Page 54 of All of Me

“I’ll go get her! That way Ruby can eat boobies!” Barrett exclaims and dashes off.

I look at Callie, who’s mortified, her cheeks turning pink. She covers her face with her hand, laughing at the absurdity. I can’t hold it in either. We’re both doubled over, losing it when Barrett returns a moment later, pulling Sara by the hand. Little Ruby lets out a loud, hungry wail.

“It’s okay, little one,” I console her. “I get mad when I don’t get boobies too.”

Barrett tilts his head at me, his expression confused. “Why would you eat boobies, Dad? You’re not a baby.”

Flustered, I try to come up with a response. “I meant… uh… I meant when I was a baby,” I insist.

“Oh! I didn’t eat boobies when I was a baby. Mommy says I drank bottles. Why can’t Ruby just do that instead?”

“Well, buddy. She’s not eating, she’s drinking,” I explain, trying to get my three year old to stop talking about eating boobies.

“So she drinks boobies?” he asks.

“Oh my God,” Callie wheezes, clutching her stomach. “Barrett, you’re going to kill me.”

“Can’t we eat dinner without boobies being the main topic of conversation?” I groan, scooping him up and carrying him to the table.

Callie snorts, taking Ruby to the couch to feed her. “He’s a boob man just like his dad,” she whispers as she passes.

“Don’t I know it,” I mutter, ladling the soup into bowls before walking over to the refrigerator to get milk for the kids.

Sara spots her favorite fruit in the fridge and exclaims she would like some “Bah-boobies” with her dinner. I look at Sara, confused. I hear Callie laughing from the couch.

“The blueberries,” she translates. “She’s asking you for the blueberries.”

twenty-one

HOME - DAUGHTRY

CALLIE - DECEMBER 24, 2013

The living room is a mess of torn wrapping paper and ribbon from the kids opening presents. Barrett demanded that he have the opportunity to “swim” in the tissue paper. The Chrstimas tree casts a magical glow over everything, making the space feel warm, cozy and alive. Laughter echoes from the corner where Barrett and Sara sit huddled together around a new set of building blocks they got from my mom and Wayne. They are constructing what appears to be a very lop-sided… castle?

Ruby sits in her swing, babbling and cooing away. Mom and Wayne are in the kitchen with Wayne’s kids, swapping stories while the ham bakes. Owen sits on the couch, overseeing castle construction and providing building tips the kids are ignoring.

It’s the kind of moment I wish could last forever, pure, uncomplicated joy. Owen catches my eye from across the room, his dark eyes crinkling with a smile. This has been the Christmas I’ve always dreamed of, the kind where love and laughter make the rest of the world’s worries disappear.

However, nothing lasts forever, and the happiness I feel is replaced by dread at the thought of seeing Adam later tonight. Dropping the girls off with him is going to ruin every ounce of joy I have.

I glance at the clock on the wall and freeze. It’s 5:20 p.m.

Oh no.

My stomach twists as I grab my phone from the counter, swiping it open. The screen is alight with a flurry of angry unread texts, all from Adam. The tone of his texts cut straight through the peace of the evening.

Adam:

Callie, where are you?

Adam:

We agreed on 5:00. This is ridiculous.

Adam:

If you’re not here in 15 minutes, I’m coming to get them myself.

---