Dada to Daddy

Stranger! Please be my Child’s Father

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Chapter 6: Dada to Daddy

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“Who the hell is that?”

“That’s Arabella.” Gael rushed to say, glaring back at the woman herself, who had raised her head to glare balefully at Gael. 

“Your wife?! YOU’RE WITH YOUR wife?!” Louis shrieked.

“No!” Arabella stood up, grabbing the phone, and spoke very fast into the receiver. “No. Look. I’m Bella. My son got into trouble today. The school called Gael because my son had written his name down as his emergency contact. Gael, being a major fucking asshole,”

“Major fucking superhero,” Gael grumbled, before withering under Arabella’s burning gaze at being interrupted.

“Decided to come around and pose like Hudson’s dad. And then, when we went out of the office to talk about what just happened, the paparazzi snapped pictures of us. And now, I’m being mobbed, and my son is scared. So FIX IT, MANAGER SIR. Er.. sorry. I’m usually not that tense. It’s been a long day.” Arabella looked a bit remorseful at shouting at someone she didn’t know, setting the phone back down on the table. 

There was silence from Louis for a moment, before the manager spoke up. “Damn, Gael. Your wife can spit bars.”

Irritation swelled up in Gael. “She’s not--”

“Your wife, I know.” Louis acquiesced. “But I think he might have to be.”

Arabella and Gael shared a look over the phone. The mother looked confused, lips pursed, eyes widening. 

“Louis, I’m going to need you to run that by me again.” Gael spoke, measured, his heart racing in his chest. 

“I think the only way out of this is for the public to think that you two are genuinely married. And that you have a perfect marriage, raising your darling son Hudson.”

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“I think the only way out of this is for the public to think that you two are genuinely married. And you have a perfect marriage raising your darling son Hudson.” 

“Are you kidding me, manager sir? It’s not even my mistake, why do I have to go along with this?” Arabella shrieked, making Gael wince. 

“Hear me out. Look, Miss Arabella. If Gael denies it right now, you’re going to be under fire either way. People are going to follow you, they’ll paint you as a mistress. That’s how they twist the narrative to make it juicy.” Louis continued, undeterred by the strangled noise that slipped from Arabella’s lips. “If you and Gael accept the allegations, then you two can request for privacy, and because Gael is scary, they’ll have no choice but to accept.” 

Arabella looked troubled, the color draining from her face. Gael thought that was a bit of an overreaction, but then again, the woman had to uproot her entire life.

But it was temporary, right?

Just until things died down, until the paparazzi caught wind of another story and lost interest in them.

“I need to talk to my best friend and run it by her.” The woman mumbled, before pushing away and heading into the kitchen, dialing frantically on her phone. 

Gael waited until the other had gone to the other room before he picked up the phone from the table and pulled it off speaker, pressing the device to his ear. “Is this the only way, Louis-ah?”

“Yes, Gael. There’s no other way. I’ve looked at it. It either does immense damage to you, or to her. This wouldn’t. This would actually boost your image now, any remnants of that past scandal you had would be cleared away. This is good for you, Gael. This is our option. I already have one of the interns drafting out what you need to do to keep this good streak, I’ll have that document sent to you by tomorrow.” 

Gael paused. This was...good for him. This would finally get rid of that bad press. “Okay, Mister Avian. I’ll call in a bit with our answer.”

Hudson toddled in, glancing over to where his daddy was talking on the phone in the kitchen, before pressing forward and heading to the small dining table. “Dada, Dada! This is Benny.” He held the stuffed toy in his hands, before raising his arms to be picked up.

Gael obliged, setting the little boy and his bear on his knee, a steadying hand on his back. 

“Benny the bear, huh? Is this your favorite toy?”

Hudson nodded solemnly. The bear itself was nothing special, Gael could tell that it was one of those standard toys that were sold in grocery stores and simple convenience stores, and the regular brown stitching had long since worn out.

There were a few places where the original color remained, but the bear in other places (his arms, his stomach) were stitched up with other thread, as though Arabella was doing an operation to keep the bear together. Despite the rattyness of the bear, Benny was obviously well loved, sitting slumped over in the safe grasp of Hudson’s arms. 

“Can you tell me a little bit more about him?” Gael asked, gently stroking a hand through the unruly mat of curls that sat atop Hudson’s head.

The little boy was more than happy to talk about how his momma had brought it home one night for Hudson to cuddle, and since then, without fail, Benny had slept, tucked in his arms.

As Hudson spoke, Gael allowed his eyes to wander around the apartment. There were no other toys, but also, the space was small and void of much. The couch looked to be a twin size mattress with some sheets folded hastily at one end. There was only one room, one bathroom. No photos, little to nothing in the house.

What kind of environment was this for Hudson? Sure, Gael wasn’t necessarily a parent, but he knew that kids should have engaging, motivating environments, with toys and lots of space to run around and play with.

Hudson was a growing boy, this small apartment wasn’t going to do much in the long run. 

Maybe…maybe it was an added bonus that he would be able to shift Arabella and Hudson into a bigger space. 

“Hudson,” Gael began quietly, watching carefully as the boy turned to him. A smile cracked at his lips as he saw the little boy move the stuffed bear so that Benny was facing him too, ready to pay attention. 

“How would you feel if you and momma could move in with me?”

Hudson paused, his little head tilting. “Momma and I can move in with Daddy now?”

Gael fought the urge to coo. He went from Dada to Daddy? For some reason that was more personal, more sweeter. 

“Yes, little one. I have lots of space in my house, you can have your own room! And I have a backyard and a pool.” Gael murmured. Maybe this was a good thing.

His staff was getting paid for just taking care of the house, seeing how Gael was barely home. Maybe if there were two other guests in the reason, they’d have more of a job to do.

“I don’t like change,” Hudson grumbled, pulling Benny close to his chest. 

Gael was quick to soothe. Regardless of what Arabella’s best friend would say or advise, Gael could tell by the short amount of time that they had spent together that Hudson was very much the end-all for the older man.

If Hudson said no, then Arabella would not budge. 

“I know, Hudson. I don’t like change either. I like my cozy little routine. But, think about it this way. Sometimes, change can be good. You and your momma can come stay with me, and you can have more space and a nice bed, but nothing really has to change. Your momma will still be with you, you’ll still go to the same school.” 

Hudson pondered that wording a bit more carefully. “And I’ll get to see Daddy!”

Gael laughed, wrapping his arms around the little boy, tucking the little frame to his chest. “Absolutely, my little tiger.” 

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TBC