I sputtered, slapping a hand over my mouth as I choked on a laugh. Jerry looked proud for making me laugh.
“Sorry, the sleep deprivation must be getting to us,” he said, before moving down the line. “And then there’s sausage and onion, because for some reason, Sam insisted on it.”
“Sam?” I asked, my smile turning brittle. The ground seemed to shift under my feet. He lived with someone else? How could I have been wrong again?!
Totally unaware to my internal panic, he gestured with a nod for me to follow him, and we headed toward the living area. “Samson is my foster son.” The relief at his words was startling. I was already far too invested in whatever was brewing here, but no matter how much I told myself to slow down, my heart couldn’t seem to listen.
“Oh… right. You mentioned a foster son at the clinic,” I said, forcing myself to relax.
We rounded the corner into the living room, and my heart just melted. There was a teenager, his unruly hair flopping into his eyes, lying on his stomach on the rug, beside Ladybug, who was strapped into a reclined baby seat. He was talking softly to her, and for a moment, Jerry and I stood in silence and listened.
“When you get older, I can teach you how to throw a ball and ride a bike, and when you need help with your homework… well, Jerry can do that. He’s pretty smart. How does that sound, Mia?” Then he held his phone up, with the camera app open. “Say cheese.”
I felt like I was interrupting something, but Jerry stepped into the room and sat down on the couch, so I trailed after him. “Hey, Sam, this is Dr. Zappek.”
“Just Lazlo is fine,” I told him, perching on the edge of the couch beside Jerry.
“Hi, Lazlo,” Sam said, sitting up, an imprint of the carpet still on his forearms, like he’d been there a while. “Are you here to check on the baby?”
“I sure am.” I pulled my stethoscope out of my pocket to show him. “Would you like to help me?”
His eyes widened. “Can I?”
“I would really appreciate it. I need someone to hold the flashlight steady. Do you think you can manage that?” I pulled my penlight from my front shirt pocket and held it out to him.
He nodded eagerly and took the light from me, clicking it on and off a few times.
I looked over at Jerry, and he was smiling warmly, watching the interaction. For such a big guy, he really didn’t come across as anything but a teddy bear, not a single intimidating bone in his body. It almost didn’t seem fair that he didn’t have any kids of his own; he was a natural father. Sam was a lucky kid—and so was Ladybug. But if he was content with foster kids, did that mean he would be alright settling for a beta like me?
But then it seemed to register what I’d heard from Sam earlier when he was talking to the baby. I came over to sit on the floor beside the baby seat. “Did I hear you call her Mia?” I asked. Did that mean they had settled on a name for her?
“Oh, um…” His face scrunched up.
“Where’d you hear that name?” Jerry asked.
The boy went strangely still, avoiding eye contact, clicking the penlight a few times quickly. “Uh, I dunno. Just came up with it, I guess. She looks like a Mia, don’t you think?” His eyes cast away, forced casual, as if he felt guilty about something.
“It’s a pretty name. I like it,” I told him, and it earned me a smile.
“I thought so too,” he said.
I got Sam to shine the light inside her mouth so he could see the cleft in the roof of her mouth, and he was fascinated. He was less fascinated when she filled her diaper, but it was a good sign that she was eating. Now that Mia was getting formula, I could already tell the jaundice was improving. As long as she kept gaining weight, I saw no reason why she needed to come back to see me until she was ready for her first vaccinations. Jerry would need to figure out a birth certificate for her before then.
“Hey, Jer, you promised a movie if I got my homework done,” Sam said, bouncing on his toes.
“Hmm, so I did. Lazlo, would you like to join us for a movie? I know you must be tired…”
“I’d love to,” I said quickly. Sure, I was tired, but the thought of leaving any sooner than I had to was out of the question right now.
So, we loaded up our plates with pizza and settled in the living room. Jerry put his plate on the coffee table, before he got a bottle ready for Mia. She looked even smaller when cradled in his arms, though the way she settled down for her dinner, I imagined he must’ve made her feel safe. I knew that was how they would makemefeel…
Then, just as the movie started, Sam jumped up from his spot on the floor in front of the coffee table. “I forgot something in the barn. Be right back. Go ahead and start the movie without me.”
We watched him run off, the screen door slamming behind him, and Jerry chuckled. “I think he’s got a crush. I’m not ready for the hormonal-teenager stage yet.”
The sudden silence seemed to wrap itself around us, and it became very obvious that the two of us were alone, with nothing but the sound of Mia’s swallowing. I stole a glance at him andfound him already watching me back. There was no doubt a strange chemistry kindling between us. I recognized in him that same quality I felt in myself daily, the need to keep, to protect. It was intoxicating to have something so intense directed my way.
I cleared my throat. There was a question I had to ask before I got my hopes up too far. “Is this a date?” I blurted. I felt stupid asking that, but my brain had convinced me that it could go either way.
