Page 67 of Nanny for the Doctor

But I don’t want to hear more excuses, so I just hang up.

I glance over at Henry. He heard the entire conversation.

“Dad isn’t coming home anytime soon, is he?”

“No.”

The pain on Henry’s face burns worse than the scalding water. He’s paying for his dad’s late nights—again.

“But that’s not going to stop us from having some fun! Let’s eat up, and then we’ll swing by the Y and swim till nine.”

That’s a late night for Henry, but there’s no school tomorrow, and I won’t have him miss out on a new experience because Reed is stuck at work.

He sits up straighter, hopping off the couch and joining me at the island to scarf down dinner.

Afterward, we drive to the YMCA, and I meet Henry in the massive pool once we’ve stashed our stuff in the locker rooms. We play a rather aggressive version of Marco Polo, and I launch him across the pool from my knees several times.

Despite everything, we have an incredible time, and I realize it’s been a while since I’ve actually had so much wholesome fun.

When I’ve definitely had enough, Henry swims over to some other kids playing in the pool, and they start up a game of chicken. I recline back on a nearby chair, exhausted beyond measure, and can’t understand how Henry still has it in him to swim so hard.

My stomach rumbles, the noodles not sitting well, and I excuse myself to the locker room to use the bathroom. Henry doesn’t seem bothered by the food at all, and I worry that I’m coming down with something.

This is not the time to be sick. And Reed is such a stickler about germs, he’ll probably make me call off if I have so much as a cold.

Splashing my face with some cool water, the churning in my gut backs off. I look in the mirror and notice that bloating again.

“Oof. This is looking like it’s going to be a rough period.”

It’s not the first time I’ve had stomach issues because of it, but I still worry I might be sick.

“Ugh, whatever. Just get back out there.”

Waving at Henry, I sit back down on my lounge chair and check the time on my phone.

“Fifteen minutes, Henry!”

“Okay!”

As we wrap up our outing, I give Henry a big hug. The night wasn’t a total waste, and I know he’ll sleep like a rock.

Right on schedule, Henry falls asleep in the car on the way home, and I feel terrible having to wake him to get him inside. There’s no way I can carry him, though.

We make it as far as the couch before Henry begs to lie down, and I chuckle, deciding to let him sleep there. It’s a struggle to get him to go change in the bathroom, but I know neither one of us will like it if we fall asleep in our wet suits.

I pull out the drying rack from the downstairs laundry and drape our towels and swim stuff over the dowels.

When I’ve pulled my jeans and tee back on, I lie down on the other end of the L-shaped sofa across from Henry. I think he’s fallen back to sleep before Henry looks over at me.

“Mae, do you think Dad will be home tomorrow?”

“I think so, bud. There was an accident tonight. Remember? I’m sure your dad knows how much you want to see him.”

“Okay. Thanks, Mae. Swimming was fun.”

“Anytime, kiddo. Anytime.”

Chapter22

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