I leaned in toward Rae. “I think I remember someone once flashing cop cars down on Brooker Street after throwing back way too much tequila.”
Rae’s cheeks flushed and she smiled. “Shut up, Josh. Give me my baby back.”
“He’s mine,” I said. “My excuse to cut through the crowd.”
“He’s using our son like a hostage,” Rae said to Aaron.
Aaron shrugged his shoulders. “Have a drink?”
Rae took the glass from Aaron.
“That’s the spirit,” I said. “Now don’t go flashing anyone tonight. There are cameras out there.”
I made a quick move to get out of Rae’s reach. There was nothing better - or easier - than to piss her off and leave Aaron to feel the wrath.
“You ready to go for a walk with me, little man?” I asked Toby.
“Yes,” he said in a quiet voice.
He was cool as anything. Giant blue eyes full of wonder. He clutched my shirt tightly as I moved from the back of the gallery to the front. There was a big crowd of people all walking around, drinking, talking, trying to figure out what the hell I had been trying to do for each photo and painting.
Maybe some artists had these massive stories to tell.
Not me.
The same story was told in everything I did. A story that nobody would ever be able to see. A story that only I could tell.
“Hey, Josh! Can we have a quick word?”
A guy in a suit waved as he called out the question.
“Can’t talk,” I said. “I’m with someone very important right now.”
The more people that saw me, the louder they got. But nobody dared to get too close to me as I held Toby.
I went to the opposite side of the room and stopped.
“That’s crazy, right?” I asked Toby.
“Crazy,” he said and laughed.
“Here. Look at this with me. What do you see, little man?”
“A flower,” he said and bit at his hand.
He was safe but nervous.
I understood the feeling.
“A flower,” I said. “Here. Look closer.”
Toby was right. It was a flower. A flower called a red peony. I only knew the name of the flower because Michelle told me when she saw the picture I took. Her grandmother had been a florist and the stuff she knew about flowers amazed me.
The flower was fully bloomed with the red petals wide open, showing off a bright yellow center. What you needed to do was get extra close to see that the yellow wasn’t just pollen. There were hands. Reaching out - or up - for help. And the petals were extended long wisps of hair that were perfectly straight.
It was messy and abstract. Something I worked on fast when I was drunk and alone. Sitting and standing for twenty hours straight to bring it to life the way I wanted.
“What do you see, Toby?” I asked as we were just inches from the picture.
“Flower,” he said again.
I laughed. “That’s right. Okay. Just a flower. What color?”
Toby looked at me.
“Can you say red?” I asked him.
“Red!” he yelled.
“Great job,” I said.
I turned and was face to face with a woman.
She looked really familiar. Her hair. Her eyes. They stuck out to me.
I’d seen her before.
My mind did the whole did I sleep with her thing, which was honestly old and useless.
She just stared at me.
“Red flower,” Toby announced and turned his head to look at the picture.
When he did, he slammed his head into my head.
It hurt me which meant it really hurt him.
“Ah, damn,” I said and touched his head.
But it was too late.
Toby let out a long wail and clung to my shirt even tighter.
I hurried away along the back of the gallery, trying to avoid more of the crowd.
“I got you, little man,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”
He cried his heart out as I raced to the back.
That’s where Rae and Aaron were both leaning against a table, shoulder to shoulder, each with a glass of champagne, looking at each other with lust-filled eyes. They looked ready to find a bathroom to have a little fun.
And there I was with Toby as he cried.
Rae put her glass down and went into Mom mode.
“What happened? What did you do, Josh?” she yelled at me.
“Hey, why do you have to blame him?” Aaron asked.
“Relax,” I said. “He bumped his head off mine trying to look at a painting.”
“Jesus Christ, Josh,” Rae said as she ripped Toby out of my arms.
“Let me make sure he’s okay,” I said.
Rae threw a hand to my chest. “Stop. You did enough.”
“Rae,” Aaron said.
“No,” she said. “I didn’t even want to come. There are too many people here. This isn’t for kids. And you should be on my side.”
“Your side?” Aaron asked. “Are you frigging kidding me?”
“Hey,” I snapped. “You two need to calm down. The little man is fine. I’m sorry that happened. That’s on me.”
“Whatever, Josh,” Rae said. “Okay?”
Toby was done crying already.
I gently touched his cheek and swiped away a tear. “You okay, little man?”
“Yes,” he said.
“You want to tell Mom what you said?”
“Red flower,” he said to Rae.
“Good,” she said. “We came. We saw. Now we can go home.”
“Thanks for the support,” I said.
“Screw you, Josh,” Rae snapped and made a line toward the door.
I looked back at Aaron as he stood stuck between being pissed at Rae and being pissed at me.
“Do what you have to do,” I said. “I get it.”
“She gets touchy at things like this,” Aaron said. “Touchy about everything. I just wanted to have a fucking drink with her tonight.”
“Go home and have a drink,” I said.
“Tonight is a big night for you. I’m your best friend.”
“You’re also a father, Aaron. That’s the most important job in the world.”
“What about Rae?”
“Father first. Then my best friend. Then Rae’s punching bag and sex toy.”
“Wow,” he said. “That’s how you think it is with me and her?”
“Come on, man,” I said.
“I’ll talk to you later. She’ll leave me if I don’t get out of here.”
Aaron blasted through the back door and
