Chapter 17

"Jon, no. Letting Richie take Romeo is not going to solve anything. In fact, I think it will just prolong whatever fantasy he is having about this 'daddy'. We need to solve this here at home and by ourselves."

Dot was adamant. She firmly believed that allowing Romeo to go would just be feeding into his 'problem' and it would just be counterproductive.

Jon followed her up the stairs trying to reason with her, but to no avail.

"I said no and that's final. We can't be relying on others to solve our problems for us. We don't even know if this is a problem. Even the doctor said that it's nothing unusual."

"Dot, there's no harm in letting Rich take him for one night. Maybe he thinks Rich has got someone with him and when he's see that it's not true, he might just drop it."

She glared at him as she opened the door to their son's room to find Richie standing there with Romeo's little backpack in one arm and Romeo in his other.

"Richie, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, it could have a reverse effect on him."

She took Romeo from him and put him back down on the bed. "Sweetheart, you need to stay home with Mommy and Daddy, okay? You can tell us about this 'daddy'."

Richie knew he had to think fast but his mind was a total blank. He hadn't anticipated this and was at a loss as to what to do next. He looked over at Jon and when all he got was a shrug from his friend, he thought he was beaten.

That's when they heard it.

It started out as a low moan which quickly grew into a high ear piercing shrill. Romeo had decided that he needed to take over the situation.

He fell backward on the bed kicking at the covers and screaming, "I wanna go with Uncle Mookie! I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go!" He raised up and threw himself back down on the bed several times, dislodging the pillows and the bed covers.

He then started throwing some more pillows around the room. Tears streamed down his little face, which was turning redder by the second.

"Romeo! Stop! You need to stop, honey." Dot tried to pick up the toddler in her arms to hug him to her.

He resisted every attempt by his mother to hold him, squirming wildly while kicking and screaming.

Finally, she was just too exhausted. Trying to calm him was impossible and Dot relented.

"Okay, buddy. Calm down, baby. You can go with Uncle Mookie, but just for tonight, okay? I want you back here by lunchtime tomorrow."

When Romeo's tantrum had subsided enough, he sniffed, "okay, Mommy," and he reached out to Richie again.

Following Jon and Dot down the stairs, Richie managed to whisper into Romeo's ear. "A little over dramatic, don't you think?"

**Well, it got the job done, didn't it?**

*****

The ride to the hotel didn't garner any more clues for Richie as he had hoped it would. He had tried to ask Romeo how he knew about his 'daddy' and what was so important, but the toddler basically ignored the questions, choosing instead to point out the different landmarks along the way.

This game of 'hide and seek' was getting to be a bit frustrating for Richie and he tried to make Romeo pay attention to his questioning. "Look, I need some answers. This whole thing is totally bizarre. How did you know your dad came here from the past, huh?" Getting no response, Richie bent lower to be at eye level with the toddler. "Romeo, I know you can hear me in there."

**So can the cab driver, Uncle Richie.**

Quickly sitting upright, Richie saw the driver eyeing him suspiciously through the rear view mirror and grinned sheepishly. "Uh, we're just playing a game."

The rest of the ride was spent in relative silence.

*****

The cab dropped them off in front of the hotel and Richie realized that Romeo had fallen asleep and carried the toddler up to his suite. Just great. We finally manage to get him here and he's sleeping.

He need not have worried, though, for as soon as he opened the door to his hotel room, the toddler was alert. Richie could see the flicker returning to his eyes as he scanned the suite and saw Jon lying lazily on the couch watching a movie.

"Hey, you came back pretty quick, Rich. I thought you were going to go over some of....." Jon bolted from the couch when he saw who Richie had in his arms.

"What the he...." Jon gaped. "Rich, don't tell me you just took that kid? Are you crazy?"

"Calm down. Jon and Dot both agreed that he could come and stay the night. Well, it took a little convincing, right buddy?" Richie smiled at Romeo, putting him down.

"But, but, bu.......why'd you bring him here?" Jon stared down at the child.

"Look, man. You're the one that wanted to come here to be closer to him. Now you are. So talk to him."

Jon gulped and rubbed his sweaty hands on his jeans before sitting back down. It was true that he felt he needed to be closer to Romeo but he had not anticipated being this close. Or this soon. He had not even thought about what he would say to him if they had come face to face.

"Hey there, Romeo," he began nervously. Shit! Why an I being nervous? He's just a little kid.

"Uh, I'm Jon. We met back in your dad's office remember?" He knew this was pretty lame judging by the look on Richie's face, but he had nothing else.

**Dad! We have no time for this. We need to talk.**

Jon jumped out of his chair. Like Richie, he got the same eerie feeling when he heard Romeo 'speak'.

**Please, Dad. This is exhausting and I don't know if I can hold on much longer. You need to listen to me.**

Jon took several deep breaths trying to calm himself. Feeling the initial shock recede, he sat back down on the couch. "Okay, Romeo. What is it that you need to tell me?"

"Oooh, chocolate cake! That's my favorite, Daddy. Can I have some?" Romeo ran over to the table where Jon's dessert sat untouched and licked his lips.

"Whaa.....?" Jon was dumbfounded.

"I think he 'left' for a while," Richie tried to explain.

"He? Who's 'he'? And he 'left'? What the hell are you talking about, Rich?"

"Jon.....language," Richie warned, nodding his head towards the toddler.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry." Jon walked over to where Romeo was eyeing the piece of cake and lifted him up onto the seat. He stuffed a napkin into the front of his shirt and gave him a clean fork. "Go for it, kid."

Jon and Richie sat down on the couch and just watched Romeo eating his chocolate cake. "I hope all that sugar is not going have him bouncing off the walls."

"We need him stay awake as long as possible, Rich. Tomorrow is Saturday. He can sleep in as long as he wants."

"I need to take him back home by lunch. When 'he' comes back, you'd better ask him all the right questions so that he can help you."

**That's not why I came here, Uncle Richie. Actually, I need Dad's help.**