Page 24 of Sweet Thing

“Bonjour Lukas, son très agréable d'être présenté officiellement’,’ (Hello, Lukas, it's very nice to be formally introduced,) Simeon purred.

Lukas gazed at the man, and then his brows met, his mouth opened, and a throaty laugh bubbled up from his chest. The baby appeared perplexed, as if he didn’t know where the sound had come from, or why.

Simeon wore a wide smile. He’d never been so close to a baby, let alone made a baby laugh before. The sound was joyful, infectious.

‘’Eh bien, vous n'êtes pas adorable, tout comme votre papa!’’ (Well aren’t you adorable, just like your Papa!’’)

Lukas giggled again, the sound infecting Simeon, Emily, and Pieter with wide grins. Pieter’s eyes met Sim’s.

“What the fuck, Sim, are you a baby whisperer or something? No one else can make him laugh like that, especially after he’s just woken up.”

A burst of warmth filled Sim’s chest. “It’s the French; it must be. Does he laugh when you talk German?”

“No, do it again, it probably doesn’t even have to make any sense, not that you make sense most of the time!” Pieter ribbed.

Simeon’s foot shot out and kicked Pieter on the calf. He laughed and winced. Emily handed Lukas to Simeon, who took him with a look of near aristocratic disdain. What was he supposed to do with him? Pieter dragged Emily to stand, and they grabbed each other’s forearms to help each other stretch. Simeon sat the baby on his knee and looked at him, perplexed. What did Pieter and Emily expect him to do?

Lukas was alarmed at being away from his mother for a moment, his eyes bulging and filling with tears. He stared, wide-eyed at the face of the dark-haired man. He whined and then made to cry.

"Hey petit homme, il n'y a pas besoin d'être bleu. Papa et Maman ne seraient pas vous laisser avec un homme français fou. Son ok!" ("Hey little man, there's no need to be blue. Mama and Papa wouldn't leave you with a crazy French man. It’s okay!") Lukas’s eyes widened at hearing the silky French voice, and he began to laugh, as big fat tears fell. Simeon kept speaking nonsense French, and the bubbling chuckle continued, as if Lukas could not stop himself. Sim glanced up at Pieter who was grinning widely.

‘’Your kid is freaking me out Peety, laughing and crying at the same time,’’ Sim whined, a thumb wiping the tears from Lukas’s rosy cheeks. Pieter and Emily were unpacking the picnic they had stowed in Lukas’s stroller.

‘’He likes you Sim; you should be honored, he doesn’t like many people. He goes nuts if Karin tries to hold him! He likes grandfather and grandmother, but Auntie Karin must give off evil vibes!“ Pieter said, wrinkling his nose at his giggling son.

Emily laid out a platter of roast chicken, ham, and cheeses, salad, some bread rolls, grapes and apricots, along with plastic plates and cutlery. It was a fine spread. Pieter unpacked three plastic tumblers, a carton of apple juice, and a litre of water.

Sim noticed Lukas’s eyes crossing and his chubby cheeks turning a deeper red, then he heard the rumble.

“Oh Jesus, Peety, your baby has just....“ Simeon winced, holding Lukas out at arm's length for anyone to take.

“Sim, if you’re going to be a part of our son’s life, you are going to have to learn how to change a nappy!“ Emily announced seriously as she gathered her son.

“Gaah‘d. No, no, no! There is no way in hell I’m going near... whatever.‘‘ He camply swirled his finger in the general vicinity of Lukas' bottom.

Pieter and Emily burst into laughter.

“Fuckers! Lukas vos parents sont liguent contre moi. Quand tu seras grand et fort allez-vous me protéger de leur bassesse, oui?“(Lukas, your parents are ganging up on me. When you grow big and strong will you protect me from their meanness, yes?)

The baby's infectious laughter tugged at Simeon’s heart. He couldn’t believe he had a soft spot for the child already. Just like his papa, eh!

Emily took Lukas to the public bathroom to change his nappy as Pieter and Simeon chatted and ate.

“So tell me, how are you?“ Pieter asked, as he reached out and pulled some red grapes from the vine.

“I’m okay. London was good, but when I got back there was a delivery of flowers from Bastian Roth.“

“Oh?“

“Why does he not get the message? I don’t want to see him again. I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want his pathetic apology.’’ Simeon spat venomously.

‘‘Do you know his history Sim? I’m not making excuses for what he did, but Emily carried out a little search online to find out who her buyer was, and the guy‘s had a rough ride in the past couple of years“, Pieter offered.

“And I haven’t?“ Simeon was outraged. “What the fuck Peety, you’re supposed to be on my side.“

“I am on your side. Scheisse! Do you seriously think I wanted you to get assaulted?“ Pieter gasped incredulously.

“No“ Sim looked away, ashamed that the exact thought had flickered through his mind. He picked up two tumblers and held them out for Pieter to pour the apple juice.