Page 38 of A Me and You Thing
“So,” I say, “I have a confession.”
“What might that be?” His voice is monotone, lifeless. I’m not used to this side of Sawyer.
“I actually don’t know how to take care of the girls, I mean, I’m sorta clueless. I need you to show me exactly what to do. I mean,exactly-exactly, or I won’t know. Don’t leave out the smallest detail. I’ve never babysat in my life.”
“All right. I can do that, Bree.”
I wish he’d call me Breezy like he always used to. I love the nickname.
Sawyer changes Jordyn’s diaper like a pro. “There you go, Jordyn,” he says. When he talks to her, his voice is soft and kind. Sawyer’s soft spot is most definitely his girls. More than likely, they are his salvation, the one thing keeping him from breaking down.
“Do... do they always get up this early?” It’s 6:30 AM.
“They slept in today.”
I bite my lip. “So, how do you shower and... stuff?”
“I get up before them. Otherwise a shower doesn’t happen until they go down for their afternoon naps.Ifthey go down for their naps.”
I don’t want to hang out in my pajamas all morning, so I make a mental note to set my alarm very early from here on out. I’m used to early mornings, but I have a feeling this won’t be the same as calmly checking my emails at my desk by eight AM each day as I sip on a Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks. What have I gotten myself into?
“First thing I do is get them changed and dressed. They crawl fast, so while you’re changing one, you might want to close the door so the other one can’t escape. Or keep them occupied with toys.” He casts me a side glance. “We had a close call with the stairs the other day. I’ll install safety gates this week. It’s long overdue.”
I’m in over my head. I’d rather face a boardroom of sharks. This is scarier. I’m going to be responsible for keeping two little humans safe and alive. The prospect is suddenly daunting. “Do you ever feel outnumbered?”
“Always.”
I wring my hands together. I can do this. Iwilldo this. They’re two sweet little girls. Why am I so nervous? How hard can this be? I have a master’s degree. Surely I can take care of two babies. Sawyer sets Jordyn down next to Josie and the two little darlings both look up at me with wide puppy dog eyes as I stand in the doorway. I think they’re wondering who I am and why I’m here. Josie is dressed in soft pink and Jordyn in lavender. So adorable. They know me, yet they look apprehensive... and needy. I kind of want to cry at the sight. I think they’re still waiting and watching for their mother to walk in the door. The thought makes my heart break in two.
I wonder if they can sense fear. If so, I’m in trouble. Double trouble. They’re so cute and innocent looking, begging for attention. And I want to give it to them.
“How old are they now?”
“Ten months.” Sawyer places their pajamas in the hamper, wipes down the changing table, and tosses the soiled diapers in a weird contraption. I watch carefully because it looks like you need to be an engineer to know how to dispose of the diapers.
I can do this.
He folds their blankets and hangs them on the edges of their cribs. Got it. The morning routine is not so bad. Of course, it’s only just begun.
“Wanna grab one?”
He picks up Jordyn. I pick up Josie. We go to the hall bathroom and stand them each on small kid’s stools. We perch behind them in case they lose their balance. They grip the countertop tightly and seem fairly steady. Sawyer hands them each a toothbrush with a pearl sized amount of kid’s toothpaste.
“Brush teeth,” he tells them. He grabs a washcloth and wipes the sleep from their faces as they basically chew on their toothbrushes. Good enough.
He wets a comb and runs it through their hair and then looks at me a little helplessly. “Do you know how to do their hair?”
Clean and combed seems good enough for me. But, Quinn always styled their hair in such cute ways. I can domyhair, but wiggly moving targets are another story. They inherited Quinn’s quick-growing hair and seem to have an awful lot of it for their ages.
Sawyer opens a bathroom drawer to reveal an array of hair supplies. “The selections are endless.”
I brush Josie’s hair back into a tiny ponytail and add a thick terrycloth band with a bow attached. I do the same to Jordyn. I swipe their too long bangs over to one side and wet the hair down to hold it in place. I stand back, study my handiwork, and frown. They look messy, with short strands sticking out of the ponytails, framing their faces with strays.
“I think I need a little more practice.”
Sawyer shrugs again. “Good enough. Let’s get them down to breakfast.”
We each carry a child down the stairs. I wonder how I will carry two of them down the stairs when Sawyer’s not here and the child gates are installed. I’ll need three arms. This is going to be a challenge.
