He puts his hand up, signaling the waiter. “No problem. Marcie says you’re one of the best baby nurses around. We’ll get you home right away.”
We stop at the pharmacy so I can pick up the formula that I knew was waiting for me since yesterday and pull up to Garrett’s house a few minutes later. I get out of the car and open the back door and take out the formula. I don’t see Peggy’s car, and I wonder if she pulled it into the garage.
“Thanks for everything, Richard.” I smile and turn toward the door. He chases after me and follows me up the stairs. My stomach sinks. I hope he isn’t expecting any physical contact. The thought of being near his crab-dip infested mouth makes my stomach churn again.
“Wait,” he says and turns me around to face him. He’s staring at my lips, and my body stiffens. Shit. Shit. Shit. He starts to lean in to kiss me, and I block him with the case of formula.
“I’m sorry, I need to get inside right away.” I turn and open the door. “Bye,” I say as I close it while he stands on the stoop staring.
I hear his car pull away a few minutes later, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I walk through the dark foyer into the kitchen.
“Who was that?” Garrett’s voice startles me, and I drop the case onto my foot.
“Ouch! God! Owww!” I hop around and fall into his chest. His strong hands grab my arms, and he steadies me. He’s warm. So warm.
“Are you okay?” he asks, concerned.
“Yes, I am now,” I lie, and I’m flustered when he lets go of me. The faint smell of alcohol wafts in the air between us.
“Who was that?” he asks again.
“Richard,” I say and wince as I try to put weight on my toe. Shit, I hope it’s not broken.
“Are you seeing him?”
I limp past him so I can sit on the stool by the counter.
“Have you been drinking?” I ask, attempting to change the subject. I see an empty tumbler on the kitchen island.
“Kai had a rough night,” he says and swipes the glass from the countertop. He puts it on the top rack of the dishwasher and turns to face me. Kai has been doing so well; it upsets me to think he’s taken a step back.
“Oh?” Concern bubbles up and anger shortly follows. “So you decided to get drunk while you’re home alone with him? What the hell is wrong with you?” I attempt to stand up, but pain shoots across the top of my foot where the heavy box landed a few minutes ago. “Dammit!”
“I wouldn’t be alone if you were here helping me,” he fires back, and my anger continues to escalate. Where is this attitude coming from?
“Where’s my aunt?” I ask, knowing she isn’t here.
“I sent her home a few hours ago. Kai drank a bottle around six and fell asleep soundly. He was content for a while, and I told Peggy I could handle things on my own. So she left.” He shakes his head and leans forward, placing his elbows on the counter. “Then everything fell apart.”
“Where is he now?” I ask, concerned that Garrett isn’t even holding him.
“Upstairs in his crib.”
Alone?
I hop off of the stool, ignoring the shooting pain in my foot, and go upstairs as quickly as I can. “I can’t believe he left him alone,” I mutter to myself as I reach the door to his room. I hear faint Rock-A-Bye Baby lullaby music through the closed door. I open it, and the soft glow of the universe nightlights fills my eyes. I walk over to the crib and see Kai swaddled tightly and sound asleep. There’s a stuffed dog that looks like a Dalmatian perched near his head, just out of reach. I’ve never seen that before.
I’m shocked to see Kai sleeping, in his crib. He’s never slept anywhere unsupervised. And it’s extremely rare that he’s sound asleep and not on top of one of us. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and I’m not sure Garrett realizes how huge it is.
I hear his soft footsteps behind me.
“I did everything wrong, didn’t I?” he asks, concerned.
“No…” I can’t take my eyes off of the perfectly swaddled and comfortable little boy in front of me.