Hit and Run

"Wanna see?" he said, making like a Cheshire Cat before his mom could answer.

"Whoa! Dude, I need my sunglasses!" Jeff teased as he raised an arm to cover his eyes. The gesture had the desired effect and got the boy to laugh.

"See?" Suzanne said as she leaned Jeff's way.

"See what?" Todd asked, clueless about the adults' conversation.

"It's just nice to see you so happy," his mother replied, feeling that way herself.

"Of course I'm happy. Jeff's here!"

"Have a seat, buddy," Jeff told him as he patted the seat cushion next to him.

Todd squeezed in between them then looked up at Jeff as if to ask 'what's next'.

"So what do you like to do?" Jeff asked.

He leaned down a bit then said very seriously, "Other than math. Cuz everyone loves math."

Todd made a face then laughed.

"I actually do like math, but it isn't exactly fun."

Todd turned and looked at his mom to see her reaction, and she made him laugh again when she feigned being shocked.

"Mom!"

"Sorry. I just find it hard to believe you don't get excited about fractions and decimals."

"Mom! I'm seven. We don't do fractions yet!" he told her.

"Ah! No wonder you're so happy," she replied, this time drawing a chuckle from Jeff.

"My mom's weird," Todd said to Jeff but turning back to see his mom's reaction again.

"Well, I can see I'm not wanted around here! Guess I better go clean up the mess on the table," Suzanne said as she tried again to pretend she was hurt.

"See?" Todd said as she walked away.

"No, really. What do you like to do? Sports? Video games? Fast cars?"

Todd smiled so Jeff leaned close again then said loudly enough for Suzanne to hear, "Pretty girls?"

Todd's face reddened a bit before he said, "No way! Girls are...gross!"

"Boys have cooties!" his mom called out with a laugh.

"Uh-uh! GIRLS do!" her son shot back.

"Okay, okay! No cootie wars!" Jeff said with another laugh. "But seriously. What's your thing?"

"Um...I like video games. A lot."

"Do you have any?" Jeff asked.

"The controller is broken and we don't have any data left on our plan, so I can't really play."

"Gimme a sec, okay?"

Jeff walked over to Suzanne and asked if it was okay for Todd to play on his iPad.

"You don't have an iPad," she told him.

"It's in the car. I'll go get it if you don't mind."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure he would love that!"

"Be right back."

A minute later he came in and sat back down by Todd.

"What's your favorite game?"

"Do you have Minecraft?" Todd asked with no small amount of anticipation.

"No, but the App Store does. Gimme a sec."

"Wait. It costs money!"

"Oh. How much?" Jeff asked as though it mattered.

"It's like...five dollars."

The excitement was gone as Todd knew that was too much to spend on a video game. Even one dollar was out of the question lately.

"Whew. That's good because I have six dollars in the bank. So we're good!"

The adult humor went right overt the seven-year old's head, but the smile was back in full bloom.

"As soon as it downloads, you can put in your user name and blast off."

"Awesome!" the boy said.

"And what do you say?" his mom called out as she filled a trash bag and tied it off. "And while you're waiting, the trash needs to go outside."

"Thanks, Jeff! Okay, Mom!" he called out as he jumped up to grab the bag as his game downloaded from the App Store.

"Need some help?" Jeff asked as Todd picked up the bag.

"No, thanks. I got it!"

Jeff did open and close the door for him then said, "He is such a good kid."

"I just can't believe how different he is with you around."

He walked over to Suzanne and touched her lower arm and said, "How about you? Is it different for you with me being around?"

"It is," she told him, a happy smile on her face.

"In a...good way?" Jeff asked as he moved closer.

"Uh-huh. Very good."

"Good enough for me to...."

Just as their lips met the door flung open.

"All done!" Todd called out.

"Easy!" his mom said just before he slammed the door shut.

"Sorry!"

Only then did Todd realize how close Jeff was to his mom. When he did, he smiled.

"What's that for?" his mom asked.

"I'm just happy, Mom," he told her, a new, mischievous grin on his face.

"Go play your game!" she said before turning back to Jeff.

"I didn't really get a chance to show you how much I'm glad you're...around me," Suzanne said as she put her arms around Jeff's neck.

"Oh. Me likey how much you like me. Being around you," he told her as he wriggled his eyebrows.

Suzanne smiled but didn't laugh. She looked at him and realized that in spite of the age difference, she might just be falling for this handsome, younger man she still knew very little about and kissed him anyway.

She didn't see her son turn and look nor did she know he pumped his fist and said, "Yes!" very quietly. Nor did she care as the tip of Jeff's tongue momentarily touched hers.

"I uh, I really like being around you," he told her quietly when the kiss ended.

"Yeah? I'm kind of liking this myself," she replied as Jeff took her in his arms and held her close.

She took his hand when he put his arms down and led them back to the couch.

"You all set?" Jeff asked the happy boy.

"Uh-uh. I'm already gathering my first diamonds," Todd told him as though Jeff knew all about the game.

"Nice!" Jeff said like he understood as he sat back down beside the boy who was fully immersed in the animation on the screen.

He and Suzanne talked quietly in between the calls of, "Yes!" and "Dang it!" that regularly came from the Head Minecrafter.

She hated to ask, but not knowing was killing her, so she casually brought up work again.

"So you left the Navy and you're in between jobs?"

Jeff really wanted to tell her the truth, and even though he'd always been an excellent judge of character, he needed to be sure before sharing this with her. So rather than tell her about that part of his life he told her something else. It was true, too, but it wasn't the truth.

"Right. I was deployed all the time, so over the years the money kept piling up. I had an older car I got from my grandfather when I graduated from Annapolis, so I didn't even have a car payment."

"Oh, wow. That was incredibly nice of him," Suzanne said.

He chuckled then said, "It was almost five years old when I got it. How many miles do you think were on it?"

She saw the smile on his face and assumed it was well worn.

"I don't know. Over a hundred thousand?"

He shook his head and started laughing.

"Two hundred thousand?"

"Uh-uh. You ready for this?" he asked.

She didn't say anything, so Jeff leaned closer and whispered, "Not quite fifteen thousand."

"Wait. What? Fifteen thousand? After FIVE years? I drive more than that every year!"

"My grandfather was a retired Navy Commander who'd been all around the world so many times that when he retired after 25 years he swore he'd never travel anywhere again."

Jeff shook his head and laughed then finished the story.

"He didn't stay home to avoid driving. If he wanted to go somewhere he went. He just had no desire to leave the home he and my grandmother bought after years of living on base or renting. They put a ton of money into it, and it truly was his castle."

"He sounds amazing."

"He was. He recently passed away just a year after my grandmother died. I'll never know, but it may have been from a broken heart. They were married for 57 years."

"I'm so sorry, but also...wow. Fifty-seven years. That's simply...amazing."

"It is. He really was an amazing man. Unfortunately, he and my dad had a serious falling out when I was too young to remember. They rarely spoke when I was growing up, and I didn't get to know my grandfather until he retired. A few short months later I was off to the Academy, and...."

Suzanne put her hand on his then said, "And now you won't have the opportunity to get to know him even better."

Jeff nearly spilled the beans then and there but decided to hold off.

"So how's Todd doing in school?" he asked, hoping the change of subject would be welcome.

Suzanne smiled telling him it was before saying, "Good. He's such a smart boy."

She looked over at her son who was still fully immersed in Minecrafting, whatever that was.

"Academically, he does really well."

"But?"

Even though her son wasn't paying any attention she still lowered her voice.

"He gets teased quite a bit."

"What about? Being skinny or wearing glasses?" a very concerned Jeff asked.

"No. Well, he has been called 'Skinny Mini' and 'four eyes' a time or two, but most of it is due to our rather...odd...last name."

Now confused, Todd turned her way a bit then said, "What's so unusual about Rivers?"

"That's my maiden name," Suzanne explained.

"Oh, right. Sorry. So your son is...Todd Odd?" Jeff asked with a little wince.

"Yes. Todd Odd. He needs braces, too, and occasionally they pile on with that. His teeth aren't horrible, and braces will easily correct them, but it's just one more thing for him to deal with. Evidently, there's this boy named Danny Hale, who calls Todd 'the Odd Man out'."

"The odd man out, huh? How...original," Jess muttered before looking at Suzanne and saying, "I uh, I was teased a lot too, when I was his age," Jeff quietly replied.

"You? Why? You're...."

She gave his 'yummy' body another up and down then said, "Gorgeous."

Jeff laughed and thanked her before telling what his childhood was like.

"For starters, my teeth were worse than Todd's. A lot worse."

Suzanne gave him a 'you've gotta be kidding' look before he smiled at her making her disbelief even stronger.

"And I was...."

He lowered his voice even more then said, "A fat kid."

"You? You were...heavy?"

"Oh, yes. By the ninth grade I was a good 40 pounds overweight."

"I...I can't even imagine," Suzanne told him as she tried to imagine this incredibly fit, very sexy man looking like that.

"My grandfather was the motivation for me to change."

"How so? I mean, you said you barely knew him, right?"

"That's true. But he came back here one Christmas, and although my dad didn't want him at our house, Grandpa waited for me to come outside one day then called me over. I recognized him and he gave me this huge hug, and I think he may have even had tears in his eyes."

Jeff felt bad when he saw Suzanne's tearing up and told her he was sorry.

"No. Keep going. It's just so sad, and it makes me feel bad for you."

"Thanks, but it's all good now--as they say. Anyway, we walked around the block a couple of times and somehow the subject of fitness came up. I hated running or any kind of exercise for that matter, but my grandfather explained how it was possible to go from where I was to being 'the biggest, baddest stud in high school' before I graduated."

"So you must have taken his advice?"

"I did. It took me a while to get going, but I started off by walking around that same block three times. Then four. Then five. Then ten. Eventually I ran around it once and from there I ended up on our track and cross country teams my junior year. I was eating right and running 30-40 miles a week and even started doing resistance training. Not to look like Mr. Universe but for the muscle tone."

Suzanne looked at his sexy body again then told him it had worked for him.

"Extremely well, if I may say," she added.

"You look very fit yourself," Jeff told her as he also did a very quick once-over.

"I do Pilates. I know I should do more, but that keeps fit...and sane."

"The divorce?" Jeff correctly assumed.

"That was the worst of it, and it's the cause of the other huge area of stress which is money. I'm not complaining. I had to get out of that relationship. But it's been a huge struggle for us, and I often end up eating junk food just because it's less expensive."

Jeff suddenly felt an even stronger connection with this beautiful, older woman and came 'this close' to telling her.

"I think you're amazing," he told her as he took her hand in which was still on his.

"Me? I'm just a divorced, middle-aged woman trying to raise a son...without a father. That's hardly amazing."

Jeff reached up and brushed her hair back then said, "You're not giving yourself enough credit, Suzanne. You've gone through an incredibly painful time thanks to your ex, then the divorce, and yet here you are working full-time and not just raising Todd, but doing a remarkable job of it."

This time Jeff had no doubt about her eyes filling with tears. As the first one fell on her cheek, he gently wiped it away and smile at her.

"You are amazing, Suzanne."

He moved a little closer toward her then whispered, "And you are so beautiful."

She wanted to make a 'pfft' noise to play down the compliment, but as his lips touched hers, she wanted to kiss him back more than anything else and just closed her eyes and enjoyed this tender moment.

"You're pretty incredible yourself," she quietly said as their lips parted.

A little boy's giggle startled her, and as she looked Todd's way she saw him smiling at his mom.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, now concerned about getting too close with a man--of any age--she really barely knew.

"Uh-uh. Everything is just right!" her son said as he smiled at his mom and the older-to-him man sitting next to her.

It wasn't really late, but Jeff looked down at his watch and said it was to give Suzanne an out if she wanted to be alone.

"Oh. I...I guess it is," she said, thinking it was Jeff looking for a way to leave.

"I'm glad you let me come over," he told her as he again brushed her hair back.

"Me, too. This was really nice."

"I want to see you again, Suzanne. Soon."

"I...I'd like that."

"May I call you tomorrow?"

"Yes. Anytime."

"Then let me just say goodbye to the Minecrafter in Chief, okay?"

Suzanne not only laughed, she felt as good as she could remember feeling in many, many months, and the realization of why she felt that way was crystal clear and now standing directly in front of her.

Jeff held out his hands and helped her stand up, too, then pulled her close and held her for a few seconds before moving back and kissing her again.

"Jeff?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. Again. For...everything."

"No. Thank you," he said with a devilish smile before adding, "for running me over."

Suzanne made an 'uh' kind of sound as though she were hurt before returning his smile.

"Yeah. You see, if you'd been paying attention, I'd have never met you."

"Hey! You said you darted out in front of me!" she replied, still pretending to be defending herself.

"I kinda did say that, didn't I," Jeff replied as he played along, too. "Whoever was at fault, I'm just glad it happened."

"Am I terrible person if I say, 'Me, too'?"

"Uh-uh. You're definitely not terrible."

He pulled her close again then whispered, "You're wonderful. And...sexy as hell!"

She playfully pushed him away and feigned more offense as she tried not to laugh.

"Well, aren't you just all kinds of forward!"

"Are you complaining?" Jeff asked as he pulled her back and put his arms around her waist.

She put hers around his neck, then told him, "No. Not at all. Not even a little bit," before she kissed him more passionately than she ever had.

"See. You are amazing," Jeff told her after their first real French kiss ended.

Knowing better than to keep putting herself down for being older and not as attractive--at least in her mind--she accepted the compliment then returned it.

"Okay. So let me sit down with the Big Guy over here for a minute and I'll be out of your hair."

Jeff sat next to Todd and asked him to show him what he was doing. He was still mining for some kind of ore so that he could build stuff, but what Jeff really wanted to do was build a connection.

"Okay. I get it," he said even though the game held no interest for him.

"Are you getting ready to leave?" Todd asked, trying not to sound disappointed.

"I am. I just wanted to spend a little time with you first."

"Then I'll save my progress so you can have your iPad back."

Jeff used his phone 99% of the time, so he said, "If it's all right with your mom you can keep it until I see you again."

The boy sat up straight, looked at his mom, and waited.

"That sounds okay," she told her son as she smiled at Jeff.

Before she could remind him, Todd said, "Thank you!"

Jeff mussed the boy's hair and told him he was welcome.

"So listen. If someone like...Danny Hale...ever you know, teases you again...."

Todd's eyes were wide open as he looked up at Jeff.

"Just say, 'Inhale, exhale' and that should do it."

Todd didn't really fully understand it, but he couldn't wait to try it out.

To lighted the mood, Jeff mushed his hair again then said, "Okay, dude. I gotta jet."

Todd had never heard that before but understood it meant 'to leave' and said, "Bye, Jeff!"

"I'll see ya soon, okay, buddy?"

"See you soon!" Todd told him as he buried his head in the screen again.

"That was so nice of you," Suzanne said as she walked him to the door.

"He seems to enjoy it."

"That, but the...advice you gave him."

"I got picked on mercilessly, and I've never forgotten how it felt. Anything I can do to help someone 'level the playing field' makes me feel a little better."

He saw the look of gratitude in Suzanne's eyes but only said, "Oh. He'll need a charger. Let me go get it."

"I'll walk out with you," Suzanne offered.

Wondering if she was going to say something about the iPad offer he agreed.

When they got outside Jeff asked her if she was upset.

"What? Why would I be upset?"

"Because I didn't check with you first. About the iPad."

"No! Heavens no. I'm truly grateful. He gets so bored, and that makes me feel very guilty. Along with being broke, and him not having a dad, and...."

They were at the car where Jeff turned to her, took her hands in his, then said, "You really need to stop that. You're doing just fine...Mom."

She smiled as her heart swelled even as she wondered how this could be happening. Jeff seemed too good to be true, and she knew that if something appeared to be that way it probably was.

He kissed her softly then told her, "I really am very happy we met, Suzanne."

"I am, too," she told him, feeling slightly more secure about whatever this was.

"I'd like to do something with you guys. If you wouldn't mind."

"Hmmm. Let me see. My son adores you, and I think you're amazing. So....hmmm."

Jeff laughed then told her he'd call her the next day.

"And unlike a lot of guys, I really will call you."

Suzanne laughed then stood on her toes and kissed him again. He kissed her back for several seconds, and both of them felt waves of emotions sweep over them.

"Wow," she said when the kiss ended.

"Yeah. Wow," Jeff agreed. "Oh. The charger!"

He opened the door, grabbed it, then handed it to Suzanne.

"Thank you," she said. "And one more time, thank you for everything."

"I'll talk to you soon," he promised before giving her a quick peck and getting in.

She stood there and waved goodbye, and as she went back inside, she realized she hadn't felt this way since she was maybe 22 years old. And the person who was causing her to feel that way was only 27 himself.

Jeff didn't go directly home. He pulled over a few blocks from Suzanne's and got out his phone.

"Hi. I know it's getting late, but are you still delivering?"

Five minutes later his order was filled and 20 minutes after that it was on its way.

Todd was just getting ready for bed when someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it!" he called out.

"No. Honey, it's late. Let me check and see who it is, okay?"

Suzanne went to the door, asked who it was and heard, "Krogers delivery."