ClarenceBN by Sarah M. Anderson

a cocktail party and not a near brawl, “This is Ezra Johnson, Mikey’s father.”
    “Yeah, we met,” Ezra said, not offering his hand or anything. Not that Clarence would have shaken it anyway.
    “Ezra,” Tammy began in a tone that Clarence recognized as the one she used on kids who were spiraling out of control. “What are you doing here?”
    “What—aren’t you happy to see me?” he asked, keeping a wary eye on Clarence.
    Yeah, buddy , Clarence thought. You should be worried . He flexed his shoulders.
    “It’s just—it’s been a long time. If you were going to stop by, you could have called. I don’t—this will be—I didn’t have the chance to prepare Mikey, that’s all,” she said, stumbling over her words.
    In that moment, Clarence didn’t regret throwing the rat out. In fact, he’d really enjoy another chance to do it again because once again, Ezra was making Tammy’s life harder simply by existing.
    He cracked his knuckles in warning.
    “You call him Mikey? That’s—” He caught the movement of Clarence taking a step toward him.  
    Say something about the boy , Clarence mentally challenged him. Say one thing .  
    “Yeah, okay there, man. That’s fine, okay?” Ezra took a step back, putting Tammy in between him and Clarence.  
    Clarence smiled. He had the upper hand here, even if he was almost old enough to be Ezra’s dad.  
    Which left him completely unprepared for when Tammy turned around and glared at him. “Clarence,” she said and he heard the nice tone start to fray. “Do you mind?”
    “Yeah, actually, I do. A lot. You want me to get rid of him for you?”
    “ Clarence . I can handle this.” Behind her, Ezra gave Clarence a bratty look.  
    Clarence grabbed Tammy and pulled her aside. “Babe,” he said, pleading with her. “I don’t want him to jerk you around—you or Mikey.”
    A look of doubt crossed her face. “I know, but he is Mikey’s father.”
    “I don’t want him to hurt you again,” Clarence said, taking her hand in his. “I don’t want him to mess things up.” Things like engagement rings and wedding nights and growing old together. It was one thing if Tammy decided of her own free will that Clarence was already too old to spend the rest of her life with—but if Ezra somehow made it that Clarence shouldn’t be around Mikey—well, Tammy had made it plain. The boy had to come first.
    She managed to curve her mouth into a strained smile, but then Ezra snorted behind them as if he could not believe what he was seeing.  
    “That’s it ,” Clarence growled as he made a move toward Ezra.
    “No!” Tammy shouted, but that’s not what stopped him.
    “Mommy? Cwarence?” The sound of Mikey’s small voice cutting through the air caused all the adults to freeze. “What’s wrong?”

Chapter Eight
    “Nothing, baby,” Tammy said, giving both Ezra a warning glare and pushing Clarence back. “Behave,” she hissed under her breath as Mikey looked from man to man, worry already making his lower lip tremble.
    She hurried over and swept her boy into her arms. “Mikey, honey,” she said, knowing that she had to be the grown-up here—especially since Clarence seemed to have suddenly reverted back to being a headstrong teenager.  
    This was not how she wanted this to go. For years, she’d dreamed of Ezra coming back. In those early fantasies, often the product of sleepless nights and teething, Ezra would have realized the errors of his ways and come crawling back, begging her forgiveness for being such an ass. He’d propose and mean it this time and then, finally, they’d live happily ever after.
    Maybe about the time Mikey had turned two, though, those dreams had faded under the crushing weight of reality. Ezra was not going to come crawling back. There would be no fairy-tale wedding and no happy ending. Not for her.
    At least, not until Clarence.
    She took a deep breath. She had to be strong for Mikey. “This is Ezra, baby. This is your