His phone rang.He glanced over toward where it sat on the bathroom counter.
“That’s going to have to wait until we’re done in here,” he said as he carefully rinsed the soap from the baby’s face.“Yes, they are.Getting you clean is more important than some stupid ringing phone, isn’t it?”
If his brothers heard him, they’d make fun of him, but he didn’t care.He might have only found out about the kid today, but he already loved him, and not only because he was his, though had to admit, that was part of it.
Smokey finished washing and rinsing Carter, turned and rinsed his own back one more time, then shut off the water.He wrapped Carter in a towel first then slung a second over his shoulder and walked out into the living space of his little apartment.
Glancing around he laid the baby in the seat of the recliner, then kept an eye on him while he used his own towel to scrub some of the water from his hair before wrapping it around his waist.That done, he bent and dried Carter before putting on a fresh diaper and a pair of pajamas out of the diaper bag Tania had with them this morning.
His parents had brought some things, but Tania had insisted everything had to be washed before he could use it, even the sheets.Those had been the first thing washed and now the folding crib was ready for Carter to lay him down.
After wrestling Carter into his pajamas and wondering how such a small child could seem to sprout so many extra limbs while dressing, Smokey picked him up and carried him back into the bathroom to grab his phone.
“Looks like your Uncle Raven called.I wonder what he needs?”Smokey kept a running one-sided conversation with Carter as he moved around the room.“I’ll call him in a minute.We need to fix your bottle first so you can go to bed with a full belly.”He read the instructions on the can twice before pouring water into one of the bottles Tania had washed earlier and measuring the powder and dumping it in.“Why don’t they make this in liquid?I can’t imagine trying to mix this up at 3 AM,” he said as he twisted the lid onto the bottle and started shaking it.A spray of odd smelling white liquid splattered across his face.He looked down at the bottle in his hand and realized he should have put the cap on before shaking it, as there was formula spraying from the nipple.A few moments later, he settled into the recliner, laying Carter back and giving him the bottle.
Smokey kept the chair gently rocking as he watched his son eat for several minutes, then picked up his phone and sent Raven a message.
Smokey:Feeding Carter, is there something you need?
He hit send then turned his attention back to his son.Not more than a minute passed before his phone vibrated.
Raven:Nothing that can’t wait a few.Feed him, lay him down, then come find me.Do you have a monitor?
Smokey frowned.The only monitor he had was an old monitor on the desk across the room where he sometimes plugged in his laptop when he wanted a bigger screen for whatever game he was playing.He hadn’t used it for months.
Raven:The girls are in the hot tub and if you don’t have a monitor, I’ll send one of the prospects up to keep an eye on the baby while we talk.
Oh.That kind of monitor.No, he didn’t have one.He’d have to add that to the list of things they needed to pick up.
Wait.Hadn’t Dad said something about being able to keep an eye on Carter while they were elsewhere?He glanced over to where they’d set all the stuff his parents had brought.Tania had pulled out all the clothes and bedding to wash them, but there were still several bags they hadn’t had time to dig through.
Smokey:I’m not sure.I’ll let you know.
He’d have to go through that and see if his folks had picked up something like that, then he’d have to figure out how to set it up.He had a better idea.
Smokey:On second thought, send one up now.One that’s semi-decent with electronics if possible.
He set his phone aside and turned his attention back to his son.A few minutes later, a knock sounded on his door.
“It’s open,” he called.
The door opened slightly and Rene poked his head in.
“Raven said you needed me?”The prospect sounded hesitant.
“I do.Come on in.”Smokey waited until the prospect came in and closed the door behind him.“Look through that stuff and see if there’s a baby monitor.”He nodded toward the pile where they’d set everything to go through it later.
Rene sent him a confused look but turned and did as he was told.
“Diaper pail, humidifier, diapers,” Rene listed off things as he set boxes aside.“How much crap do you need for one kid?”
“More than you would think.Tania’s already taken all the clothes and bedding out to be washed.”
“Here it is,” he said, setting one box aside before putting all the others back where he’d found them.Rene might be their newest prospect but he learned quickly.“What now?”
“Can you figure out how to set it up?He’s starting to drift off and Raven needs to talk to me.His mama’s relaxing for the first time all day and I’m not going to pull her away from that if I can help it.”
“Let me see what I can do.”He opened the box and got busy.“Where are you going to put him?”
