Page 20 of Best Served Cold

“I love you too,” I said quietly as he lay his full weight on my shoulder. “But you gotta burp for me, Fe. You don’t want to go to bed with a bubble in your belly, do you?”

He shifted his head and let out a loud belch.

“Good boy. Do you have another in there?”

He sneezed in response.

“You okay?” I shifted him off my shoulder.

His sister had just gotten over the sniffles. No one else in the house had gotten sick. We thought we were out of the woods, but what if Felix had caught whatever she’d had?

Felix snuggled into my arms, his breath becoming rhythmic as he promptly fell asleep.

I checked him over for any symptoms. He didn’t seem stuffed up, and his color was good. He wasn’t warm. But he hadn’t eaten as much today as he had yesterday. Was that something we should worry about?

The click of the door unlocking, then the creak of it opening, alerted me that my sister was home.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Becca whispered as she trudged into the living room.

“It’s fine.” I kept my voice a bit above a whisper. Felix was fast asleep and once this kid was out, he was out.

She paused in front of me and leaned down to press a gentle kiss to Felix’s fuzzy head. I made a motion to ask if she wanted to take him, but she just smoothed her fingers down his back and shook her head. She was still in her work uniform, which was splattered with grease and other stains.

“Long shift?”

“Yeah.” She flopped onto the couch next to the rocking chair with a soft sigh. “Millie was late again. They wouldn’t let me leave until she clocked in. I should have texted but I didn’t know it would take so long to get home.” She tugged the hair tie free from her long braid and shook out the strands.

“It’s fine,” I repeated.

Becca laid her head back and rolled it over to gaze at us, smiling affectionately at Felix. “How is everyone?”

“Aria’s good. She spent most of the day having zoomies.”

She pulled a face. “I’m still not sure how I feel about you comparing my kids to dogs.”

“Then I probably shouldn’t tell you I played fetch with her for an hour to tire her out so she’d actually go to bed on time?”

“If it works, it works. I’m not gonna complain.” She smiled tiredly.

“I think Felix might be getting sick.”

Becca sat up straight, all traces of her exhaustion gone. “What do you mean? What happened?”

“He sneezed.”

“And?” she prompted when I fell silent.

“And…that’s it.”

“When was this?”

“While I was burping him. I know he does that sometimes, but Aria had whatever that was and he’s so little and…”

Her smile returned, and she resumed her position as a mommy puddle against the couch. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Do you want to change and take a shower while I get him down?”

She nodded, her eyes on the baby’s angelic face. “Do you have plans tonight?”

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