Baby Gilinsky // Jack Gilinsky

Chapter 6

•Gilinsky•

This afternoon Jack and I had an interview with the entertainment editor of Cosmopolitan magazine about our fifth album that's being released soon.

Jack still wasn't talking to me because of what happened the other night with Emmiey.

"Uncle Jack!" We heard a voice scream as we walked through the parking lot.

Turning around, we saw Tommy running towards us, his backpack and a guitar case being dragged behind him.

"Hey, buddy!" Jack cheered as he picked him up and hugged him. "What are you doing here?"

"My guitar lesson ended early and aunt Lottie dropped me off here. But if mom asks, tell her she walked me into the building," He giggled, causing Jack to laugh.

"Don't worry. It's our little secret," He promised.

And then he noticed me.

"Oh. Hi," He said awkwardly.

"Hi," I responded.

"Are you going up to Mommy's floor?" He asked Jack as the three of us walked into the elevator.

"Nope. The entertainment editor," He told him.

"That's Ms Kelley. One floor above," He said. "She's nice and always give me candy, but yeah, don't tell mom."

"Damn, kid. It's like we gotta get a book to keep all these secrets in," Johnson laughed.

I couldn't help but stare at my son as he and Johnson made conversation. Does he really hate me that much that he won't even talk to me?

Suddenly the elevator jerked, causing us all the stumble, and then it suddenly stopped.

"Woah, what just happened?" Johnson asked.

"It's probably an evelator malfunction," Tommy said, causing me to smile a little at his mispronunciation of the word elevator.

"Well what do we do?" He asked.

"Phone mommy," My son shrugged.

"Good thinking, kid," My best friend grinned at him.

We listened as Jack spoke to Emmiey on the phone and told her about the elevator issue and then calm her down when he told her Tommy was with us.

"Mom's a little over-protective," He said to me as he mirrored my actions of leaning against the elevator wall.

"Yeah, I figured she would be," I said with a small laugh. I remember seeing how Emmiey was with her younger cousins. Always faffing over them and making sure they were okay. It doesn't surprise me that she's the same with our son.

"So uh, the elevator will be up and running again in roughly fifteen minutes," Johnson said to us as he ended the call with Emmiey.

"Great," I muttered, sliding down and sitting on the floor, Johnson and Tommy following my actions.

Then there was an awkward silence for a few moments.

"Do you know?" Tommy suddenly asked me.

"Know what?" I asked him. His grey eyes stared at me as if I were stupid. "Oh, that I'm your dad? Yeah, I know."

"Oh," He mumbled, diverting his gaze from me.

"Look, Tommy, I -" I began to say, but he cut me off.

"Why'd you leave mom, huh? Why'd you do it?" He asked, his eyes now glaring at me.

"Tommy, you don't understand. Things back then weren't -" I was protesting, but again he cut me off.