One Night, Long Ago by Raven Flanagan

Author:Raven Flanagan [Flanagan, Raven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-30T16:00:00+00:00

“He really drew all over himself in black permanent marker?” Even as I asked, Ronia dramatically nodded her head, finishing her drink. That made me laugh so much harder.

“He sure did! I locked up all the art supplies after that! That’s not even including the crayon art he graced his bedroom walls with,” Ronia snorted as she told me about some of Trevor’s shenanigans. “He wasn’t happy when I made him clean the walls himself, but he hasn’t marked up his room since.”

I shut my eyes, leaning back in the booth as another wave of laughter rushed out of my mouth. Seeing her so open and unafraid to be herself around me helped me be myself around her in return. Every time I looked at her, intense fireworks went off in my brain and electricity sparked across my skin every time her light touch brushed against me. We brushed our thighs together under the table, pressed close despite the booth’s size.

It wasn’t the liquor in my system lighting me up like a bonfire. It was her presence. No one ever made me feel this way in my entire life. The feeling compelled me to keep her around. My heart thrummed in my chest at her proximity, and I believed my heart beat for Ronia.

“I want to say I can’t believe it, but I actually can,” I chuckled. “Am I allowed to say I’m proud of how much of a knucklehead my son is?”

Ronia laughed before finishing her drink. “Yeah, you sure can. I can’t believe I carried him for nine months and he came out looking like his dad. Acting like him too, from what you’ve told me!”

Ronia and I spent the entirety of dinner sharing stories about our childhoods and realizing Trevor was a little stinker. The same as me. It made my heart grow two sizes. Hearing that Ronia accept me as his father gave me untold joy. Everything she did revealed how much she warmed up to me. I looked forward to more of that. More of her and more time with Trevor.

“Well, I’m sorry my good genes took over.” I smugly smiled, wagging my eyebrows at her in a manner that made Ronia laugh.

“You should have seen him as a newborn. In that first year, he looked like he could wind up looking like me. As he got older, your looks took over.”

“I wish I’d been there. His whole life I should have been there.” Regret and shame washed over me again. “I don’t want to be anything like my father. He wasn’t in my life, and I’ve missed almost five years with Trevor. I don’t even know what day his birthday is.” A sudden wave of unease hit me like a bag of bricks. Ronia’s warm fingers rubbing the back of my hand eased the tension in my chest.

“Charles,” she said before leaning into my shoulder, “just the way you speak and the little you’ve told me; I can tell you’re nothing like him. That you care so much, and you’ve only known about Trevor for a few weeks, means a lot.

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