure a merger and I can’t get out of it, Ela. I’m sorry” he apologized gently.

Gabriela merely shook her head. “It’s not me you have to apologize to, Eli. Noah adores you, he idolizes you, and time and time again, you let him down. I don’t care what you do with your time, but it bothers me that you can’t seem to keep two days a week free to see our son” she murmured gently.

“It’s not my fault, Ela” Elliot protested “I have to work”

Gabriela shook her head. “You always have to work” she muttered, taking a couple of paces away from him “And that sums you up. Your job, it’s the most important thing in the world to you and because of it, you’re going to miss out on a lot more of his life” she added before she turned into the apartment, moving to close the door. Elliot, however, was a step ahead, wedging his foot between the door and its frame.

“Ela, I am trying” he protested.

“Not hard enough, Elliot” Gabriela replied “You put off spending time with him at a moment’s notice. You’ve moved us all over the country, never allowing him to get settled anywhere. You’re fickle, Eli, you always have been, and it’s only a matter of time before Noah sees it too. You’ve never put him first, and eventually, that’s going to bite you on the arse” she snapped before she kicked his foot out of the way, closing the door with a pronounced thump.

Elliot stared at the door for a second before he shook his head, padding back towards the elevator. He knew it wasn’t enough, he’d never really been cut out to be a father, but he had to keep trying. Noah was the only connection he had to Gabriela and was the way to win her back around again.

~#~
“Are you hungry, Noah?” Gabriela posed as she stepped into the little boy’s room, offering him a small smile. It had been a couple of hours, after her confrontation with Elliot, she had wanted to calm down a little, but she couldn’t help but smile at the little boy. He had a habit of making up for his father’s mistakes with something as simple as his little boyish smile.

Noah, who had been playing with his toys, nodded. “Can we have pasta, mama?” he posed gently.

“If that’s what you want” Gabriela replied “What did you eat when you were with papi?” she posed, sitting down beside him.

“Nana cooked” Noah replied “Papi was busy” he added.

Gabriela sighed gently and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Why don’t you bring some of your toys out to the living room? You could play out there for a while or we could watch a film after dinner” she suggested.

“OK” Noah smiled, gathering his toys in his arms and padding out of the room.

Gabriela gathered herself to her feet and followed him, watching as he placed his toys down. She didn’t understand it, why Elliot seemed to reluctant to put their son first, but she had little doubt that it was merely something Noah was going to have to get used to. Elliot was famously unreliable and would only get more so. Sparing Noah another look, she padded into the kitchen and moved to find a pan, only to pause for a second as a tap echoed at the door. Shaking her head a little, she wordlessly hoped that it wasn’t Elliot, before she pulled the door open, her blue eyes widening a little at the sight of the vase which sat ahead of her. Crouching down, she ran her finger over the single red rose which sat in the vase, before she spotted a familiar scrawled handwriting on the note which had been placed purposefully beneath the foot of the glass.

Shifting the vase, she lifted the note and shook her head. “You could just knock” she commented loud enough that her voice reached the closed door on the other side of the hall. Smiling, she unfolded the paper, reading the short and sweet message which was inside. ‘Hope you don’t miss me too much’ it read, making her laugh ‘Second/third date will be as good as the first’ it concluded. Smiling, she stowed the note in her pocket and walked back inside, a little amazed that he had managed to brighten her whole day.