Page 71 of The Wrong Drive-
“One day you’re gonna be a big strong man,” I tell him, as he mean mugs me. “I’ll be proud of you.” He responds with more squirming and crying, and I breathe out a sigh. Taking care of and raising my kids has become the greatest mission of my life yet.
I shift him in my arms, and he rests his head against my shoulder, his drool soaking the collar of my shirt.
And then he burps alotof shit up.
“Whoops,” I mumble, “I guess I didn’t burp you that well before I laid you down.” I let out a breath, and then head back out into the kitchen, where little mini-Em sits in her chair at the dining room table, watching me.
Just like her mother does.
“Are you gonna feed himagain?You just fed him before Mama went into the shower, and Mama says you feed himwaytoo much.” She sets her book down, folding her hands across her little lap.
“Well…” I pause to consider her argument. Actually, shemighthave a point. Maybe I do feed him too much. I gaze down at little TJ and then ask him, “What do you think? Are you still hungry?”
He’s not crying anymore, and as I shift him in my arms, he smiles.
“He’s still hungry,” I tell Emily. “Look at his face.”
“No Dada,” Emily shakes her head. “You just didn’t burp him enough earlier. That’s why there’s all thatstuffrunning down your back.”
Damn. Maybe my five-year-old does know how to take care of a baby better than me. Intuitive little thing.
I grin at my daughter, who’s clearly amused by all this. “Should we ask Mama then? She seems to always have all the answers.”
“No!” Emily throws up her hands. “We don’t interrupt Mama when she’s taking aneverythingshower, remember?”
I chuckle, knowing good and well how important Em’s showers are. “Well, okay then,” I sigh playfully. “But if he starts crying again, we’ll probably have to feed him. I guess this means we can get back to reading.”
Emily’s eyes grow wide. “Maybe we should feed him more, Dada.”
“I don’t think so. I think you’re right.” I pull out the chair I was sitting in beside her, balancing TJ as I gesture to her book. “Let’s just finish it, and then we can call it a day.”
TJ starts vigorously kicking once more, unhappy and grunting. He lands one right in my crotch and I wince.
“I’m going to have to teach you about taking cheap shots one of these days,” I mumble, joking to myself.
But Emily hears it. “What’s a cheap shot?”
“Nothing,” I gesture to her book. “Let’s learn more about this cat.”
“I don’t even like cats,” Emily peers up at me, smooshing her little cheek against her hand. “Mama doesn’t either.”
“Good point, but we still need to finish it.” I reach over with my free hand and brush her hair out of her face. “You’ve got this, kiddo. Let’s finish and then we can go outside and play.”
She mutters something under her breath, and then flips her book back open. “The cat is in the…” her voice trails off as she tries to make out the next word, sounding it out. “Sh…She… Shed!” She turns her head to look at me, her little eyes glistening with pride.
“Good job,” I say, and just as I do, TJ begins to cry…again.
“Okay, we should feed him,” Emily grumbles. “He’s annoying.”
“He’s a baby,” I remind her. “He’s just doing what babies do. They cry and fuss because that’s how they communicate.”
As the words leave my lips, I hear the doorknob turn somewhere down the hall. I crane my neck to catch a sight of Em emerging in her black robe. Her hair is a damp mess, falling down her back.
Fuck, she’s so goddamn sexy like that.
This is how we’re going to end up with another kid, I swear.
“Hey you,” I greet her as she joins us in the dining room. “Did you have a niceeverythingshower?”
