January in Toronto was colder and crisper than anything December could dish out. Fluffy snowfall was replaced by dark brown sludge. Most of the time, there was no snow to make up for the bitter cold. That’s why when Hunter called up his friends to hang out Tuesday afternoon, they didn’t play football. They went bowling.
Hunter’s last memory of bowling was his last year of college when getting strike garnered immense respect from his peers. The familiar pressure of the ball against his palm made him smile every time he threw a strike. Or tried to throw a strike.
“Gutterball!” Kian cheered, giddy as Hunter’s shot fell into those dreaded gutters for the third time. “What happened to ‘The Strike Hunter?'”
“He grew up and began leading a multimillion dollar corporation.”
“Sure, brag to avoid embarrassment. That’s fine.” Kian smirked, leaning back into his seat with crossed arms and a smile. Connor was laughing into his hands but those telltale snorts were unmistakable.
Those two were laughing really hard considering Hunter was paying for this entire thing. The lanes, the shoe rentals. The fries they ate with their fingers after throwing unsanitized bowling balls. And with Connor joining in, soon all of Hunter’s friends were laughing at his fourth place score.
It was Audrey’s turn next and she strolled up confidently, delivering the strike Hunter was trying to make. She was just cementing her win. Hunter scowled. Sensing his bubbling jealousy, Luke walked over to his friend, giving him two firm pats on the back.
“It’s alright, I know you work too hard to keep up with bowling,” Luke whispered. But, his husband was always glued to his side and still snickered at his words. Luke’s attempt at comfort backfired and now Connor was laughing even harder at him.
“Connor,” Luke pressed, glaring at the white man. Connor caught his drift and cleared his throat.
“Luke’s right,” Aydrey tagged on as she returned to her seat. Turns out the Korean man’s whisper hadn’t been so quiet after all. “You’re usually so swamped with work that you skip most of our Saturday football games.”
“What? I went to those all the time.”
“Okay, maybe I was exaggerating,” she admitted with a sly grin, tucking a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear. “The point still stands that it’s insane that you invited us out here. And on a Thursday, nonetheless.”
“River isn’t working tonight so I don’t need to watch Melodie.”
Truthfully speaking, Hunter hasn’t needed to watch Melodie for a couple weeks. That was when River’s new manager finished training.
“Ah, Melodie. That’s your friend’s kid, right?” Damien chimed in, humming thoughtfully.
“You talk about them a lot.”
“What? No I-I mean I see them a lot, yeah. But that’s because River’s a good friend and a good dad. I just help out when I can.”
Watching Melodie twice a week had been an adjustment, but before long Hunter was looking forward to the days where they could play cars or finish a new Pocoyo episode. Now, along with memes and work, he and River shared Melodie updates.
And when River finally had his Sundays and Thursdays free again, Hunter didn’t change his schedule. Most Sundays and Thursday afternoons were spent with the Conyers family. Occasionally, he didn’t visit them and used the days to just enjoy his own company. Or, he used the off days as a chance to reconnect with his oldest friends.
And as his oldest friends, he knew they would make a huge deal at the truth, so he left it at that.
Those same friends shared weighted glances across the bowling aisle. Hunter knew they weren’t impressed and assumed a million and one things about his relationship with River.
Except, they were wrong this time. This time, there was no secret crush or relationship or feeling Hunter hadn’t acknowledged. He cared about River. Cared about him in ways that he’d never cared about anyone else before. And this relationship they had was wonderful. Hunter loved being in his life and loved being in his daughter’s life too.
That was the truth, even if his friends couldn’t understand it.
Hunter noticed that they still weren’t talking and five sets of eyes were pinned on him.
“What?”
The group shared one more silent exchange of looks.
“It’s nothing,” Luke answered, wearing that soft unreadable expression of his. “It’s just nice to see this new side of you.”
Hunter was about to ask what that meant but Kian was putting a bowling ball in his hands.
“And it’s your turn to throw this bad boy in the gutter.”
Once he’d smacked Kian upside the head, Hunter did not throw his ball in the gutter and instead earned himself eight points. Because winners never quit. Moana taught him that.
—————
It was five in the afternoon and Melodie and Hunter were hard at work making the best Sugar cookies ever. Last Sunday, while River was in the bathroom, his daughter had bombarded Hunter with a sticker-covered tablet and a determined stare.
“I want to make Daddy cookies.”
“Okay, I’ll get the ingredients-“
“No! Next time! I want it to be a surprise.”
So before picking Melodie up from school today, Hunter went shopping. He forced her to complete what little homework she had but the second the last blue space was colored in, she raced into the kitchen. She refused to waste a single moment when cookies needed to be baked.
“Now we need one egg,” Melodie told him, reading off of her tablet that rested on the kitchen island. Melodie scampered off to the fridge and returned with the egg excitedly before handing it off to Hunter. “You have to do it. Daddy doesn’t let me crack eggs.”
“What? You’ve never cracked an egg before?” Hunter asked. Melodie shook her head no, a sad little pout on her face. Hunter knew of plenty of parents who had their toddlers help with an egg or two. He was honestly surprised River didn’t do the same.
“How about this, I’ll help you crack the egg,” he told her, his smile widening when her face lit up. “It will be our little secret.”
Melodie was already agreeing to the clause of their deal, slipping between Hunter and the counter to prepare for the egg cracking. Hunter tapped the egg a couple times on the counter before raising it above the bowl.
“Okay, so grab it gently and then-“
Melodie’s hands darted out, clasping the fragile shell with small fingers and a vice-like grip. The shell shattered into a million pieces, all of them falling into the bowl of liquids below.
The two stared silently at the bowl for a moment.
“Okay, River will just have crunchy cookies.”
He and Melodie did their best to pick out the shell pieces, but they were small and abundant. After half an hour of picking, they accepted the cookies for what they were and moved on. Melodie was much better at mixing the dough, a skill which came from her above average strength.
The two pulled off chunks of dough and one by one, rolling them into little balls. Hunter enjoyed the lull of silence the simple task created. He was almost in a meditative state from making the cookie dough balls.
“Hunter?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you and Daddy kiss?”
His ball was flattened into a disk.
“Wha- where did you get that idea?”
Hunter was still sputtering. He was panicked and confused and called out completely by the little girl blinking up at him innocently. A furious blush erupted on his cheeks and he fanned at his face to get them to cool down.
“When Tiana and Naveen liked each other, they kissed,” she explained calmly. “And when Rapunzel saved Flynn, he kissed her.”
Melodie continued to roll slightly too-big cookie dough balls as if nothing had happened. She was simply stating the facts, ignorant to how her words shook the much older man.
What could he possibly say to a six year old about their relationship? Most other adults could barely understand what River and Hunter were to each other, there was no way he could make Melodie get it. And Hunter didn’t know what the protocol was on telling kids about these things! What if River wanted to tell her something different?
“Um, you have to ask your Dad about that,” was the response Hunter landed on. The perfect non-answer without pissing off his favorite single father.
“Okay,” Melodie nodded, finally ending her terrifying interrogation. “But if you guys kiss, I think that’s good.”
Hunter’s lips pulled up into another smile, fueled by this little girl’s acceptance.
“You do?”
“Yup.”
———————————
Like I said, an ANGEL
I’m not even going to ask what you think of Melodie. The only acceptable answer is that you love her ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
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Are we surprised she noticed the vibes between River and Hunter? Please put your thoughts in the comments.
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