Page 45 of The Long Game
“Parenting is never easy.”
“Yeah but, like, obtaining a baby sometimes is. For some people.”
Hayden laughed. “It’s never been an issue for Jackie and me, that’s for sure. Although, she’s fixed now, so.”
Shane wrinkled his nose. “Fixed?”
“Like, had her tubes tied or whatever they call it. When we had Amber she had it done when she had the C-section. Two-in-one surgeries.”
“Efficient.” Shane realized it was maybe weird that he hadn’t known any of this. He often teased Hayden about his brood of children, but he never really talked to him about his and Jackie’s experience with having babies and raising kids. “Was that a mutual decision? Not having any more kids?”
“Definitely. I mean, even if only Jackie had wanted to stop, that would have been the decision made. I would never have pushed for more if she wasn’t into it. That would be fucked. But four kids is plenty for both of us.” He sighed. “The kids want a dog now.”
Shane smiled. “So does Ilya.”
“Does he want kids?”
“I think so.” Shane’s cheeks heated. “We haven’t talked about it too seriously. There’s not much point right now.”
On the television, a very drunk young man started making out with a very drunk young woman. Shane let his eyes unfocus even more than they already were without his glasses, andquietly began to stress out about the logistics of adopting children with Ilya. There were so many things that had to happen first, and they were all terrifying.
“He’d be a good dad, I guess,” Hayden said, breaking through Shane’s anxiety spiral.
“Who?” Shane asked, in case Hayden meant the drunk gentleman on the TV.
“Rozanov. He’s good with kids. Ruby and Jade love him.”
“He basicallyisa kid, that’s why,” Shane said, though inside his heart was glowing. “Do you think I’d be a good dad?”
“Sure. You’d be the responsible one who makes sure they, like, eat vegetables and brush their teeth and stuff. Ilya would be the fun one who buys them Jet Skis for their tenth birthdays.”
“Oh god. Hewoulddo that.”
“And you’d return them and buy the kids sensible shoes or something instead,” Hayden teased.
“Eat shit. I’d be a cool dad.”
Hayden wrapped a hand around Shane’s forearm. “Shane. Buddy. You’ve never been cool about anything ever. And parenting is the most high-stress thing you can do. You’ll be an absolute mess.”
“Thanks.”
“You should still do it, though. Kids are the best.”
“Okay.”
“Hey, maybe Ruby and Jade will be old enough to babysityourkids! Man, that’s wild to think about.”
Itwaswild to think about. Every aspect of it was wild. “Yeah.”
“You got plans for tomorrow?” Hayden asked.
“I’m hanging out with Rose.”
“Oh, sweet! Can I come?”
“No. Last time you babbled the entire time like a drooling fanboy.”
“Yeah, because she’s a giant movie star!”
