Chapter 94 - Happy Moments

"What should I promise you?"

"Just promise to me..."

"Don't be childish!"

"Andrzej ..." he whispered straight into his ear, as subtly as if it was the movement of the breeze.

"Shit, I promise, but get off me. What can I do for you?"

"You're going to the interview," Dominik said triumphantly, stepping away from the photographer.

"What? You tricked me, you little ..."

"Oh, the doorbell!" Dominik cried with a smile, running towards the exit. "You'd better get it together because you look like you're doing something very interesting."

Andrzej smiled to himself. During this month, Śliwiński underwent really huge changes. In fact, there was no trace of the wounds Marczak had inflicted on him. They healed completely and Nowicki felt a great satisfaction that he contributed to it.

The meeting was very important to both of them, so Andrzej immediately restored himself to relative order. Admittedly, it was completely unnecessary, because within five seconds a tornado burst into the living room, which almost knocked him to the ground with its momentum.

"Uncle, good morning!"

A beaming eight-year-old burst inside in her fall jacket and a raspberry beret on her long blonde hair. Her grip was far too strong for someone so young.

"Good morning, Martynka. You strangle me" Andrzej was laughing saying this words.

"Sorry," she pulled away from him and looked around the living room. "Wow, it's nice here!"

"We're not interrupting?" Her mother asked, smiling ambiguously.

"Not at all" Andrzej replied, angry with himself that she could see Dominik's shameless behavior.

"We had a little exchange of views" added Dominik with a mischievous smile. "It ended just before you came. Can I have your coat, please?"

"Of course! Martynka! Get over here quickly and don't step on the floor with those dirty boots!"

"I'm coming. Uncle Dominik, you have a nice house!"

"Thank you. I am glad that you and your mother were able to visit us today."

"This is the award for the sixth[1] from the essay" Paulina Kowalczyk beamed with pride.

"Six?" Andrzej seemed to feel exactly the same. "What were you writing about? Will you let me read?"

"Of course! To Uncle Dominik too, because I wrote about you both!"

"About us?" The men looked at each other.

"The teacher told us to write a fairy tale, the heroes of which are our dads. I don't have a real dad so I asked if this could be a fairy tale about my other dads. The teacher asked why I was talking about a few and I said that one my uncle is my godfather is like a real dad to me and the other uncle is a daddy to me as a princess!"

A huge blush appeared on Śliwiński's face.

"Really?"

"Yes! I am much better than the other girls because they only have one dad!"

Paulina touched Dominik's arm softly.

"Children have crazy imaginations and do not fully understand all the concepts. Hope you don't mind?"

"No," he said hotly. "Absolutely not. It's very nice. Thank you."

"Then where are the cookies?"

"In the kitchen," Andrzej announced. "Will you come with me, my little kangaroo?"

"Sure!"

Taking the girl with him, Andrzej smiled at the still stunned Dominik. Kids really have amazing imaginations.

***

Martynka had not finished visiting the house yet, so while Andrzej was serving her as a guide, Paulina and Dominik were drinking coffee in the lounge.

"How's it going?" She asked over a cup.

"I don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "Probably good."

"Something without enthusiasm is your answer."

"Every day I love Andrzej more and more. It starts to scare me a little how important he becomes to me. You know, since he entered my life, he completely changed it. For the better. I just have the feeling that it is at the expense of his own."

"You're such a big boy and you talk such nonsense. Andrzej adores you."

"I wouldn't say. I find it a little more… complicated," he sighed again.

"Maybe. Some. Andrzej is handsome as hell, he is a wonderful warm man who will do literally anything for those who are important to him, but he has never been in a relationship long enough for the other person to notice it. Usually he scares people off pretty quickly."

"Really? I have not noticed."

"Women find him extremely inaccessible, which attracts them strongly, but also intimidates them. They were always afraid to take the first step, but when he invited them they were delighted. But then they quickly lost their courage in front of him."

"Why? He's not scary at all."

"Maybe not for a man," she laughed. "For us women, his gaze is terrible. We have the impression that it is digging deep into our souls and discovering the greatest secrets."

"It's true that his gaze goes straight to the heart ..."

"And then Andrzej does exactly what it takes to fulfill your desire?"

"Yes I think so."

"You have to have the courage to expose yourself to someone like that. We women may dream of such a man, but when we meet him, we are afraid to be with him. We prefer to remain mysterious."

"I understand," he smiled. "It's a bit like chasing your dreams. Everything is fine until you reach it, because when it does, after a moment of satisfaction comes emptiness."

"I guess you could say that. However, you are not afraid of his gaze. I wonder if it's because you're a guy?"

"I am a bit scared," Dominik admitted "that Andrzej is so committed to my happiness, forgetting about himself, but then I see his smile, I hear his laughter and I think that maybe he also gets similar pleasure from being with me. That despite everything, he also feels happy with me ..."

"I also want it like that!" from the stairs came their childish cry and the patter of little feet. Andrzej appeared embarrassed right behind the speeding Martynka. - Muuum!

"What do you want, honey?"

"They have their own bathrooms! Each room in this house has its own bathroom! I also want it like that!"

"Each?"

Paulina looked at Śliwiński surprised. She had only been in two so far - the guest room downstairs and once, a long time ago, in Dominik's private bathroom, when he was in such a deplorable condition that he couldn't even prepare a bath for himself.

"Bedrooms only," he admitted, embarrassed. "There were five of us in the house, so I know what a nightmare it is when you can't wait to take a bath and you can't even brush your teeth before leaving the house."

"But each? You've lived alone for a long time."

"When building the house, I thought that it would not be like this forever."

As soon as he replied these words, he felt strangely uncomfortable.

"Because it won't be" Andrzej announced in an ordinary tone and sat down on the couch as if nothing had happened.

Dominik felt overjoyed. Although Nowicki was not looking at him busy playing with Martynka, he had the impression that at that moment Andrzej was talking about himself. After all, he had once promised him - and he was renewing that promise - that he would stay with him as long as the actor wanted. And he wanted it to be that way forever.

He saw Paulina smile and felt her hand on his. She was warm, supportive. Paulina has known Andrzej forever and they have always been best friends. She knew everything about him, more than Andrzej knew himself. Dominik followed her gaze. Nowicki teased his goddaughter. He laughed. He looked relaxed and happy.

He, probably was happy.

***

Although he really did not want this turn of events, Andrzej went to the job interview on the same day as Dominik's visit to the doctor. He wanted to try to change the date of the meeting, but Śliwiński forbade him. He was already a big boy, he decided, and should be able to deal with a little thing like talking to a doctor. It was enough for Nowicki to take him for examination.

The photographer had to succumb not only because he promised, but also felt proud that Dominik was taking his own actions and decisions. He was becoming more and more independent and self-confident. Andrzej could not trample it with his overprotection. In addition, the actor did not receive any more bizarre letter or macabre parcel, so while the private investigation commissioned by Nowicki did not bring results, it seemed that it was actually a distasteful joke and everything vanished in the air. Therefore, there was not the slightest reason not to allow an adult male a little freedom in his life.

Working in an advertising agency was not what Nowicki really wanted, but it allowed him to make a name for himself and thus made it easier for him to start his own business. In addition, work is work - insurance, salary - all this was really useful in life and Dominik was so independent that he did not require constant care. Therefore, whether he wanted it or not, Andrzej crossed the threshold of the agency.

The woman who accepted him was definitely not young, although Botox stubbornly tried to argue otherwise. Slim, with strong makeup and long tips, she looked at Andrzej curiously, as if she were looking at a zoological specimen.

[1] In the grading system, six is a grade given rarely and only for skills clearly exceeding the level of education. This is the best possible school grade. And don't worry, the difficulty level of a text written by an eight-year-old girl is no higher than a few simple sentences.