Haunted(42)

“Why not?” I asked as I threw my keys and my wallet onto the table behind the door in the foyer.

Beth had thought of everything, and she didn’t like anything being out of place. So there was a crystal bowl for me to throw my stuff in. She had become tired of seeing them on the kitchen counter. She actually had a charging station on the table too. So I took my phone out of my back pocket and plugged it into the charger. It wasn’t that difficult to be organized when my wife demanded it. I thought it was kind of cute, plus I always knew where my wallet and keys were. It made her happy and it made me happy.

“Because Mama has you a surprise in the living room,” Joey spoke out.

“Joey! Don’t say anything else. Don’t ruin the surprise for Roman.”

“Okay,” he yelled back to his mom and then he turned to me.

“Mama looked for your surprise all day long. She took forever. But on the bright side, she bought me a new Nintendo DS. After unpacking, we couldn’t find mine.”

I had never told Beth about Andrew stealing Joey’s gaming system.

“Well, aren’t you lucky little man,” I said as I scuffed up his hair.

“You want to see it? I’ll run upstairs and get it.”

“Sure.”

He started to run up the stairs, but Beth yelled, “Don’t run up the stairs, Joey. You could fall!”

I smiled.

I walked into the kitchen and saw Beth making spaghetti, one of my favorites. I came up behind her and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

“What can I do to help?” I asked as I washed my hands in the kitchen sink.

“Can you set the kitchen table for me?”

I grabbed three plates from the cabinet. Beth was actually wearing makeup today. She looked pretty. Well, she always looked pretty, but she looked “made up pretty,” a different pretty and a sexy pretty that started putting a lot of dirty thoughts into my mind. Joey walked in with his DS. The dirty thoughts disappeared.

As we were sitting down at the kitchen table to eat our spaghetti, I asked Beth a question. “Beth, Joey told me you guys were shopping all day.”

“I had a couple of things I needed to do today.”

“Like what?”

“I’ll tell ya later.” She smiled.

“Please tell me that you took the bodyguards.”

“Yes, I took two of the bodyguards.”

Relief welled up in me. I was worried that she hadn’t taken them. I knew that the bodyguards were getting old to her, but she hardly complained, probably because she stayed at home most of the time. The bodyguards were usually perched outside on the porch keeping watch.

“I think people thought we were famous or something because people kept looking at us,” Joey said. “It was kinda cool. One girl asked me if I was famous. I’d told her my second dad was Roman Reed.”

Oh my God, Joey called me his dad! I had a huge lump in my throat and fought with myself not to let out a tear like a chick. It reminded me of what it felt like when Beth told me she loved me for the first time. Joey was telling me he thought of me like his dad or at least one of his dads. I looked at Beth to see her reaction.

“Joey, technically Roman is your stepdad, not your second dad. Just like if your dad marries Tara, she will be your stepmom.”

“I want people to know he is my stepdad, but calling him stepdad doesn’t sound right.”

“Okay, since you already call your dad Dad, why don’t you think of something that you can call Roman if you want to call him something special. It’s your choice.”

Joey looked at me while scrunching up his forehead as though he was thinking.

“I could call him Robodad, get it like Robocop?”

I laughed. It was cute.

***

After we finished cleaning the kitchen, Beth sent Joey upstairs to play.

“Are you ready for your surprise?” she asked me as she put her arms around my neck. My hands went behind her back and pulled her closer to me.

“Does my surprise have anything to do with us going upstairs ourselves?” I growled in her ear.

“Maybe later, but for now your surprise is in the living room.”

She turned off the kitchen lights and walked me into the living room. All the lights were off and the only illumination came from the stars and the moon outside the windows since Beth had the drapes pulled back. Our view out these windows was even more alluring at night. She directed my steps and then turned on a lamp.

A black baby grand piano sat in the living room. I was floored.

“How did you know I always wanted one?”

“It was a hunch. I think anyone who can play the piano or keyboard would want one. They are so beautiful aren’t they?” She looked at it in wonder, as though it was a breathtaking portrait.

I loved the piano and I had always wanted one. It looked perfect in our living room. That was one of the pros of having a huge living area. The piano sat in one corner of the room. I could teach Joey how to play. I knew Beth would love that and autistic kids were known to be able to pick up complex patterns. Maybe Joey could become a concert pianist.

“Roman?”

“Huh?”

“Where did you go?”

“I was just thinking.” I smiled at her. “It makes the living room look complete, doesn’t it?”