Page 53 of Everything We Left Unsaid

“We’re going to be fine,” I assure her.

“Okay.” She nods and takes a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. “You have my number in case you need anything.”

“Yes, baby mama,” I tease. “It’s saved in my phone.” She huffs out a chuckle and steps up to me. I wrap her in my arms and hold her tight, wishing she didn’t have to leave.

“Sorry. I get a little carried away where she’s concerned.”

“It’s okay. I get it. And I’m glad you’re that way. I know my little girl is in good hands. You’ve done a wonderful job taking care of her.” She sniffles and I regret bringing up the fact that she’s done this all by herself until now.

I cup her face and tilt it up, bringing my mouth down on hers, kissing her with just enough heat to leave her wanting more. She returns my kiss and presses her hands to my chest, feeling the hard slab of muscle under my skin.

“Goodbye, Abby.”

“Goodbye, Jacob.” Her voice is soft and breathy, that wispy sound that drives me wild. She walks out the front door leaving me wanting more, so much more. A moment later, I run after her, remembering something I forgot, something important.

“Abby!” She stops and turns at the sound of my voice. Gravel crunches under my feet and I stop just in front of her. “I love you.” I forgot to tell her before she left, and I’ve decided I never want to part from her without saying it again.

She smiles softly, enjoying the sentiment. “I love you.”

I slide one palm over her cheek and slip my free arm around her waist, pulling her in for another kiss. When our lips finally break apart, her eyes are soft and full of affection, a contented look relaxing her features. “I can’t wait for you to get back,” I profess, needing her to know how much I’ll miss her.

“Me too.” With that, she leaves me and Chloe to spend the day together. When I turn around to walk back in the house, Chloe stands in the doorway, a baby doll clutched in her hand as she watches her mama drive away.

“Chloe Bug!” I greet excitedly, trying to distract her from missing Abby. “Let’s go get our shoes on so we can go swing.”

“Shoes!” she exclaims, her enunciation a little funny, but still pretty good for her age. At least she’s not saying shit. She has no problem pronouncing that.

She’s still in pajamas, so I rifle through her drawers in search of suitable clothes for playing outside. In her sock drawer, I find a clear plastic box with a blue and pink striped hat, a hospital bracelet, and the tiniest pair of pink socks I’ve ever seen. My chest constricts at the sight of her tiny box of keepsakes and my heart breaks all over again, knowing I missed so much of her life. The moment she came into this world and was placed in Abby’s arms. The first time she crawled and cooed. Her first smile, her first word, her first step. I swallow back my emotion and return the box to its resting place. I’m here with her now, and I need to make the best of it. No dwelling on the past. No focusing on things that can’t be changed. We’re going to enjoy this time we have together, and this time I’ll figure out how to make it last.

Chloe and I play outside for a long time. I slather sunscreen on her every half hour. It’s probably overkill, but I’m not taking any chances. The greasy lotion acts as a dirt magnet, and she’s covered in it when we come back inside. I scrub her down with baby wipes, not really sure what to do about a bath for a little girl. I’ll let Abby handle that later, and if she wants to show me the right way to do it, I’ll be prepared next time.

“Pees!” Chloe yelps when I set her back down.

“You need to pee?” She nods her head vigorously and runs to the bathroom. I help her with her diaper and she sits on her pink potty. When she’s finished, she holds out her hand. I grab it, thinking she needs help getting up, but she pulls it out of my grasp and grunts. Shit, I don’t speak toddler. I have no idea what she wants. She looks at something over my shoulder and grunts again. A container of flushable wipes rests on the back of the toilet. Finally realizing what she’s asking for, I pull one out of the dispenser and hand it to her. She clumsily wipes at herself before throwing the cloth on the floor and running out of the bathroom, completely naked.

“Chloe!” I yell after her. “You have to put clothes on.” I chase her down and scoop her up, returning her to Abby’s bedroom. Locating the diapers, I put a fresh one on her and grab a clean outfit from her drawer, her other one quite the worse for wear after playing outside.

When she finally settles down, I feed her a snack and pop one of her DVDs into the player. As soon as she’s settled in, my phone dings with a message from Abby. I’m honestly surprised it took her this long to check on us. I smile down at my phone when the message alert pops up with the name she designated for herself in my phone.

Baby Mama: How’s it going?

Me: Good. Our girl just peed on the potty again.

I smile to myself. Never would I have imagined having a text conversation like this, but it makes me happy. I’m quickly realizing that being Chloe’s father is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I doubt anything will ever top it.

Baby Mama: Yay!she exclaims, adding a little party emoji to her text.

Me: How’s Ama?

Baby Mama: Great! They’re going to watch her another night and let her come home in the morning.

Me: Good! I’m glad she’s doing better.

Baby Mama: Me too. I’ll call you later.

Me: Okay.

Chloe’s soft snores pull my attention away from my phone. Well, that didn’t take long. She’s slumped over on the couch, a half-eaten graham cracker dangling from her tiny fist. I’m probably not supposed to let her eat in the living room, but technically nobody conveyed that rule to me. I discard the rest of her snack and gently lift her from the couch. I turn to walk her to her room, intent on lying her down in her crib, but stop. Instead, I sink down onto the couch and just hold her. Tomorrow will be my last day with her for a while, and I don’t want to squander a single minute of that time. So I relax and lay back, snuggling my daughter against my chest and watching Frozen for the twelfth time this week.

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