“Yeah, but vampires can’t go out during the day. All a werewolf would have to do is rip the lid off your coffin, and you’d be dead,” Danny scoffed, but there was mischief in his eyes. He was teasing Finn, testing how far he could push the big bad vampire and not get busted for being rude to a guest.
And Finn was playing along, blithely ignoring my son’s sass. He sat next to us on the porch swing, careful to put a respectable distance between himself and Danny. “You make a valid point.”
“Does that mean I win?” Danny asked me.
“I think it means you and Mr. Finn are at a tie,” I told him.
“Miss Steele says there’s no such thing as a tie, that’s something new-age parents made up to keep from hurting their kids’ feelings when they lose.”
I snorted. “That sounds like something Miss Steele would say.”
“But that’s OK,” Danny said. “Because I don’t want Mr. Finn’s feelings to be hurt because he lost.”
“I’m not sure that’s the case,” Finn said.
“So Mr. Finn, do you drink blood from people or bottles?”
“A bit of both.”
“How old are you?”
“Most vampires don’t like to answer that question.”
Danny nodded. “Neither does my mom.”
“Easy,” I warned him.
Finn chuckled. “You ask a lot of questions, don’t you, Danny?”
“Mom says that’s my job. How am I supposed to learn anything about the world if I don’t ask questions?”
“I seem to recall mentioning something about being polite when learning about the world,” I muttered.
“I could be worse,” Danny noted. “Hayden McTieg shoves people off their chairs when he says hello.”
“That’s true. I should lower my standards to McTieg levels.” I snorted. “Danny, how about you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed?”
“Actually, before you go up, Danny, I have something for you,” Finn said, digging a small blue-wrapped package out of his jacket pocket. “I noticed that you really like LEGOs.”
Without hesitation, Danny popped the small blue box open and gasped. “Mom! Clutch Powers!”
Danny showed me the dark-haired mini-figure inside the box, dressed in painted-on blue jeans and a leather jacket. Clutch Powers was the main character in a LEGO adventure movie that Danny watched over and over until we could both quote the DVD from memory. But despite his numerous notes to Santa and birthday requests, I had never been able to track down a mini-figure Clutch, not even on eBay.
“This is the best present ever!” Danny exclaimed. He threw his arms around Finn’s waist. “Thank you, Mr. Finn!”
And so Danny explained to Finn why this was such an awesome present and why Clutch Powers was the greatest character created since the invention of literature. And they debated the merits of LEGOs versus the Lincoln Logs that Finn had played with when he was growing up. Finn was a little stiff at first, but he managed to approach Danny from the level my son appreciated most. He didn’t want to be talked down to or patronized or treated like an adorable brainless moppet. He just wanted you to talk and listen.
“All right, sir, it is bedtime for you,” I interrupted at last.
Danny huffed in protest. “But I wanna talk to Mr. Finn some more!”
“You’ll see him some other time.”
“OK.” He sighed. “Good night, Mr. Finn. Thank you for my present.” He held up his hand for Finn to give him a high five.
The corner of Finn’s mouth lifted as he slapped it. “Good night, Danny.”
Danny scrambled off the couch and up the stairs like a monkey.
“He likes me!” Finn exclaimed, sounding downright giddy.
“You brought him a rare LEGO. You could burn down our house, and he would still look at you all googly-eyed.”
“Don’t ruin this moment for me,” he said, shushing me.
“Just wait until you step on one of them with bare feet,” I muttered. “I don’t do that very often, by the way. Let him talk to men that I’m . . . I don’t even know what to call what we’re doing. I don’t know you. I don’t know what your intentions are. Just don’t—don’t hurt him. Don’t be nice to him because you’re trying to show me what a good guy you are. For that matter, don’t hurt me. Because if you do, I’ll have to—”
He kissed my cheek, running his hands along my hair. His nose twitched, and for a second, I worried that he smelled Wade on me. But his tone remained smooth and even as he purred, “I would expect nothing less than the no doubt very creative and terrifying threat that is about to fall from those lovely lips of yours, but it’s not necessary. I don’t want to hurt either of you. That’s the last thing on my mind. And as far as using him? I like Danny. I mean, I don’t have a lot of experience with kids, but he’s not an unpleasant little person. I can adjust. And he’s part of you, an important part of your life. How could I not want to get to know him better?”