Page 267 of As The Shifter World Turns

Daire

“Well done.”

I was sitting on the floor of our apartment with Charlie who was putting his building blocks on top of one another. He had two so far and was going for a third. He had infinite patience for a little guy. Whenever his tower toppled over, he’d start again.

It was just me and Charlie today. Nate was working outside of town and would be back tomorrow night. Neil and Martin were co-parenting and sharing the upstairs apartment with the boys, but today with Toby at school, I was looking after Charlie while Martin worked at his barista job and used every spare minute he had hustling to find a position that matched his skillset.

Neil and Anthony were working on some project and while Charlie was a pretty cool little dude, he needed a lot of attention. I wasn’t sure how Neil managed it, juggling everything he had to do. I supposed he was like most parents. Ivor, Ryder, Micah, and Archer all did the same thing.

I sighed as I got up to cut fruit for Charlie. For a little guy, he sure loved his food. I needed some too ‘cause I was tuckered out. How did parents do this? I checked the time but it was a little early to put him down for a nap.

The phone buzzed and I put Charlie in his high chair and gave him a plastic spoon. He had oodles of toys but that was his favorite when he was waiting for something to eat. He’d bang in on the tray and giggle and if I made a face or covered my ears, he’d giggle and do it even more.

Now that had become our thing, he’d wait and study me and when Iexaggerated my movements and put my hands over my ears, peals of laughter would bubble out of him.

Glancing at the message, I typed in one word.Yes. It was our newish assistant, Micah’s and mine. Now that Archer was running Ryder’s app business, and not working with us, he’d hired someone to take his place.

After our first renovation motel show was a huge success, we sort of had a template now and things progressed more smoothly, at least on our end. We could never predict how the contestants would react and unlike some other reality shows, we didn’t script a thing. Our shows were all raw and real.

“Da Da.” That was what Charlie called me. Neil ended up with Ba Ba, Nate was Na Na and Martin was Ni Ni. “Da Da,” he yelled as he banged the spoon.

“Oh no.” Hands on my ears were hard to do when cutting up apples, but I made it work and then there were a few minutes of silence while Charlie ate his fruit. I grabbed a soda wishing I could have coffee but when looking after Charlie, I’d never get to finish it and I had to keep it away from him. I’d caught on that hot drinks were out of the question when he was around.

While I was officially Charlie’s guardian—along with Neil—and with Martin and Nate, we were all the little boy’s dads, Neil was his primary caregiver. And he did a great job. I was more like a favorite uncle and I loved that role but lately I’d been longing to have a child with Nate.

My family had always had money—I’d been very lucky in that respect— but I was now independently financially secure. I had to thank my dads for cutting me off and setting me on a path to becoming a success. But with not having to worry about a weekly paycheck, I could take time off and so could Nate if we had a baby.

Nate had brothers so he grew up in a house full of noise, dirty laundry and chaos. While I could do without piles of dirty clothes scattered around the apartment, I wanted the chaos I’d witnessed in the other Sunshine Manor families.

But I hadn’t broached the subject with Nate. Both of us were alway so busy and I probably used that as an excuse to put off saying anything. It was a huge step and it would affect how we worked and lived. Watching my friends do the juggling routine with kids, I understood it was far from easy. Maybe when he got back from his latest work trip we could have a heart to heart talk.

I pushed those thoughts away and chuckled to myself as I wiped Charlie’s hands because I’d been questioning how other parents coped and yet that was exactly what I wanted. But Charlie was rubbing his eyes, a sure sign he was tired. After a diaper change, I put him in the crib and he was asleep within minutes.

There were emails to deal with and I chatted to Micah who was moaning about one of the current contestants complaining about the food. Same old, same old.

After pottering around the apartment and sending heart emojis to Nate, Ipeeked in at Charlie. He was such a cutie and Neil was such a good dad. Through all the crap with Martin, my friend kept his focus on the boys.

I tiptoed out of his room and took a chance he’d sleep for a bit longer and made myself a coffee. I was tempting fate ‘cause for sure he’d wake up but I was also ready for a nap. Neil often gave me Charlie’s lunch when I had the little guy for the day. He cooked it in batches on a Sunday and froze it. My human friend was a super dad.

But I started ordering toddler meals from a startup run by another friend. They were delivered to the door and I froze them so I always had something for Charlie. I’d tried to order them for Neil too saying it was my treat but he preferred to cook the little boy’s food himself.

And thinking of that company had me wondering if they needed anyone like Martin. He’d be a great fit for their business with all his upper management experience. I put a reminder in the phone so I’d mention it to the fox shifter when I saw him next.

Charlie was too young to understand the concept of shifting, but when we went to my parents’ place by the lake and Neil held him while we all shifted, he’d waddle up to our beasts and pat each one. He was going to be really disappointed when he discovered he wasn’t a shifter.

When I checked the baby monitor app, Charlie was moving about. Not yet awake but he would be soon. I finished off my coffee and got his stroller ready and his little hat. We’d head off to the park before lunch. I sent a message to Archer saying we were coming to get Patch. As with Toby, Patch adored Charlie.

A cry of “Da Da,” had me scurrying into the room and after another diaper change, we collected the dog. There was huge excitement from both Patch and the little boy at being reunited.

I chatted to Charlie and the dog as we walked toward the park.

“That butterfly is so pretty.”

“Look at the big blue car.”

“Don’t take your hat off, little one.”

“Patch, stop that.”

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