Chapter 89 Making It Home
Friday Morning - 8:45 AM
Alexander lingered in the doorway, watching Leo line up his dinosaurs on the bed.
Same lineup as always—T-Rex at the front, Stegosaurus tucked behind, Triceratops guarding the left side.
“Why’s T-Rex always first?” Alexander asked.
Leo looked up. “He’s the king. Kings go first.”
“Fair enough.”
The room was blindingly white—walls, curtains, bedding. A bit sterile. Could’ve been a hotel.
Leo had called it a dozen things these past two weeks: “the room where I sleep,” “the guest place,” “the white room.” Not once did he say “my room.”
Alexander noticed.
“Hey, wanna go on a secret mission?” he said.
Leo’s eyes got huge. “What kind of mission?”
“The kind we don’t tell Mama about until after.”
“Is that allowed?”
“It’s a surprise, not a secret. Big difference.”
“So what’s the surprise?”
“Can’t give it away yet—that’d wreck it. You’ll like it, though. Trust me.”
Leo thought hard. “Will there be snacks?”
“There will definitely be snacks.”
“Okay!”
Elena came from the bedroom, already dressed for her meeting. “Okay, what?”
“Nothing!” Leo blurted.
She raised an eyebrow at Alexander.
“We’re heading out.” Alexander said. “Guy stuff. We’ll be back this afternoon.”
“Guy stuff?”
“Yeah. Man stuff. Super important.”
“Should I worry?”
“Probably not. Maybe a little.”
She kissed Leo’s head. “Be good.”
“I’m always good!”
“That’s debatable.” She grabbed her bag. “I’ll be at Patricia’s lawyer’s office ‘til three. Call if you need anything.”
“We won’t. We’re professionals.”
“That’s exactly what worries me.”
She left.
Alexander looked at Leo. “Ready?”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Grab Ellyphant.”
“Why?”
“He needs to help pick stuff.”
“Pick what stuff?”
“That’s the surprise.”
Leo snatched his plush elephant. “Ready for the secret surprise mission!”
10:15 AM - Target
They landed in the bedding aisle, facing a wall of choices: superheroes, princesses, cars, animals.
“We can pick anything?” Leo asked.
“Anything you want.”
“Even the space sheets with rockets?”
“Even those.”
“Or the ocean ones with sharks?”
“Yep. If you want to sleep with sharks every night, go for it.”
Leo wandered down the aisle, touching packages, weighing options. He stopped at the dinosaur set—green T-Rex roaring on blue fabric.
“This one.”
“You’re sure? There are, like, fifty options.”
“This one has T-Rex. And Triceratops. And—” Leo squinted at the package. “I don’t know that one but it looks cool.”
“That’s a Pachycephalosaurus.”
“A what?”
“Dome-head dino. They headbutt each other.”
“THAT’S AWESOME!” Leo hugged the package. “It’s got to be this one.”
Alexander grabbed the whole set—sheets, comforter, pillowcases. Dinosaurs everywhere.
“What else?” he asked.
“For what?”
“For your room.”
“The white room?”
“It doesn’t have to stay white.”
Leo tilted his head. “We can change it?”
“We can do whatever you want. Posters. Paint. Shelves for dinos. Up to you.”
“Anything?”
“Within reason. No live animals.”
“I wasn’t going to ask for live animals!”
“Just setting boundaries.”
They roamed through the store. Leo picked:
A T-Rex nightlight.
Glow-in-the-dark star stickers.
A bookshelf he could reach.
Storage bins with raptors.
A jungle rug.
At the paint section, Leo chose green. “Like grass. Dinosaurs need to feel at home.”
“Only one wall,” Alexander said. “I’ve never painted before. Bound to mess up.”
“That’s okay. Messes are fun.”
“You say that now.”
They packed the cart, checked out.
The cashier grinned at Leo. “Big project?”
“We’re making my room! It’s a secret!”
“Sounds like a great secret.”
Alexander loaded everything in the trunk.
“Are we done?” Leo asked.
“One more stop.”
11:30 AM - Ice Cream Shop
They sat outside on tiny chairs. Leo deep into chocolate chip. Alexander stuck with vanilla.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Is this really my room? Like forever?”
Alexander put his cone down. “What do you mean?”
“The white room. Is it mine? Or are we just borrowing it?”
“You’re not borrowing. You live there now.”
“But it’s your apartment.”
“That makes it your apartment too, doesn’t it?”
Leo stirred his ice cream, thinking. “At Mama’s house, I had my room. My bed, my stuff, my posters. This feels like—I don’t know—like visiting.”
“Yeah, I get that. That’s why we’re doing this.”
“But what if we have to leave?”
“We’re not leaving.”
“But what if Mama wants us to go back?”
Alexander got down to Leo’s level. “Buddy, this is home now. You, me, Mama. That apartment is ours. And your room is yours. Okay?”
“Even if it’s big and fancy?”
“Even then. Home isn’t about fancy—it’s about the people.”
Leo nodded. “And dinosaurs?”
“Dinosaurs make it better.”
“Okay,” Leo said, taking a giant bite—ice cream smeared everywhere.
Alexander handed him a napkin.
They finished in silence, easy and comfortable.
“Can we go make my room now?” Leo asked.
“Let’s get started.”
1:00 PM - Alexander’s Apartment
They spread everything out in the guest room.
Alexander eyed the paint supplies. “Well, I have no clue what I’m doing.”
“YouTube!” Leo said.
“You know YouTube?”
“Mama watches cooking videos. We can find painting ones.”
“That’s… actually smart.”
They watched a tutorial. Tape. Edges. Technique.
“Seems easy,” Alexander said.
“Super easy!”
It was not easy.
Alexander’s first stroke went sideways. Paint dripped.
“Oops.”
“It’s okay! Messes are fun!”
“You keep saying that.”
On they went, Leo tackling the lower section. He got green paint on his shirt, his hands, even his ear.
“How did you get paint on your ear?” Alexander asked.
“I don’t know!”
They painted for hours. Goofed up, fixed things, goofed up again. But eventually, the wall transformed—dinosaur jungle green.
They built the bookshelf. Leo handed over pieces.
“This one?”
“No, that’s—wait, yeah, that one. Good job.”
“I’m very helpful.”
“You totally are.”
Books lined the shelf—dinosaur encyclopedias, picture books, all Leo’s favorites.
Glow stars went up next. Leo insisted on climbing Alexander’s shoulders.
“Higher!”
“You’re already pretty high.”
“I need to reach the corner!”
They covered the ceiling. It looked like a whole galaxy.
Fresh sheets on the bed. Dinosaurs everywhere.
Bins wrangled the toys. T-Rex nightlight set by the bed.
Jungle rug down last.
They stepped back.
“Whoa,” Leo whispered.
The white room was gone—now there was green, stars, jungle, dinosaurs. Now it was a kid’s room. Leo’s room.
“Do you like it?” Alexander asked.
“I LOVE IT!” Leo bounced on the bed. “The dinosaurs are sleeping with me!”
“That’s the idea.”
“And the stars! And the bookshelf! And—” Nightlight caught his eye. “A T-REX LIGHT!”
“So when you wake up, you’re not alone.”
Leo hugged the light. Then he hugged Alexander’s legs.
“Thank you, Dad.”
Alexander’s throat tightened. “You’re welcome, buddy.”
“Can I stay here forever?”
“That’s the plan.”
Leo climbed on, arranging his dinosaurs.
They looked like they belonged.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“This is the best room ever.”
“Good—that’s what we wanted.”
3:45 PM
Elena walked in, finding them on the floor eating pizza, both covered in green paint.
“What happened?”
“Secret mission accom—flished!” Leo said.
“What secret mission?”
“Come see!”
He tugged her hand, dragging her down the hallway.
The guest room door was closed.
“Close your eyes!” Leo ordered.
“Why?”
“Because it’s a SURPRISE!”
She closed her eyes. Leo opened the door.
“Open!”
She opened them.
The room was transformed—green wall, stars on the ceiling, dinosaurs everywhere.
Not generic, not temporary.
A real kid’s room. Leo’s room.
“We made it!” Leo said. “Me and Dad! All ourselves!”
Elena glanced at Alexander. He shrugged.
“He needed his own space,” Alexander said. “We made it happen.”
“You painted.”
“Badly. Yeah.”
“And decorated.”
“Leo picked everything out.”
“The dinosaurs! And the stars! And—” Leo turned on the nightlight. T-Rex shone green. “I won’t be scared at night!”
Elena’s eyes filled up.
“You like it?” Leo asked.
“I love it, baby.”
“Dad said this is my room forever. Is that true?”
She looked at Alexander. He nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “It’s your room. Forever.”
“PERFECT!” Leo jumped on the bed. “Can I sleep here tonight?”
“It’s your room. Sleep here every night.”
“With dinosaurs? And stars?”
“All of it.”
Leo arranged his animals—T-Rex in charge, Stegosaurus backup, Ellyphant on the pillow.
Elena moved into the hall. Alexander followed.
“You did all this without asking,” she said quietly.
“I did.”
“You should’ve told me.”
“Would you have agreed?”
She paused. “Probably not. I’d have said it’s too much. Too permanent. Too—”
“Exactly. So I just… did it.”
“You can’t just—” She stopped and stared at Leo arranging toys on his new shelf. “It’s perfect.”
“He needed it. Needed to feel like this is home, not a stopover.”
“I know. I’ve just… I’ve been obsessed with legal stuff. Viviana. All of it.”
“I know. That’s why I handled this part. You fight the battles. I make sure he’s okay.”
She leaned against him. “There’s green paint in your hair.”
“There’s green paint everywhere. Leo is a chaos agent.”
“He gets that from you.”
“Absolutely not. I’m incredibly organized.”
“You literally painted a room on impulse.”
“That’s strategic spontaneity.”
She laughed—actually laughed. First real one in weeks.
“Thank you,” she said. " For seeing him. Doing this. For—” she gestured toward the room, “For making us a home.”
“We live here. It ought to feel like it.”
Leo popped into the doorway. “Mama? Can we do movie night? In my new room?”
“Movie night?”
“With popcorn! And we all squeeze on my bed! Please?”
Elena looked at Alexander.
He shrugged. “I’m in if you are.”
“Okay. Movie night.”
“YES!”
They made popcorn, switched to comfy clothes, all squeezed onto Leo’s new dinosaur bed.
All three. Barely fitting. Elbows bumping. Popcorn everywhere.
Perfect.
Leo picked a dinosaur movie, obviously. Halfway through, he drifted off.
Elena whispered, “He’s out.”
“Big day of painting and decorating.”
“He worked hard.”
“He did.”
They stayed on the bed, movie flickering, Leo’s breathing steady between them.
“I like this room better than mine,” Elena said.
“Better dinosaurs.”
“And stars.”
“Can’t forget the stars.”
They sat together, silent and content.
Outside, the world waited: legal fights, trials, endless paperwork.
But in this room—
Under glow stars, among dinosaurs—
They were simply family.
Safe. Together. Home.
Elena looked at the green wall and the mess of toys—the proof of a good afternoon.
“You’re a good dad,” she whispered.
“I’m learning.”
“You’re already good.”
Alexander pulled her closer, careful not to wake Leo.
“We should really move him. Get some proper sleep.”
“In a bit.”
“Okay.”
They stayed squeezed together on the too-small bed.
All three.
Family.
In a room that finally belonged.
To Leo. To all of them.
Home.