” “Everything here looks expensive,” Eli pointed out, but he wandered off toward the living room anyway, his footsteps echoing on the marble. Vivian watched him go, and when she turned back to Adrian, her eyes were glassy. “He looks like you.” “Yeah, poor kid got my ears.” “I didn’t mean it like that.” She crossed her arms, and for a moment, she looked fragile.
“He’s beautiful.” Adrian didn’t know what to say to that, so he just nodded. They sat together in the living room while Eli explored, keeping one eye on him as he examined the bookshelves, the art, the strange sculptures Vivian had scattered around the room. At one point, Eli stopped in front of a large abstract painting and tilted his head.
“What’s this supposed to be?” he asked. Vivian walked over and stood beside him. “I’m not sure. What do you think it is?” Eli squinted at it. “A tornado, or maybe spaghetti.” Vivian laughed, a real, unguarded laugh that filled the room. “You know what? I think you’re right. It does look like spaghetti.” Adrian watched them standing there together, this billionaire in her immaculate home and his 7-year-old son in his frayed sneakers, and something in his chest loosened.
Later, after Eli had fallen asleep on Vivian’s couch, curled up with his triceratops tucked under his chin, Adrian and Vivian sat on the patio overlooking the backyard. The pool glowed faintly in the dark, its surface smooth and undisturbed. “He’s a good kid,” Vivian said. “He is. He’s been through a lot, but he’s tough.” “He’s lucky to have you.
” Adrian shook his head. “I’m the lucky one.” Vivian looked at him, and her expression was serious. “If we do this, if we really do this, I need to know you’re not just doing it because you feel sorry for me.” “I don’t feel sorry for you.” “Then why are you still here?” Adrian leaned back in his chair and stared up at the sky.
The city lights drowned out most of the stars, but a few stubborn ones still flickered through. “Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe because I get it. What it’s like to lose everything and keep going anyway. Or maybe because this is the first time in 3 years I’ve thought about something other than just surviving.” “And what are you thinking about now?” “What it would mean to say yes, to bring another person into the mess I’m already living.
” Vivian was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “It doesn’t have to be a mess.” “Everything’s a mess, Vivian. You just get better at hiding it.” She smiled faintly. “Fair point.” They sat in silence for a while, the weight of the decision hanging between them. Finally, Vivian spoke again. “I know this is asking a lot, and I know it’s not fair to put this on you, but I need you to know I’m not looking for someone to fix me.
I’m not looking for a husband or a partner or anything like that. I just want to be a mother again, and I want my child to have a father who will love them.” “And you think I can do that?” “I know you can.” Adrian looked over at her, and for the first time, he saw past the armor she wore. He saw the grief, the loneliness, the hope she was trying not to let herself feel, and he saw someone who was just as terrified as he was.
“I’ll think about it,” he said finally. “That’s all I’m asking.” He carried Eli out to the van a little while later, buckling him into the backseat while the boy mumbled sleepily about spaghetti tornadoes. Vivian stood in the doorway, watching them leave, and Adrian caught her gaze in the rearview mirror as he pulled away.
He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he knew he wasn’t ready to walk away yet. Over the next few weeks, the visits became routine. Adrian would stop by two or three times a week, sometimes with Eli, sometimes alone. They talked about everything and nothing, childhood memories, worst jobs, favorite foods, the things that kept them up at night.
Vivian told him about building her company from the ground up, the deals that had made her fortune, the enemies she’d made along the way. Adrian told her about the first appliance he’d ever fixed, the time he’d accidentally electrocuted himself, the customer who’d paid him in homemade tamales because she didn’t have cash.
The more time they spent together, the more the strangeness of the arrangement faded. It stopped feeling like a negotiation and started feeling like something else, something closer to friendship. But the question still loomed. One night, Vivian brought it up directly. “I don’t want to pressure you,” she said.
“But I need to know if this is something you’re seriously considering or if you’re just humoring me.” Adrian had been expecting this. He set down his glass and met her eyes. “I’m considering it.” “I wouldn’t keep coming here if I wasn’t. But but I need to know what happens if it doesn’t work.
If we try and nothing happens or if something goes wrong, I need to know you’re not going to fall apart.” Vivian frowned. “I’m not that fragile.” “I didn’t say you were. But I’ve seen what hope does to people when it doesn’t pan out. I’ve lived it. And I need to know you can handle that.” She looked away, her jaw tight. “I’ve handled worse.
” “Have you?” “Yes.” Her voice was sharp, defensive. “I buried my husband and my daughter. I kept my company running. I didn’t fall apart.” “No, you just filled the void with work and told yourself that was enough.” Vivian’s eyes snapped back to him and for a moment he thought she might throw him out.
