Page 67 of Somewhere We Belong

“Uh, no. That’s fine,” I said, my voice trembling.

“I can shop or hold her,” he said with a little more confidence.

“She won’t stop crying,” I said, trying to calm her down by swaying more.

He held out his hands. “If… If she doesn’t stop, you can take… take her.”

Was I really going to let a stranger hold my daughter? At this point I felt like I might do something worse.

“Ok,” I whispered, as tears gathered in my eyes. “Bend your arms and just support her neck.”

I helped him get his arms into position as Sol’s cries grew louder. A tear fell down my cheek as I felt like I might lose it.It was like my body was telling me to do something, except I didn’t know what. I placed her into his arms, and it was like instinct as he adjusted himself to hold her. She immediately stopped crying, looking up at him. They stared at each other, they were each mesmerized. I took a deep breath, enjoyed the silence and noticed that he looked good with my daughter in his arms. Theo followed me around the store as I shopped, and he kept Sol quiet. She fell asleep in his big arms and as he put her in her car seat, I was grateful and jealous he had gotten her to calm down.

The memory brought a smile to my face. He had helped us out a few more times until I felt guilty about relying on him. Thankfully, Sol had grown out of that fussy stage. I walked out of the bedroom, feeling exhausted already, but I was thirsty and hungry. Hopefully, I could keep down some food. I walked in on all of them watching TV with the windows opened. Sol instantly noticed me, smiling so big as she walked up to me.

“Momma, are you ok?” she asked, looking like she wasn’t sick at all.

“Just tired,” I said, hugging her tightly.

“Awesome! We are watching Sing!” she squealed, going back to the sofa to sit in between Theo and Atlas.

“Did you eat?” I asked, walking to the chair on the side of the sofa.

“Yeah, toast and bananas,” she said, fixated on the TV.

“She woke up ravenous, but I wanted to make sure she could handle some bland food,” Atlas said looking me over. “How are you feeling?”

“Exhausted,” I said, sitting on the chair.

“How is your stomach?” he asked, sitting up and grabbing my hand.

He put two fingers to my pressure point as he looked at his watch.

“It’s ok, a little uneasy, but I am hungry,” I said, as he nodded.

“You think you can keep down some broth? Atlas got up to go to the kitchen.

“Yeah, I think so,” I said, watching him pull out a container and pour some broth into a mug to heat up in the microwave.

Atlas opened the door to the fridge, grabbed a Gatorade and brought it to me.

“Small sips,” he ordered.

I nodded, admiring Atlas. He was in sweatpants and a black shirt, looking too comfortable in my home. Memories of our bedroom session brought heat to my cheeks as I sipped the Gatorade. Looking away, my eyes landed on Theo, not helping to keep the memories at bay.

“You ok?” Theo asked.

“Yup,” I said, sipping my Gatorade as Atlas brought a steamy cup of broth to me.

“You are getting a little red.” Atlas touched my forehead.

“I’m fine,” I muttered, hiding behind my drink again.

They narrowed their eyes on me, and I looked at the movie. It’s not like I could tell them why I was flushed, not in front of Sol.

We watched the movie in silence as my eyelids got heavier and heavier.

“Can you drink a little more and then we can take a nap,” Atlas said, holding the cup up to my lips.

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