Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
“Are you trying to make me feel better? Because those two moronic stories just made me feel worse. What if my kid lands on the rock instead of the bush?”
Elvin chuckled. “Then you’ll duct tape his head shut.”
The rest of the flight went by without incident, and Patrick was an angel as we waited for our luggage and drove home. I’d taken an Uber to the airport since I’d had no idea how long I was going to be gone, but Elvin had parked in short-term parking, so he drove me to my apartment.
“I need to grab my house keys from the bar,” he said. “I forgot them when I stopped in the other night. Linda’s not fond of being my doorman.”
“Alright, well, thanks for making the trip. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. But why don’t you stop in at the bar with me? I’m sure the regulars would love to see the baby.”
“Maybe tomorrow. It’s already been a long day.”
Elvin put a hand on my shoulder and steered me to the bar entrance. “Five minutes.”
I sighed. I didn’t want to argue since he’d done so much for me. I was holding the baby, so Elvin opened the door. I took one step in and…
“Surprise!”
Holy shit. The bar was packed with people. At first I was confused. What the hell is going on? It wasn’t my birthday. But then I scanned the room and found a blue glittery sign draped along the back wall. Baby Shower. I hadn’t moved from inside the doorway, so Elvin prompted me to step in farther.
“Sorry,” he said. “But this shit is a rite of passage.”
“Yeah, for the mother.”
“Well, you’re Mister Mom. So put on your best pageant smile and let the ladies coo over that cute little peanut.”
Over the next three hours, half the town of Meadowbrook met Patrick. I didn’t love the idea of so many people being around my week-old son, but I tried to make the best of it by reminding myself of an article I’d read during one of my late-night baby-raising reading binges this week. It said recent studies showed that infants are born with a stronger immune system than most people think. Though to be safe, I didn’t let anyone except Elvin and Linda hold him. By the time people finally left, I was ready for an early bedtime.
I looked around at the plethora of gifts. “Where am I going to put all this stuff?”
“At your cabin.”
“I guess I could store some of it there.”
“I meant use it there. You might not have noticed with the big haul you got, but there weren’t any gifts from me, Trev, Fritz, Mad, or Axe.”
“Okay…”
“Our gift is two weeks.”
“I’m not following...”
“The six of us are going to finish your house. I know you wanted to do it all yourself, but I’m guessing right about now you would agree that it’s more important to get that house done than to build it alone. We all cleared our schedule for two full weeks, and Linda is going to help out with the baby. A bunch of our buddies are going to come each day, too. We already set up a nursery in one of the rooms at the cabin using Ethan’s old crib and stuff, so you don’t have to bring supplies back and forth on the days you want to bring him. Babies don’t do much but sleep the first few months anyway.”
“I can’t ask you all to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m telling you. And it’s a done deal. We’re starting next Monday, so get your shit in order by then.”
I looked around at all the boxes of baby stuff—all the very large boxes. Elvin was right. The apartment upstairs was too small. A kid took up space. So I nodded. “Thank you. That would be great.”
Elvin clapped his hand to my shoulder and glanced around at all the packages. “Looks like you have everything you need, and then some.”
I nodded, but I knew that wasn’t quite true. Everything except what I need most: February.
CHAPTER 31
* * *
Brock
A couple of days later, things hadn’t gotten any easier. My eyes were groggy because I’d barely gotten any sleep last night. I needed coffee—stat. But I had to clean up my son first.
Just as I’d put a fresh diaper under Patrick, a blast of liquid shot up at me.
“Ugh! You little bugger. You pissed in my eye!”
He wriggled his arms and legs as he lay on the changing table I’d managed to squeeze into a corner next to my bed.
“You’re lucky you’re cute.” I reached for a baby wipe, patting my eye before I looked down and saw brown freshly splattered.
“Aw, man. What the heck?”
When it rained, it poured with this kid.
“I swear sometimes you do this on purpose. The second I get a new diaper out, you get me. It’s a game to you, isn’t it? Like Whac-A-Mole.”