“Of course. Let me grab my favourite Sharpie.”
“You don’t have a favourite Sharpie,” Archie says.
“Nope, but I bet you do.” Blake’s eyes light up. “Do you know what the best medicine for a broken arm is?”
Lexi shakes her head.
“Ice cream!”
Normally, I wouldn’t want her loaded up with sugar this close to bedtime, but I don’t object as Blake steals her away to give her some.
I lean against the wall in the hall, exhausted.
“How are you?” Archie asks.
“Sometimes I don’t think I’m cut out to be a dad,” I whisper.
“Are you kidding me? You’re a great dad. Lexi adores you.”
“I almost fell apart,” I admit. “She’s only got a broken wrist, and I’m a wreck.”
“Do you think Mum and Dad didn’t have kittens every time we hurt ourselves? You’re meant to worry. It’s your job. And the main thing is, youdidn’tfall apart. You’re holding it together.”
“Barely.”
“Blake and I are here now,” Archie says. “We’ll help get her to bed, and then you can break down on us, okay?”
I nod.
“Are you hungry? I saved some food for you both.”
“Starving, thanks.”
We have ice cream first while Archie reheats the cottage pie he made earlier. Once we’ve devoured that, I tie a plastic bag around Lexi’s cast and run her a bath. She’s too tired to play or really enjoy it, so she only stays in long enough to get clean and brush her teeth. Then I help her get dressed for bed and tuck her in.
“Daddy.”
“Yeah, pudding?”
“Will you paint something on my cast?”
“What do you want me to paint?”
She shrugs and yawns. “I don’t know, something pretty.”
“I can do that.” I kiss her forehead. “You were really brave today.”
She smiles. “So were you.”
I chuckle. “I had you to look after me.”
“I’ll always look after you, Daddy. Night night.”
“Sweet dreams.”
I slip away, switching her light off as I go. I stand and watch her through a crack in the door for a minute. She looks so tiny, and the cast on her arm looks so huge. When her face relaxes into sleep, I quietly close the door and go downstairs.
Archie and Blake make room for me so I can sit between them on the sofa. They each wrap an arm around my shoulders and give me a hug. I drop my head into my hands and let myself cry. I try to do it quietly. I don’t want Lexi to hear and worry about me. My brothers rub my back, making me realise how damn lucky I am to have them. They didn’t have to agree to move in with Lexi and me; they chose to. I really do have the best brothers ever.
