Chapter 25 - 24

They were bonding. He couldn't believe that his son was so smart. He could count up to 50, identify all the colors Dimitri pointed out, knew his shapes, and surprisingly memorized his address. They discussed what Enzo liked to eat, which was mostly everything, and it made Dimitri laugh when he kept on identifying different kinds of food and wouldn't stop. 

He started taking out his toys, the living room looking like a playroom, but Dimitri did not mind, he was making up for the lost time. Enzo was showing off his remote-controlled car when Aurora called them both to dinner.

As they sat at the table, Dimitri's mouth watered when he saw all the dishes Aurora had prepared. He was in for a treat because she even made dessert.

"Have this," Enzo smiles as he gives Dimitri a bowl of something that looks sweet.

"It's okay, Enzo, Uncle has his own bowl. I made one for him too," she said.

"No mama, Enzo give uncle more," he said seriously which made Aurora laugh out loud.

"When Enzo behaves in school or eats all his vegetables, he gets my share of the dessert. Since you're special to him, he wants you to have his share," she smiled at Dimitri, "I guess he really likes you enough to skip his favorite treat."

"Really? You're giving this to me?" Dimitri felt touched by the gesture. Who knew a little kid could move him this much.

"Uhm hmm…," Enzo nodded, "Uncle good," giving him a cheeky smile. It was so simple for kids to show their appreciation and it's usually by giving their favorite food or toy to the person they like.

Dimitri patted his head and served Enzo some of the vegetables his mom had prepared, telling him that growing children should eat more.

He looked up and found Aurora staring at him. This was how he imagined having a family to be like. Coming home to his wife and son, sharing a meal with them, and one day they'd be sleeping together under one roof.

Enzo filled in the silence with his stories about his day at school, and those are never boring. He was an observant kid, and he spoke of his schoolmates and what they did for the day.

For the first time in his life, Dimitri felt content and peaceful, vowing to protect his family no matter what happened.

After dinner, Enzo took Dimitri to his room to show him his other toys. He was building different kinds of structures, and he was showing Dimitri how he made them. 

Dimitri and Aurora had decided that they would tell Enzo their news after dinner, so Enzo could get used to Dimitri before they spring up the surprise. They were both nervous about what would happen, but they prayed that everything would go well.

She came into his room after she washed all the dishes. Standing by the doorway, afraid to upset the balance and the happiness that she could see between father and son right now.

"Mama look, I had uncle help make the tallest building," he said, bouncing beside his creation. 

"That looks very tall, baby. Good job! Come and sit beside mama. I want to tell you something," she said, patting the ground beside her.

"Not a baby," he said, frowning.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Okay, big boy, mama wants to tell you something important," she said as she smoothed the hair on his head. 

Enzo nodded his head to show that he was listening.

"What do you think about Uncle?" she asked.

"Cool uncle," Enzo smiled and nodded his head, "My hero!"

There was a lump in her throat. She did not want to do this right now when he just met his hero, but they can't go on and keep on pretending. He was a smart kid, he would catch on sooner or later.

"Well, what would you say if I tell you Uncle is your dada?" Dimitri held his breath, he's never been this nervous before, not even when he faced the biggest and deadliest criminals in the world. 

Enzo looked at him and started on a wailing spree, "Nooo….. Noo….. noo….," he was on the ground crying, inconsolable. She's never seen him cry this much before, was he having a tantrum?

"Baby, what happened? Didn't you say uncle was cool?" she said as she pulled him for a hug, "What is it, baby? Tell mama. Why are you mad?"

He was still crying, tears streaming down his face, but he was quiet now. "All your friends have a dada, don't you want one?" she asked. And that started him wailing again. It made her heartbreak, her little man sounded like he was in agony.

Dimitri was surprised, he did not anticipate this reaction from Enzo. He was expecting hugs and kisses and laughter. Why is his son not happy? So he sat on the ground beside them and tried to rub his back, "Enzo, it's okay. I'm…"

"Wahhhhh… bad uncle, baaaaad…," Enzo screamed as he swatted away Dimitri's hand, and hid his face in his mother's shoulders. Aurora could not do anything but console her child. She looked at Dimitri helplessly.

"Use your words baby, tell mama why you don't want cool uncle anymore?" she said as she tried to wipe away his tears. "Remember, if you don't tell mama, then I will never know."

"Dada… not... want... Enzo," he replied between sobs. She frowned, she never said anything to him. "What are you talking about, baby?"

"Dada leave mama and Enzo. Don't love us. No dada," he said, and her heart broke.

Enzo had never expressed any interest in knowing about his father so she never told him anything, not that she had any answers for him anyway, but as a child, she did not think that he would grasp that concept that he did not have a father because his father did not love them.

Dimitri's heart shattered, he had no answer for his son, he could not believe that at 4 years old he was thinking about these things. Wasn't he supposed to be all about toys and playtime at this age?

"Me no dada. Only mama and Enzo," he kept saying. 

She did not know that he was keeping so much pain in his heart. Tears were streaming down her face, how could she have neglected the fact that he was aching for his father? How could she have thought that everything was fine just because he wasn't asking any questions?

No wonder all his drawings were only of them together. She never broached the subject because she had no answers for him. 

How could she know that Dimitri was looking for her all those years? That they could have been a complete family if they found each other sooner.

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