Page 61 of Christmas with the Baby Daddy

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ZACH

“Do you want me to take your temperature?” George asked.

“No.” I shook my head. “I doubt it’ll be different from the last time we checked.”

He nodded, concentrating with a pout as he wrote on the little clipboard he was using as he played doctor with me. “How do you spelltemperature?”

“Just writetemp. That’s an abbreviation. T-E-M-P.”

“Okay.” He smiled. “Rest is best,” he advised. “I’m going to make my rounds and I will check with you later.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied, dutifully playing along.

When Blake and Grandma Jenny left earlier, I had a second of panic. I had never been entrusted with a kid. Which was a stupid thing to think. I had been entrusted to have my troops’ back. I’d helped my former comrades with cuts and scrapes. That one time we all drank untreated water, my God, the shits and runs we all suffered…

After a while, I realized that I didn’t have to change a single thing about how I acted around George or treated him. He seemed mature for his age, but still silly. So long as I listened to him and was honest, even in this make-believe episode of him being my doctor as my stomach ached, I was fine. He was fine—really. The first hour of Blake being gone, we’d watched a movie. And once it was over, he sprang up full of energy and insisting he felt better.

He did. He wanted to play and color and draw and build. I, on the other hand, wanted to stay seated or lying down. And he was cool with that. He wasn’t a punk, trying to do something he knew he shouldn’t. He didn’t talk back. I wasn’t sure if he had a tablet or screen to play with, but if he did, it seemed he favored hanging out with me.

Amanda was a good topic to talk about. He gushed about her babysitting him all the time, clearly fond of her. And he asked me about her, quickly learning that he might know more about my sister than I did. When I explained why I wasn’t close to Amanda, he asked more questions about being in the military, which I kept brief. And then, when I said I wasn’t in the army anymore because my shoulder got hurt, he asked to see the scars from surgery.

He was a curious boy, which entertained me, but little quirks he had seemed too familiar. How he’d crinkle his brow if he was confused, making that little V above his nose. Those dimples that were impossible to miss when he grinned. Even his habit of tapping his temple as he thought hard, like when it was his turn with checkers.

Maybe he got them from Amanda since it sounds like he spends so much time with her.

Another possibility struck my mind, but I couldn’t ask him about it.

Blake came home, yawning and so clearly tired, but she smiled at the sight of us in the living room. “Hey, honey,” she greeted as George ran up to hug her. He nearly knocked her over. “Whoa!”

“Easy, kiddo,” I warned as I stood from the floor where George and I were trying to build a pillow fort.

“I missed you, Mama.”

“I missed you too. You sure do seem better,” she commented as she ruffled his hair.

“I do! I’ve been taking care of him.” He pointed at me, and I waved hello.

She frowned, approaching me and feeling my brow. I wanted to lean into her and hold her close, but even standing seemed too taxing for her. “How are you?” she asked softly while George ran further back in the house near the den to find more pillows for our fort.

I shrugged. “Just no appetite. I’ll live.” I snuck a quick kiss on her cheek, catching her cheek rising in a smile.

“Can I help?” She hugged me, caressing my back with the tips of her fingers. I wished I hadn’t put my T-shirt on now, because I loved the touch of her skin against mine.

“Want some water? Soup?”

I smiled, touched that she could be so sweet. So nurturing. Even when she was so exhausted, she’d put my comfort and well-being first. “I need you to go to bed. You’re about to fall over.”

“It has been a long day.”

I kissed the top of her head. “And I didn’t let you sleep much the night before.”

“True.” She yawned, proving my point.

“George?” I called out. “You bring the things to the fort. I’m going to tuck your mom into bed.”

Blake opened her mouth to protest but I covered her mouth with my hand.

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