Page 18 of Absinthe Minded

“If not, I’d be happy to tell him to get lost.”

7

Gabe

I surveyed the living room.With the exception of the mess, the house looked the same as it had before my brother died. A novel sat on the table beside Joe’s leather chair. A scrap of paper marked the place where the reader had stopped.Too bad my life doesn’t have a bookmark telling me where to begin again.

Chloe and Ryan had sprawled out on a blanket to watch cartoons. Not that I had much time to watch television, but Scooby Doo remained one of my favorites. I settled into the couch to enjoy the goofy dog and his stoner owner.

A split second later, Chloe groaned and covered her face. “Ryan, is that you?”

He shook his head and pointed at Ella.

I winced. “Again?”

It had to happen sooner or later, but I’d preferred later…like after Maggie came home. Scooping the baby in my arms, I went to find reinforcements. “Zach?”

“Yeah?” a voice called from inside the room.

I poked my head inside and grinned. It looked like a laundry bomb had exploded. Clothing covered every surface including the bed. “Hey man, can you help me with something?”

“Sure. What’s up?” Zach blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the light in the hallway. At thirteen, he was as tall and lanky as his father had been at that age.

“I need a hand with Ella’s diaper.”

“So I smell.” Zach laughed. “I’ll be the wingman, but you’re piloting this one.”

I laid Ella down on another towel and mentally prepared for battle. Drawing a deep breath, I unsnapped her onesie.

Zach pulled a diaper and wipes from the bag and placed them beside me. “You got this.”

“It’s coming out the sides.” I reached and retreated several times, unsure where to touch her.

“How long has it been since you changed her?” Zach searched through the bag and pulled out tiny pajamas with feet.

“Maggie changed her before she left.” I opened the dirty diaper and swayed away from the odor. “My God.”

“Dude, that’s gross. What are you feeding her?” Zach covered his face.

“I don’t know. Formula, I guess.”

“She needs a bath, but we need one of those baby tub things.”

It seemed like I needed a lot ofthings…changing tables, bathtubs, nose plugs. “I can hold her over the sink while you spray her down.”

Zach motioned to me. “Let’s use wipes for now. Maggie will know what to do when she gets home.”

My hands felt too large for such a small baby. I couldn’t figure out how to clean her without going elbow deep in shit. After several attempts, I gave up and dove in. “Is it supposed to smell like that? Why’s it green?”

“I don’t know. Ryan’s stinks pretty bad.” Zach took a step back.

“Google it.” I pulled more wipes from the container. At this rate, I’d run out before dawn.

The kid whipped out his phone. “This is disturbing.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” I couldn’t decide if it was better to breathe through my nose and smell it, or my mouth, and risk the odor sticking to the back of my throat.

“No look.” He shoved his phone in my line of vision. Pics of baby shit in a rainbow of colors filled the screen.

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