Choosing You (JJ Watt)

8.

"I saw you."

"Are you sure it was me?"

"Mr. J.J." Henry crossed his arms, in all the seriousness a five-year-old could muster.

"Yes?" J.J. tried his hardest to match Henry's tone but was beginning to fail.

"I. Saw. You."

"I believe you believe you saw me." He had to bit his lip to keep from laughing.

Sighing exasperatedly, Henry rolled his eyes, and before J.J. had a chance to stop him, wiped the pink, strawberry pie filling off his nose with the sleeve of his light blue shirt.

"Oh no, buddy, You can't wipe it with your shirt... look."

Henry looked down at the stain on his shirt sleeve with a regretful look. "Oops, I'm sorry. Miss Levi told me to be careful not to get dirty."

"Well, I guess you need to get changed before Miss Levi finds out then."

Henry nodded, before quickly making a B-line for the stairs. J.J. ducked his head into the living room to check on Landon and Liza. They were immersed in an intense game of Wii boxing, or at least for Landon it looked intense. Liza looked like she was doing a weird combination of dance and karate.

Leaning against the wall, J.J. chuckled as he watched them. He was 90% certain there was sweat dripping down Landon's forehead. The boy cheered as Liza's Mii was knocked to the ground and the clock expired.

"Again! Again! Please, Landon?"

"But I've already beaten you 3 times."

"I don't care. It's fun." Liza begged.

"Ok, but I want to play tennis after this."

Liza nodded as Landon hit reply and the two took up their very unique 'boxing' stances.

"TADA!" Henry jumped out in front of J.J, pulling his attention away from the action in the living room.

He looked the boy over, quickly inspecting his new shirt. "Perfect."

"We match now." Henry smiled proudly. "My shirt is just like the one you're wearing."

The words caught him off guard. He looked down at his own shirt and then back to Henry's. Sure enough, it was just like his. Something inside the man shifted as he considered the boy's words. "Just like the one you're wearing."

"It's ok if we match... right?" Henry asked timidly when he didn't receive a response.

"Yeah..." He muttered as the boy looked up at him with concerned eyes. "Yes, of course, it is." J.J. cleared his throat, answering with a firm tone this time.

A huge grin spread across Henry's face at J.J.'s approval. "We should take a picture."

"You think?" J.J. instinctively reached for the phone in his back pocket. Bending down to Henry's height, he fumbled with the device for a second, still taken aback by the child's words.

"Mhmm," Henry nodded, daring to inch closer as J.J. finally pulled up the camera.

"Smile." J.J. held up the phone, wrapping his arm around Henry's shoulders. "Perfect." He quickly snapped the photo before pulling it up for Henry to inspect

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Levi crossed her arms with a teasing smile.

"We had a wardrobe change. That's all." J.J. winked at Henry.

"and now we match!"

"I see that." Levi smiled.

She looked at J.J. expectantly. He simply shrugged in response, continuing to process Henry's choice. It was just a shirt. It was nothing, but it was also everything. It was something boys did with their fathers, and J.J. wasn't his father. He wasn't anyone's father. He didn't want to be, or at least, he didn't think he wanted to be. He had been so sure this wasn't what he wanted, but there had been a time he was sure this was what he wanted. So which way was it?