Page 29 of Daddy's Unexpected Gift

“Let me get the list from the living room,” she said.

Georgie cooed, and I made faces at the baby.

“You’re starting to actually like her, aren’t you?” Cecelia asked as she stepped back into the kitchen, the notepad with her copious notes in tow.

“I… it wasn’t that I didn’t like her. I didn’t know how?—”

Cecelia snorted. She made the funniest noises, and it all added to her charm.

“What?” I demanded.

“I bet you aren’t used to saying things like ‘I don’t know,’ and ‘help me.’ Are you?”

“I’m not,” I admitted with a huff.

“I can tell. The words sound foreign coming out of your throat.”

“Are you teasing me?” I liked it. I liked that she wasn’t afraid to talk to me or tell me I was wrong.

“It’s only what you deserve for making me blush,” she said with a fierce determination.

“Note to self,” I said out loud as I scooped up a baby spoon full of rice and faced Georgie. “I need to make Cecelia blush more, don’t you think?” I ticked the baby’s foot before feeding her.

“Where is the diaper bag, back in her room?” Cecelia asked.

“Here.” I stood. “Why don’t you feed Georgie and I’ll go grab the bag? What else should I get?”

“Anything that needs to go into the bag—diapers, a pack of wipes, clothes.”

“Right.” I stood there and watched Cecelia smile at Georgie and coo words of encouragement as she fed the baby. It felt hauntingly familiar, like something I had missing from inside me.

I took my time gathering the items I thought would be needed. Instead of grabbing the portrait-ready ruffle dresses I mistakenly thought little girls actually wore on a daily basis—because the only time I saw baby girls, that’s how they were dressed—I picked up soft cotton outfits. Three of them. It seemed like overkill, but having already been grossly underprepared once, I’d rather be overprepared going forward.

I shoved everything into the bag and still had my arms full when I went back to the kitchen.

“Oh, wow, okay. Wayne, do you have any gallon-sized zipper baggies?” Cecelia asked. “Oh, and some paper towels.”

She started to clean up the highchair and Georgie as soon as she had the towels. She carried the baby’s dishes to the sink, leaving the kid in the chair while I spread the contents of the bag over the table.

Georgie sat and cooed and made her baby garbling sounds as I had a lesson in what should go into a diaper bag. Every pocket was filled. It was heavier than before.

“Are you sure this is right?”

Cecelia shrugged. “No. It’s righter than what we started today with. The next time you take Georgie out, you’ll learn whether it has what you need or not. It’s not a static set of must-haves. As she grows, you might need more clothes, or less, or… The point is, you learn and modify as you go.”

“Won’t you be there to help?” I asked.

“At some point, you’ll be on your own. As it is, I’m not here all the time, anyway,” she said.

“It’s better when you’re with us,” I admitted.

She pressed her lips together and looked like she was trying not to smile as she blushed.

“Shall I prepare the formal dining room, or would you prefer I clear the table so you can dine in here?” Wayne asked.

I glanced at my watch. It was almost time for him to leave for the evening. I looked at the piles on the kitchen table. No, we were still working on all of this.

“Dining room, please,” I said.

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