Page 70 of Sweet on You
24
Lex
Ipaced my apartment for so long that if I was a cartoon, I would have worn away the carpet. I closed down the bakery at 3:00 today, half an hour early which was fine since I had sold out of almost all of my baked goods anyway.
Linda and Bob were due to arrive with Olivia any moment. My first night with my daughter. Alone.
My heart slammed against my ribcage. I had no earthly idea what I was doing. I didn’t know how to be a father. I had spent the morning googlingHow to entertain a fifteen-month-old.
For the record, Google was not that helpful.
The doorbell rang and icy nerves slithered down my spine.They’re here. I ran down the stairs to let them in, and as I swung open the door, I found Ronnie standing there, a basket hugged against her body, a bag swinging from her arms, and a giant box sitting at her feet.
“Ronnie,” I said, startled. “What are—”
“I wanted to give you something. A little baby shower gift, if you will.”
My eyes widened as I took the basket from her, peeked inside and found an array of baby items: pacifiers, diapers, baby wipes, toys—even a stuffed cat that looked just like Frost.
Bending, I kissed her, all my nerves shifting into a different sort of butterflies in my stomach. I cupped her jaw, stroking my thumb over the swell of her cheek. “I don’t deserve you,” I said.
She smiled. “The basket is from me. The car seat is from my family—Mom, Steve, Yvonne, Cam, Lydia, and Callie. Oh, and I guess Noah. At least in spirit. If he were in town, he would have been in on it too.”
I lifted the car seat box. “I didn’t even think about needing this,” I said. Shit. How could I have overlooked something so obvious?
“Truly, it was my mom’s idea,” Ronnie said, shrugging. “She said that you should have one here permanently. Especially in case there’s an emergency.”
“Your family is the kindest, Ronnie. Thank you so much.”
I turned, leading her upstairs to my apartment and as we slipped inside, I started looking closer at the gift basket. “Kids need a ton of stuff, huh?”
Ronnie exhaled a breath. “Dude, you have no idea. That store this morning was overwhelming as hell. I’m sure most of stuff in there isn’t really needed, but the choices alone are intense.”
She handed me the paper bag as well. “More?” I asked.
“Not really. It’s some of Maddie’s old clothes that Cam had saved in his attic. Some hand-me-downs for Olivia. My mom and I washed them already, so they’re good to go.”
My brow wrinkled as I pulled out lavender overalls and held them up. They were so tiny, I couldn’t help the smile that curved my mouth as I ran my hand over the little Oshkosh symbol at the buttons. “I’m sure Olivia has clothes already,” he said. “But even still, this is so nice.”
“Believe me,” Ronnie said, already in the process of helping me empty the diapers and toys into the corner of my living room. “I gave my mom the same argument you’re giving me right now—apparently, you’re going to be happy you have a wardrobe for her the first time she throws up or something.”
I cringed. “Bloody Christ. She’s probably absolutely right.”
I reached into the basket and pulled out a weird, rolled-up bit of vinyl. I held it up to the light as though the change in angle would somehow tell me what the hell I was looking at. “What’s this?”
“A changing pad,” Ronnie said, taking it gently from my hands and putting it with the other diaper things in the corner. “Apparently, it takes up far less room than an actual changing table.”
I grabbed some of the food items and put them away in my pantry—these weird pouches of pureed vegetables and fruits. Huh. I’d just sort of thought she’d need bottles. It didn’t occur to me that she’d be eating real food yet. At the bottom of the basket was a book.The Everything Guide to Single Parenting—Toddler Edition. I held it up, grinning. “You think I need a little help, do you?”
She took the book from my hands and smacked me on the arm with it. “Iknowyou do.”
“How’s Penny feeling?”
“Good. His paws seem almost entirely better. I dropped him off at Steve’s clinic so he could take a look at the stitches in Penny’s mouth while I ran these errands. I’m going to pick him up next.”
She pointed to the corner of the room. “Okay, so I put diaper things over there. The toys are in the opposite corner.”
“Don’t mix those up,” I said, pointing at my temple with a click of my tongue. “Got it.”
