Unexpected Future: Andy Barber/Reader. (1/6)

Summary:As a single mother of a six-year-old, you decide to move out after realizing that his father, Ari Levinson, simply didn't have you both as a priority. In the twists and turns of life, you meet Andy Barber but your job makes things complicated, especially when you work with his son and see his ex-wife several times.

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You arrived four months ago in that town. You were delighted, totally content with how nice people they could be, yet your greatest contact had been with other parents from Mason's school and no more than meetings you felt compelled to go to.

And it was definitely clear to you that the six-year-old was much more sociable than you, you could tell, but he had also helped you to be a little more open to others.

You worked as a psychologist, and you had an office in your house, which also allowed you to have the presence of Mason, who, fortunately for you, was also a calm kid. So, in a three-by-three room, you attended while a door separated you from Mason who used to watch TV.

One morning, ready to drop Mason off at school, you were surprised when the "captain" of the mothers' group interfered with you on your way to the car. You were startled, but seeing that there was no danger in her movement, you laughed and put your hand to your chest "Sorry to scare you" she spoke quickly.

"No, no, it's okay."

She nodded "Could I talk to you for a moment?" you looked at your watch, aware that the second patient of the day would be arriving in thirty minutes.

"Sure, tell me."

"You see... I'm Jacob Barber's mother."

You nodded with a smile "Nice to meet you, my son keeps saying he's a good friend" you remembered his name, Mason was talking about him. Laurie smiled sideways somewhat flattered, but you noticed the nervousness in her body. And there you noticed there was more to it than just an introduction. "How can I help you?"

"Umh, you'll see," she had begun to ramble on about it, and you waited patiently. After all, you were assessing people's behavior too. "I heard you're a psychologist" you nodded and she let out a sigh "you see, Jacob's father and I divorced a year ago, things have been complicated. I think he might, I don't know, he's changing, changed his attitude" you nodded sympathetically "I was wondering if you could, I don't know, attend to him".

"Yeah sure" you assured taking your phone from your pocket and giving her a reassuring smile "Want to schedule a day?"

She seemed to let out the air nodding "Yes please."

You paused and looked at her "Before that, in the case of children, I usually work the first session with both parents present."

"Oh yes, yes of course," she nodded quickly as if anything you could say would be in agreement. And you scheduled it for Friday afternoon.

Before you got home, you passed by the coffee shop you went to every day. You walked in and to your surprise, this time it wasn't quite as usual. "I'm telling you, Sam. Every afternoon I have her calling me for the slightest thing the kid does. Do you know how stressful that can be?" you walked up to the counter, seeing that man talking to the man on the other side of the counter. He had his coffee in his hands, but you saw how totally stressed he was as he scratched his chin with his free hand. You saw how his suit covered his shirt, but you were even more surprised by the way his chest was heavily marked with the shirt. "That he spends all day running, he's a kid! He's supposed to do that, let him get dirty if he wants to, I'd be worried if he didn't!"

You agreed with him, but just smiled at the older lady who approached already knowing you at your recurrence there "Hi honey, what can I help you with today?"

You saw the letter and fiddled with your mouth "I'll let you surprise me today" you assured and felt the silence come over the room. As you opened your wallet, you felt the voice of the man on the other side of the bar "You're five minutes late this time, girl, I thought you weren't coming today" you laughed, looking at him but you caught yourself in the gaze of both men. The younger one, the one with the coffee in his hand, must have circled in his early thirties and had been left with his gaze fixed on you. You gave him a friendly smile, but seeing how his light blue eyes were resting on you deeply.

"Yeah, work" you shrugged taking out the ticket "I hope that doesn't make you give me an ugly coffee, huh".

"The Italian is exquisite" the man's deep voice made you look at him. "It has cinnamon, and cream" he clarified shaking his head. You thought about it and nodded to look back at the woman who had not yet placed your order.

"So it can be an Italian one?"

"Sure sweetheart" she smiled as she turned to prepare the cappuccino.

"Have you forgotten about your ex-wife already, then Andy?" you sensed the older man's jest at the bar, emphasizing the name. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him turn his head towards the man, opening his mouth slightly: "The day she stops blowing everything out of proportion with the kid, there will be peace" his voice was now gentler.

"Here honey, have a nice day" you smiled at the woman and your cheeks dimpled.

"Likewise" you shook your head waving to the three there to walk towards the door.

"What's her name?" you sensed the man's question, his voice totally relaxed, and you didn't avoid blushing but continued toward your vehicle.

By the time you parked at your house, you passed by the mailbox and sighed when you saw the letter: the one you hadn't opened but knew it said.

"Hey, you know, things aren't easy around here. I probably won't be able to come back to see Mason as I promised. Could you tell him I love him? I'll be back to see him in a few months. Thanks for letting me know you have moved. I'll come straight there as soon as I can.

I am truly sorry,

Ari."

You chuckled as you walked in and closed the door and felt the wad of bills in the envelope. He was an idiot, a real idiot. Four months ago you had written to him and only now you got a reply. He didn't even justify himself, knowing you weren't going to give a shit what he said anyway. Idiot. Idiot. It had been six months since he'd seen your son and you, and all you got was the money he sent monthly from his boss, rarely directly.

It had been about two years since you had officially broken up with him, but sometimes you think from the first moment you never went out: yes, the letters were very romantic, the sex on the way back was sweet, but things really weren't planned for you to get pregnant in the middle of your studies with 22 and the only support you had had was money. FUCKING IDIOT.

For the next two days, every time you walked into the cafeteria, he was there again. Andy. He didn't even introduce himself, but you could see his eyes on you like knives. This time, when you arrived, they served you coffee without waiting for you to ask.

"Surprise coffee, I like it" you nodded as you opened your wallet.

"No honey, it's already paid for" you saw her confused and quickly turned your gaze to the man, who made a smile and nodded.

"A mocha," he assured.

"Thank you very much, Andy" you shook your head with a slight smile, making it clear that you already knew his name. You watched as the two coffee shop owners isolated themselves from each other as if leaving an empty space. "For the recommendations and your coffee."

He nodded, and you could really see how he didn't usually do those things, but he didn't seem so self-conscious, or at least he was confident with the moves. And with what little you knew about him, you sensed it wasn't the first time he'd done it, but knowing he was divorced, you assumed it was some time ago.

"Just to be clear, it's not stalkerish of me, is it?" you raised an eyebrow and he laughed "I mean if it's not something just mine."

You nodded, positioning yourself in front of him to push aside the arriving customers. "You're not a stalker, nor is it any of your imagination."

"So I have a green pass?"

You grimaced "Just don't keep buying me coffee every day because I'm going to get used to it."

"Noted" he assured.

"I have to go, but... my pleasure" you nodded turning around with a smile, as he shook his head. And when your back was turned, you let out a breath as your cheeks turned pink.

...

You were in the living room, eating with Mason. "Mom, isn't Dad coming back?" you saw the six-year-old stop eating.

You grimaced "Your father is not in the country yet, and will be in a couple of months."

"What if he doesn't know where we are?"

"I sent him where we live now, honey. But you know how your father lives" the boy shrugged and you took his hand across the table. "Mason, in a little while your friend Jacob is coming" he widened his eyes but you clarified "however, he's coming to talk to me like other people. So, I need you to behave yourself. He's not coming to play games with you. If you want, one day we can talk to his parents to let him come."

"It's okay, Mom" by the time he finished his plate, you stood up and kissed your head before starting to gather the table, something the little guy helped with.

After that, while you were tidying up the room, you smiled as you heard the sound of records playing. You peeked out to see Mason kneeling as he placed the record on the turntable. You bit your lip as the music began to play, and inevitably you couldn't think of Ari: it was his turntable, he used them, and now, Mason seemed to have the power of them.

The doorbell rang and you looked at Mason, who looked at you quickly. You gave him a warning look and he turned the music down slightly, to the limit you had set for him every time you waited on someone. You nodded in agreement and adjusted your jacket and jeans to walk to the door.

Kiss me once. FUCK. Then, kiss me twice. SHIT.

You took a breath as you saw the three of them in front of you. "Hello, Miss Levinson" you opened your mouth slightly at Ari's last name spoken by Laurie.

You smiled, avoiding contact with Andy who seemed to fall into the same account "That's... not my last name "you clarified sympathetically and opened the door, running your hands over your jeans "Please, come in".

"Excuse me" spoke the woman.

"Hello, Mason" Jacob's voice passing in front of his mother, only made you look at Andy who opened his eyes at you. You cleared your throat closed the door and watched as Jacob hugged Mason. You approached the boy. The boy. That was the only priority you had. "Wow, what a cool thing to play music on" Jacob walked over to the record player. "This is what you told me is your dad's?"

Mason nodded "Yes, but he doesn't use it anymore."

You approached the children "Hi Jacob, how are you?" you introduced yourself and stretched out your hand, he kindly shook it. You smiled. You were professional. You just had to ignore Andy.

"I know who you are, you're Mason's mother" you nodded with a smile.

"How about joining me for a bit?" you asked holding out your hand.

"Can't I play with Mason?" asked the confused child.

"No honey, let's-"you looked up at Laurie, who was interrupted when Andy lightly bumped her elbow and shook his head at you. She rounded her eyes.

Andy. His complaint to the wife. Laurie overprotective. Divorce. S-H-I-T.

"First with me, then I'll let you play with Jacob for a bit" you assured and the boy took your hand, nodding. Andy looked at Mason, who was with his toy aware that he couldn't intervene in my work, no matter how much of a friend he was. "Please, parents, join me" you invited seeing Laurie and avoiding Andy's gaze.

"Sure" she assured, taking her purse in front of her and following you, Andy trailing behind. He closed the door when the four of them were left in the room.

"Jacob, do you mind if you sit in this chair?" the boy nodded as he did so, leaving the remoteness of his parents but in turn them sitting on the couch, keeping their distance. "Both can help themselves to tea or coffee" you offered pointing to the table in front of them, and nothing else.

In cases of children, you always evaluated the environment, the behavior of the parents, and not only the child: many times everything comes from the same root.

You walked to sit next to Jacob and looked at the clock, sitting in the chair across from Jacob, both of you at a table. You opened a notebook "Well, Jacob. I know who you are, but I don't really know much about you" you looked at the boy who was watching the whole room.

"Where is that?" he asked pointing to a painting. You turned to see the painting in the room.

"Jacob" Laurie spoke and your pencil went to the notebook. Andy asked her not to speak, you also went to the notebook. You didn't even look directly at the adults, you just went back to the child.

"That's in Ethiopia, Africa. Pretty far from here."

The boy opened his mouth, nodding "Mason told me his dad is in Africa, did you go?"

"No, I never have, would you like to go?"

"It looks like a very nice place" he nodded.

"What do you like most about that image?"

"That sea" he pointed out and you exchanged your gaze between the little boy and the image. It was usual for people to focus on it, for some reason, there was something special that you didn't end up discovering but you could always take advantage of that.

"It's a river, but it looks endless, don't you think?" he nodded "Well, that's a very important river. Maybe someday I can tell you the story" and even though he nodded again, he didn't take his eyes off the picture. Mason used to do that. When the office was empty, he would lie down on the couch and look at the picture just to remember his father.

"Your job makes you a good person, but a shitty father, Ari" you smiled slightly at the somewhat painful memory.

"So, Jacob...how are you doing in school?"

Forty minutes, and what you were sure of was that this child had no communication problem whatsoever. But you also noticed Laurie's constant intervention, no matter how much Andy asked her to be quiet. And he... he had his eyes on you every time you talked to the boy.

"What are you doing this weekend, Jacob?" you asked passing another written sheet from your notebook.

"Dad said he's taking me to eat at a place that sells lots of burgers and fries, and we're going to a park."

"Nothing too healthy, clearly" laughed Laurie looking at you, but you really didn't see her for more than two seconds without wiping your smile.

"Please, that's enough" Andy asked wearily. "Stop commenting on everything."

"I'm not doing anything, Andy."

You watched as Jacob wrinkled his nose, following through with a drawing you had asked him to do: specifically the family. "Excuse me, could you step outside for a moment?" you saw them both, totally surprised by your request.

"Sure" nodded Andy opening the door and letting Laurie go through first.

As the door closed, you looked at Jacob "I'm going to grab my cell phone for a second while you finish that drawing" you quickly opened the cameras to see as Mason sat gathering, as the two adults stood in the doorway, talking to each other, clearly you didn't expect it to be in peace. "Now, tell me, Jacob, do your parents always grumble with each other?"

The boy shook his head "Not so much now because daddy doesn't live at home anymore. It's okay that, he told me that things are going to be calmer for me and that love doesn't change, it just makes it easier. That it's divorce stuff."

"And do you know what a divorce is?"

"Dad told me it's like a puzzle, that little by little you put the pieces together" you frowned but nodded, encouraging him to talk "It's like it's your favorite puzzle, that you want weapons very badly, and that you put pieces together little by little, and that the divorce is like a piece of the puzzle that doesn't fit. It's not that the whole puzzle is wrong, it's just that the piece is from another puzzle and that we don't have to make it fit because otherwise, we might break other pieces, but just take it out of the puzzle."

You twisted your head, thinking about that "So...you'd be a piece of that puzzle?"

"Dad says I'm the most important, and that although he loves Mom, she's just not part of his puzzle, just as Mom is with Dad."

"And tell you something really crazy?" he nodded. "You have your own puzzle, and your parents are two different pieces that are very important to you."

"But they always end up fighting."

"Yeah but... some pieces are a little bit hard to get to come together. Like sometimes they swell up or they're a little bit worn. But that they are from the puzzle. And what your dad told you is valid, but that doesn't mean that they're not in your puzzle."

He nodded and moved his mouth slightly "So it's okay that they don't love each other anymore?"

"I'm not saying they don't love each other. I think they do, but they are adults and everyone has their own puzzle."

Jacob laughed and you looked at him "Like mint mousse ice cream. Iugh" he shook his head and you laughed at that.

"I never tried it."

"Don't do it" you smiled at the child.

On the other side of the door, Andy stood with one hand on his head "Laurie, stay quiet" he asked, watching the woman walk in circles. However, every now and then he would glance at the foreign child.

"What if he has something?"

"Laurie, there's a boy up ahead" spoke Any looking at the boy, who was humming a new song as he painted, lying on the floor.

"Yes, exactly, Andy" Laurie approached Andy almost in a whisper "Look at him, he's still. Our son can't do it."

Andy took a breath rubbing his eyes. "You're unbelieve" the door opened and they both turned their heads, watching Jacob happily walk out with a cookie.

"Jacob agreed to stay here for a bit with Mason while you guys went in."

And when they both sat back down, you arranged the pencils Jacob had used. You were really watching the patience of both of them: Laurie was shaking her knee and Andy was holding his hand to his face, tired of her it seemed. You also noticed how he was still in his office clothes.

You exchanged a glance with him, and all you saw was a pity. You made a slight comforting smile as he sat you down across from them.

"Well, I can tell you that Jacob is a good kid. He is healthy, has an amazing mind, and is extremely intelligent" Andy looked at you, making an obvious expression but you looked at Laurie, who was waiting for you to continue. You denied "I can't really make any diagnosis to a child from sitting in front of him for 1 hour because it wouldn't be fair. If I can tell you that he doesn't present anything that should alarm anyone."

"So he doesn't have anything? What do you call that thing that..." she snapped her fingers and you looked at her sympathetically: "Adhd" she nodded at your words and you denied "Again, I can't give you the diagnosis of life through sixty minutes, but he doesn't present any symptoms either. He's a child, they all express themselves differently."

"Ready, don't look for anything more from Jacob, please" requested Andy "He's a boy."

"However" your words caught both of them "yes you should work on home, family environments, the dealings between you" both looked at each other "Work together when it comes to Jacob, on par, and avoid friction in front of him."

"So that would be it?" you looked at Andy who was confused. It really seemed more attractive to you to see him as a father, but you had to erase that from your head.

"Well, I'm a psychologist, which implies that my diagnoses or anything that comes out of me require a process. It's never wrong to carry a therapeutic balance at any stage, but that's if you think it's necessary or you want that."

"But is it for something?" you looked at Laurie and her nervous profile only made you remember Andy's words.

"The question is not that, Laurie. The question would be whether we want her to accompany Jacob through the process of our divorce."

"But we're already divorced" this one blurted out and Andy opened his mouth, throwing himself backward on the couch and looked at you denying it, making it clear he was over it.

"Sure, but it's still a process of change towards the child."

"Could that help you at all now?" asked Laurie.

"Well, I'm not saying you need it but it can provide balance."

Laurie attacked with questions and you just wiggled your eyebrows, trying to hold it all in. Andy sat back down, resting his hands on his legs and taking a breath, interrupting her, "Laurie, Laurie, please, listen for a second" he asked and the woman looked at him "Are you more at ease bringing Jacob here? We're bringing him. There's nothing wrong with him, but stop looking for things. We'll just bring him in so the boy can express himself to her in case something happens."

"I think that would be good" nodded this one and Andy nodded, relieved to come to an agreement.

"Is that okay?"

You nodded "It's your decision. If you want we can set a weekly or bi-weekly time, whichever you prefer."

"Weekly" assured Andy "Can it be Fridays at this time?"

"Sure" you nodded, jotting in the notebook.

"And the payment?" the question from Laurie made you nod, taking one of the cards that contained the account number. Andy was the one who took it and nodded.

"Upon arrival I'll make sure the transfer arrives" you nodded, watching as they both stood up. Laurie reached out her hand and you squeezed it, then did the same for Andy. His squeeze was sincere and you just gave him a look to end the tingling in your stomach.

"Please go ahead" as you walked out into the living room, you saw Mason showing a photo album to Jacob. The children turned around.

"Mom, someday can we invite Jacob home?"

"Sure, but you'd have to organize something ahead of time and only if his parents let him."

"Of course" nodded Andy as Jacob walked over to him. The older one put his hand on the boy's head, who was laughing with Mason.

"Again, thank you very much."

"You are welcome. On the card is my contact also for anything" you watched as Mason and Jacob now hugged, as Laurie and Andy walked out the door. Laurie started walking and Andy seemed to wait for his son to come.

"Hey I-" Andy's murmur made you look at him, you closed your eyes slightly denying "Thanks. That is" you saw him waiting for Jacob.

"Jacob, come on" Laurie's shout sounded from the other side.

Andy took a breath and looked at you " I want you to know that my idea didn't change" he whispered and Jacob ran to him.

You nodded"A pleasure, Mr. Barber" you closed the door, letting out a long sigh.

SHIT.