Blue Plaid

Priorities

In which Tyson realizes what's important.

I was pretty sure I’d ever been this exhausted in my entire life. Apparently my extensive workout regimen wasn’t all that useful because I was practically wheezing when I came to a stop in front of the door of the high end French bistro. Though, I supposed the fact that I was wheeling around an eighteen-month old boy in a stroller also added to the intensity of the situation.

Stella was in meetings all day with her agent and her sponsors and a bunch of other people who were very important in the world of high fashion, so I was on parental duty. Seeing as I was unemployed, it shouldn’t have been much of an issue, except that I’d failed to mention to my girlfriend that I actually had plans as well. Determined not to spend my days feeling sorry for myself, I had lined up back to back interviews throughout the day.

The trouble was that I hadn’t anticipated Stella being busy on this particular day as well, but I didn’t want to stress her out, so I was taking Cooper with me everywhere. In the end, it was actually probably a good decision. I had gotten fired from my last job because I had prioritized my son over my work and now that I’d started looking again, I realized it was important for my future potential employers to know that Cooper would always come first.

Squatting down, I unfastened Cooper from his stroller and lifted him into my chest, using my free hand to collapse the transportation vehicle before knocking on the locked front door. It cracked open about thirty seconds later and I smiled widely at the petite woman eyeing me suspiciously. “Hello, I’m here to see Trever DeMarco.”

Recognizing the name, she stepped back to pull the door open further and gestured for me to enter. I placed Cooper’s folded up stroller just inside the doorway, much to her disgust, and held my son close to my chest as I followed her through the restaurant to the kitchen. I had never been to this bistro before, but a friend of mine from Pavarotti’s knew one of the hostesses and had heard they were hiring, so he’d had his friend slip my name in as a possible candidate. Seeing as things hadn’t been panning out for me, I needed all the help I can get.

I was taken through the kitchen to a stove in the back where Trevor DeMarco was carefully setting up his pots and pans. He looked up as we approached and the petite woman scurried away before he spoke.

“Tyson, I presume?” he said coolly, his gaze shifting to Cooper. “What’s that?”

My eyebrows furrowed at him referring to my child as a thing rather than a person. “My son, Cooper.”

“Couldn’t find a babysitter?” he asked, returning his attention to the stove and moving the handle of one pan to the right just slightly.

“She couldn’t today, so I figured I’d bring him with me,” I admitted. Once I’d realized Stella was going to be gone all day, I’d begged Dani to help out, but she’d ended up apologizing profusely and saying she couldn’t because she had a major exam in her night class that she really needed to study for.

“Is this gonna be a regular occurrence?” He didn’t look up from the stove, the tone of his voice just below angry.

I didn’t think he thought I was stupid enough to bring my child to work with me, so I responded with a question, adjusting my grip around Cooper’s legs as he reached up to tug at my hair. “I’m sorry, what do you mean?”

“I mean,” he continued, turning to face me slowly. “Are you gonna go running to your kid every time he cries or are you gonna take your job seriously?”

I blinked, wondering why those two things had to be mutually exclusive. Couldn’t I be a good parent while also being a good chef? Surely I didn’t have to give up one to do the other. But perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised, because this was essentially how every interview I’d had today had gone. Maybe having a culinary career in New York City while simultaneously being a father just wasn’t in the cards for me.

Or maybe I needed to widen my options and search for jobs that didn’t solely require me in the evening. Stella and I could make it work.

Either way, I knew this particular interview was a bust, so I stretched my lips into the sweetest smile I could muster as I spoke. “On second thought, I don’t think this job is for me. Have a nice day.”

Before he could say anything else, I turned and exited the kitchen, walking swiftly past the petite woman, who was still eyeing me suspiciously, and making sure to pick up the folded up stroller before I stepped out onto the side walk again.

“Well, buddy,” I sighed, unfolding the stroller and setting Cooper back into his seat. “It looks like the job hunt continues. Hopefully your mama had a better day than me.”

“Dada!” he grinned widely, clapping his small palms together.

Despite the frustration I felt, I couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to know that no matter what, there was always someone who thought I was a hero. Turning the corners of my lips upwards into a smile, I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his forehead and whispered, “Love you too, Coop.”

We took the long way home, which included an unnecessary switch between subway lines, because I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to say to Stella. Granted, she didn’t actually know about my job interviews, but she would undoubtedly inquire about what I had been up to all day and I didn’t know how to phrase the fact that I’d somehow become an epic failure.

I had just come to terms with the fact that it was time for me to face my fears when a shrill whistle caused me to stop the pushing of Cooper’s stroller just outside the front door of our apartment building.

Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I looked to my right to see Stella exiting a shiny black chauffer driven SUV, a wide smile lighting her beautiful face. Sauntering towards me, she dropped her right eye in a wink and leaning in to press a short kiss to my lips. “Hey there, handsome.”

Before I could respond, though I would have had a hard time doing so anyway because my mouth was hanging open in shock at the entire situation, she was squatting down in front of Cooper’s stroller and reaching out to unfasten the belt which held him in place.

“Hi, Coop!” she cooed excitedly as she lifted him into her arms and stood up straight. “I missed you today.”

“Mama,” he squealed out excitedly, his small arms wrapping around her neck as he buried his face in her shoulder.

Kissing both of his cheeks and the top of his head, she turned her attention back to me just as I regained my ability to speak. Stella always made an entrance, but she was practically radiating happiness and it was dazzling. “Hey. You’re in a good mood.”

She shrugged, letting out a light laugh as we turned to enter the building and waiting for me to fold up the stroller again so it would be easier to carry. “I had a good day.”

“I’m glad,” I responded as we stepped inside the elevator and I reached out to push the button for our floor. “I wanna hear all about it.”

Perhaps her telling me about her day would cause her to forget to ask me about mine.

Grinning, she stepped off the elevator first, shifting Cooper on her hip so she could dig through her purse for her key and pushing the door open before gesturing that I should enter. Once inside, she lowered Cooper to the floor and sent him toddling towards his toys before turning her attention back to me.

I parted my lips to ask the obvious follow up question to the statement she made in the elevator, but was left speechless again when her fingers were tangled in my hair and her lips were on top of mine.

“What are you doing?” I asked between kisses as my arms automatically encircled her waist, returning the pressure despite my surprise because kissing Stella was becoming kind of a hobby of mine.

“Kissing my boyfriend,” she responded, untangling her fingers from my hair and dragging her hands down the length of my torso and around to the small of my back, her lips never leaving my skin for more than a second, the corners of her lips curving into a smile because she loved using that word. I didn’t mind it either. Not in the slightest. “Have I ever told you how f*****g sexy you look when you wear ties? You really need to wear them more often.”

My eyes shot open as I realized this was heading into dangerous territory. I tried my best to contain her, but her lips were everywhere and they felt so amazing pressed to my skin that I was having trouble forming coherent thoughts. “Stel...Stel, we can’t do this right now. Cooper will see.”

“See what?” she said softly, though she did stop kissing me, allowing me to catch my breath for a second. “That his parents are happy and affectionate and have a healthy s*x life?”

Lips parted, I tilted my head to the side as I stared at her in awe, my fingers lacing in the small of her back. “What’s gotten into you today?”

One side of her mouth lifted as well as one of her eyebrows, her gray eyes twinkling devilishly. “I know what I want to get in me tonight.”

“Stella!” I gasped, my eyes widening as she laughed loudly and took a step backwards, hoping the space would allow the tension between us to fizzle before we ended up doing something that would scar Cooper for life.

Her giggling continued as she stepped past me towards her room. Although we now shared a bed, we still kept our clothes in separate rooms, figuring we might as well make use of the extra space. Sliding my gaze to the side to make sure Cooper was still content, I followed her lead, walking towards my own bedroom to get changed, my heart beat still spiked from our interaction a few minutes before.

“Why was your day so good?” I asked, knowing she could hear me through the conjoined bathroom as I pulled off my tie. I generally hated wearing them, but I figured trying to make a good first impression wasn’t such a bad thing.

“I got some exciting news,” she replied, her voice echoing through the bathroom.

“Oh yeah?” I unbuttoned my shirt and pulled it off, hanging it carefully in the closet as not to wrinkle one of my few good articles of clothing.

I heard footsteps and turned to see Stella standing in the doorway to my side of the bathroom, dressed in gray leggings and a forest green t-shirt, her feet bare and her eyes bright. “I got an offer to walk in Paris fashion week.”

It took a moment to process what that meant as I recalled how nervous she’d been for that audition a few weeks ago and how afterwards she’d told me that she’d completely failed at it, we had wallowed together with a case of beer and unlimited showings of Anchorman. But as realization set in that this was actually happening, a wide grin stretched my lips and I took two long strides across the room to wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her into my bare chest, pressing kisses to her hair as I spoke. “That’s amazing, baby. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks,” she sighed and I could feel her smiling against my skin as he arms circled around my waist to squeeze tight before she kissed my bare chest and pulled away. Her lips parted to say something else, but she ended up laughing and I turned to see her grinning at Cooper, who was standing in the doorway with his head tilted to the side, wondering what the hell was going on.

“Hey, Coop!” I called out, waving for him to come in. “Your mama got some really exciting news today; you should come give her a big hug.”

Never needing to be told twice to be affectionate, he toddled towards Stella as fast as his little legs could carry him, running into her outstretched arms and giggling in delight when she lifted him into the air and pressed multiple kisses to his chubby cheek. Feeling my heart soar at the sight, I laughed as I turned away to unbuckle my belt and push my slacks down my legs.

“So how was your day?”

There it was; the question I had been dreading. There was a small part of me that had thought about lying, but things between Stella and I had been so good lately that I didn’t want to risk screwing it by saying something that she would just find out wasn’t true later. So I took a deep breath and spoke as I hung up my pants. “I had a couple job interviews.”

“Oh is that why you were dressed all fancy today?” she laughed and I glanced over my shoulder to see she was still holding Cooper in her arms and had sunk down on the edge of my bed. “Anything seem like it’s gonna pan out?”

“Not really,” I admitted, turning towards my dresser to dig out some sweatpants and a t-shirt. “I don’t think they appreciated that I brought my kid along.”

“Oh,” she pursed her lips thoughtfully as I pulled on the sweats and shirt and turned to face her again, my hands resting at my hips. “Well, babe, if you ever need to go to interviews and I have work, I can always take Cooper with me. It’s not a big deal. He loves it. Especially photoshoots cause there’s tons of free food and bunch of people to fuss over him.”

The corners of my lips lifted into a small smile as I stepped towards her, lowering myself onto the bed to her right and reaching out to tickle Cooper’s stomach. “I just don’t want it to be more stressful for you. Your job is important.”

“So is yours,” she assured me, shifting Cooper in her lap so his back was against her chest and she could hold him securely with one arm before reaching out to tug at the hair at the nape of my neck with her free hand. “I know you’re frustrated and I get it because you love cooking and you’re amazing at it and it’s hard to not be doing what you love, but I don’t want you to ever think that I think what I do is more important than what you do. The reason we work so well is because we’re a team, so if you ever need me, I’m here, Tyson.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, feeling a bit better. It was nice to know that Stella didn’t pity me.

“You’re welcome,” she smiled widely, brushing my hair back from my forehead with her fingers. “And don’t give up, okay? In the grand scheme of things, you really haven’t been unemployed for that long and I promise you, the perfect opportunity is gonna present itself. I don’t know when it’s gonna happen – tomorrow, or six months from now – but it will. So keep your chin up and keep trying.”

Stretching my lips into a smile, I leaned forward to give her a quick kiss, winking as I pulled away. “You’re getting good at the pep talks, St. Clare.”

“I know,” she grinned proudly, puffing out her chest and detangling her fingers from my hair to wrap both her arms around Cooper and pull him close, resting her cheek on top of his head.

Laughing, I pecked her cheek quickly and pushed myself into a standing position. “Well, I think a celebratory grilled cheese is in order, don’t you?”

“Yay!” Cooper cheered, clapping his hands together excitedly and Stella chuckled as she stood up and lowered him to the floor.

We had matching grins on our faces as we watched him toddle out of the room towards his play mat and I turned towards Stella, unable to resist kissing her one more time. I squeezed my fingers against her hips and kissed her long and hard, breathing her in and doing my best to memorize the way she felt against me and when I pulled away, her eyes fluttered open slowly and a steady smile stretched her lips.

“What was that for?” she breathed out softly.

I shrugged as I smirked and turned towards the doorway. “Just felt like kissing you.”

There weren’t many times I was able to leave Stella speechless, but I knew better than to rub it in her face, so I simply shot her a smile over my shoulder as I headed to the kitchen to begin cooking dinner.

She was right, of course. I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and juts keep trying. I had learned long ago that nothing worth having ever came easy, and that applied to all aspects of life. My relationships with Stella and Cooper were a testament to that.

I just needed to rethink my job hunting strategy, maybe widen my options and stop only applying to a certain type of restaurant. I could, perhaps, be a little less picky when it came to where I wanted to work.

The only thing I would not budge on was the fact that my family came first. I would refuse to work for anyone who would see the fact that I put my son and Stella above all else as a weakness rather than an asset.

After all, they were my priority. They were the most important people in my life and my ultimate goal was just to make sure both of them were happy. Because that’s what you do for the people you love.