Chapter 5 - Superman

RUBY

"Hello, Austin. Can I join?"

I grunted inwardly at that question. Wyatt already got the ticket, so of course, he would come.

Austin nodded, and I was tempted to coax him to change his mind.

But then I must remind myself I was the one giving approval. Taking it back would need a logical reason, which I couldn't find at the moment.

Wyatt sat on the empty space opposite me and on the other side of my son. He looked at Austin, and somehow, I felt the odd way he did that. He seemed like someone was longing and in pain. Also, I spotted happiness as well as love.

Did he really know?

"Do you like the book?" He started the conversation.

Austin nodded again, this time more enthusiastically. "Yes. I love Superman."

"Do you want to be a Superman?"

My son tilted his head up so the two most beautiful blue eyes I knew met. "Mommy said, as long as I'm being a good boy and good to friends, teachers, and others, I'm a Superman." His eyes blinked twice after he said that, making him more adorable.

No!

Focus Ruby! I should not be swayed by Wyatt's act and focus only on my son. Better if I could pretend Wyatt wasn't here.

"Mommy said that?"

Another nod from Austin.

"And do you do that?"

Again, a nod.

Wyatt's hand then moved to Austin's head and slightly ruffled his hair. "Good job. Your mommy was right. There are various kinds of Superman and one of them is being a good boy."

Austin grinned, just like the way Wyatt used to be. Something that always gave me warmth as well as pain. Austin is undoubtedly Wyatt's, the man I hated most. But as much as I wanted to throw out everything related to him, my son was exceptional. Austin was the only reason I was still alive.

"Do you love Superman too, Uncle?"

I kept listening to their conversation, though my heart told me otherwise. So, I tried focusing on Austin's meal and preparing for the next scoop.

"Yeah. I do. But I'd like to be a different Superman. I love my mother's food very much, so I hate to distract myself with something else while having her food."

My movement stopped when I heard his statement. To be honest, I felt dumb because I didn't know how to react when he clearly referred to me.

Thankfully, it happened for a moment before Austin's words rang in the air, and he again filled my world.

"I love Mommy's food, too." Then Austin closed the book, shoved it a bit away, and now aimed for his spoon. "I can do it alone, Mommy, " he stated before taking a spoonful of fried rice.

What did I do?

I just let him be with no comment or word to praise him.

"Now, I see the Superman I want." To which Austin got it from Wyatt instead. "Finish one thing first before moving to another."

Austin nodded while munching his food. His eyes then directed at the paper bag in front of Wyatt, which was still untouched. "Is that your mother's food too, Uncle?"

"Oh, this." Wyatt opened the bag to show my curious son. It's a burger. Uncle Kevin bought this for me."

"Hm." Austin hummed, but his head had already turned everywhere. "That's Uncle Kevin." He exclaimed after finding someone he was looking for, then waved his hand when Kevin did so.

I huffed quietly as I realized Kevin had observed everything. Look how fast he reacted to my son! And a smile on his face! It was like he was enjoying the show with a burger in his hand.

Best friends are indeed alike.

"Why doesn't Uncle Kevin join us?"

I glanced at Wyatt and saw he was a bit surprised. He might not have expected to get such a question from Austin. It must be their plan to let Wyatt alone come here.

"Well... Uncle Kevin said he needed to talk to the headmaster."

I chuckled but tried to act even a second later. Oh, everyone knew he just made up an excuse.

"But he's alone." Austin refuted.

"Right. He's alone. Maybe the headmaster is going somewhere."

Austin suddenly rose up, surprising Wyatt and me. "I'll ask him to join us." Especially his statement.

But before I could do anything, my son was already running toward Kevin. My shoulders slumped because I knew facing two people from my past was harder than facing only one.

"He didn't listen."

Moreover, I was left alone with Wyatt. Oh God!

"He'll drag him here." Wyatt chuckled when we saw Austin start to pull Kevin's hand. However, Kevin patted the empty seat beside him instead and offered him fries.

Kevin purposely did that so I could stay with Wyatt alone longer.

No. I couldn't let this happen. Facing Wyatt and Kevin at the same time wasn't easy. But I could still do that with Austin among us.

I was about to stand up when Wyatt's hand grabbed mine.

"We need to talk."

My reaction was, of course, to remove his hand away as if it sent a painful electrical wave. "There's nothing to talk about," I said, resuming to get up.

"There is, Ruby. I have to explain something." Wyatt followed me, standing up as well, and it began getting on my nerves.

"What? About your cheating?" I couldn't hide my annoyance anymore. I hated his presence and everything he did up till now.

His body tensed as both his hands coiled into fists. "I didn't cheat during marriage."

I laughed, the kind of force laugh to mock him. "Are you still playing innocent, Wyatt? You're so ridiculous." It had been five years. Still, he kept holding his story, which I could never believe. How could I do that when I was the one who caught him red-handed?

Unbelievable!

"I'm not playing, Ruby. That's the truth. I can prove that." He didn't back off, and I sensed determination in his voice.

I gulped as a sudden nervousness hit me. My heart was racing because, deep down, I always wanted it to be true. "H-How?"

"You know her family obsesses about me and Tina being together. It must've been their plan to trap me in that situation."

I rolled my eyes because I had been hearing it a lot and was already sick of it. "So they planned it all along?" I repeated his words in a lazy tone.

"Yes. They threatened me with the pictures and marriage. But it never works because there was nothing between me and Tina that night but their wicked plan."

Okay. Enough. I didn't want to pull down into the same pit anymore. "You know what, Wyatt? I don't know whether it's true or not. But I know one for sure. Our divorce was the best thing that happened in my life. And the incident has opened my eyes more. We come from a very different world. We're not meant to be together."