Dear Bridget, I Want You(36)

He looked gorgeous. His sky blue sweater fit him like a glove. He wore a white collared shirt underneath it and donned a chunky watch I’d never noticed before that accentuated his massive hands.

His eyes fell to my breasts. I might’ve let a little more cleavage than normal peek out tonight.

“The birthday girl looks amazing,” he said, taking a seat next to Brendan across from me.

“Thank you.”

He looked down at Brendan, and I braced for Simon’s reaction.

“Wow, buddy…your hair. It looks…”

“Like yours,” I reluctantly admitted. “Now that he’s grown it out long enough, he’s taken it upon himself to brush the front forward to match your unique style.”

It made me a bit uncomfortable that my son had done that, but I didn’t have the heart to make him change it, because it was truly adorable.

Simon looked really amused. “I’m flattered. It looks great on you.”

Brendan smiled. “Thanks.”

Simon’s smile lingered on Brendan. Then, he grabbed a menu. “So, what’s good here?”

I pointed to a certain section. “We love the moo shu pork, and we get the poo poo platter for an appetizer because it has a little of everything if you like the fried stuff, but really anything on the menu is a sure bet. They have really good food.”

When the waitress came by, Simon ordered a beer. After I declined a drink, he looked at me like I was crazy.

“It’s your birthday. Have a drink!”

“No, I don’t drink when I drive, especially when I have him in the car.”

“I’ll drive us home. You get a drink and unwind. You only have one birthday. We’ll come get your car tomorrow.”

That sounded really tempting. “Okay, I’ll have a mai tai.”

When the waitress lit the flame in the middle of our poo poo platter, Simon joked, “Don’t get too close, Bridget, I’ve had my share of putting out fires for a while.”

I squinted my eyes at him. “Very funny…but true.”

We shared a silent moment, just staring at each other.

Our meal came, and Simon noticed Brendan struggling to use the chopsticks.

He put down his own and took Brendan’s from his grasp. “Like this.” Simon spent the next five minutes showing him how to use them properly.

My heart was definitely pitter-pattering even more than usual tonight.

At one point, Simon got up to use the restroom, and I let out a deep breath. It made me realize that having him here was actually making me a bit nervous, not in a bad way, but in the butterflies in your stomach kind of way.

Once he returned a few minutes later, a waitress came to the table with a piece of birthday cake and a candle.

Brendan looked so excited. The waitress addressed him, “Your daddy told me it was your mother’s birthday!” She placed the cake in the center of the table along with a second mai tai in front of me.

I was going to need that drink after I heard Brendan tell her, “Oh, Simon’s not my dad. My dad’s dead.”

A few seconds of awkward silence passed.

The waitress looked mortified. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed…”

My son grinned. “That’s okay. He’s my good friend and sometimes uncle.”

Simon fist-bumped Brendan. “Good answer.”

Relieved that the moment of sadness had passed, I took a long sip of my drink.

Simon watched me. “Better drink up, Mummy. Only one beer for me. I’m the designated driver so you can enjoy it. Take advantage of me.”

God, I’d like to take advantage of you tonight.

The rest of the evening turned into a really fun time. The second mai tai certainly helped with that. Simon told Brendan lots of stories about his childhood in England. In the meantime, a third mai tai magically appeared, and I knew Simon had told the waitress to just keep bringing them to me.

Brendan was in his glory having Simon’s full attention, and I was honestly in my glory, too, watching them interact. I was also completely buzzed, which seemed to drown out all of the negative thoughts normally ruining precious moments like this.

At the end of the night, the waitress brought out three fortune cookies, and we each took one.

Brendan opened his and handed me his fortune.

I read it aloud, “Land is always on the mind of a flying bird.”

“What’s yours say, Mom?”

I opened mine and read it aloud. “The Wheel of Good Fortune is finally turning in your direction. Well, that’s nice to know,” I said, taking a bite of the cookie.

Simon discreetly read his fortune, but I noticed him slipping it into his back pocket.

“Aren’t you gonna read yours, Simon?” Brendan asked.