Teaching Noah | √

013

“RILEY!”

I grinned widely as I engulfed two of the most adorable boys I knew, in a bear hug, “Hey guys! I missed you!”

Simon’s kids were two of the cutest and most energetic boys I knew. Luke was 5, and Drew was 7, and they both had a striking resemblance with Simon. They had gotten his blue eyes and dark hair, though theirs were curly. I had known them since they were born, mostly because I had always been with Simon each time he got the call that his wife was in labor.

One of the things Simon loved was being a father, so while he and his ex-wife, Eleanor worked together and concluded on having joint custody of the children and he realized he would have to be away from his kids on weekdays, that had taken some kind of toll on him.

From what I knew, Eleanor hadn’t been the best of wives, and even though Simon had struggled to make things work between them for the sake of the kids, she was still bent on putting an end to the marriage. Now she had moved on with another man she possibly could be getting married to and Simon wasn’t pleased with the idea that his kids might soon be calling another man dad.

I believed that Simon could also remarry if he wanted to, though. He was still in his 40s, good-looking, and I knew for a fact that his job as a neurologist and therapist earned him more than enough to take care of himself and a whole family, if he had one. I could say he was successful.

“Riley,” Luke called, a huge smile on his face as he jumped in excitement, “Do you want to see what dad got me?”

“You know I want to,” I chuckled, turning to him before taking a seat in front of Simon.

“Okay, before you show Riley anything, I have to talk with her, okay?” Simon looked at his youngest son, a mild look on his face.

“Mhm,” Luke nodded, while Drew said, “Can we go hang out with Alyssa?”

“Yes, you can, but you can’t go beyond her office.”

“Okay!”  The boys ran out the door.

I was all too familiar with Alyssa. She was something like an assistant to Simon, helping him with everything he needed, and had been working with him a little over three years ago.

“I’ve got them for two weeks,” Simon looked at me, his eyes sparkling. “Can you believe that?”

“Two weeks? Where's Eleanor?”

“Eleanor has to be in Chicago for a conference, and of course, it's in my favor because I don't usually have them for as long as two weeks.”

I couldn’t miss the excitement in his voice. It was written all over his face, and I was happy for him, because the only time he ever got to spend with the kids was on weekends only. And I knew they enjoyed spending the weekends with him as much as he enjoyed spending it with them.

“I know you’re about to spoil those little boys to the core.”

“I’m not so sure they would agree to that, though,” Simon chuckled, “Luke throws daggers with his eyes at me when I wake him up for school, and it’s just been two days.”

I laughed, throwing my head back.

“How are you doing, Riley? I had no idea you were coming, I feel bad I don't have any juice in the refrigerator.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t inform you.”

Simon waved a hand in the air, “You don’t have to apologize for that. You know you can come at anytime. I’m always very happy to see you,” he smiled softly at me. “Are you okay?”