“Do you have to be good ateverything?” I ask with a headshake. I know I should just be relieved that at least one of us can stop the crying, but I can’t help but be irritated instead. I hurry over to the other crib. This baby looks a lot like the little boy, but she has a bow in her hair. I peer down at her, hesitant to make direct eye contact.
A smile spreads over her face. Her small hands splay out, then clap closed.
“At least Hazel likes you,” Kai says.
“Hazel?” I ask.
Kai nods. “That’s Hazel, and this is Henry.”
“Oh,” I say as I realize their names are printed on their onesies. “Okay, Hazel.” I reach into her crib and pick her up. “Go easy on me, will you? I don’t like being the weird lady who makes babies cry.”
“Too late for that,” Kai mutters.
I roll my eyes and follow Kai back down the stairs and into our fake front room once more. “Well,” I say as we sink onto the sofa. “Looks like Henry is easing up on me a little.”
I freeze as Henry spins his head around to look at me, the fear brewing in his eyes a second before he bursts into tears once more.
The kid really doesn’t like me, and I’m starting to think the feeling is mutual. I widen my eyes at Kai and shrug, hoping I look more innocent than I feel. But seriously, how could all of this crying be my fault?
A wide grin spreads over Kai’s lips. “Nikki, Nikki, Nikki. What am I going to do with you?”
I wrestle with the warmth stirring in my heart. Dang, I like Kai. I more than like him. I love him. I never really stopped. And as much as this whole baby thing is clear out of my element, I secretly admire the way he knows his way around a baby’s room, even if he is rubbing it in with his condescending tone.
I spot something on Kai’s shirt that pulls me from my musings. A spot that’s yellowish-brown and gooey and seeping from Henry’s diaper. Hopefully, Kai knows his way around a changing table too.
“Hey, Kai?”
The words barely escape me when Kai’s face scrunches up in disgust. He sniffs and turns his head from one side to the next as if he’s searching for the source of the pungent odor now filling the room.
“It’s Henry,” I say with a nod.
Kai’s eyes go wide. Way wide. Instantly he puts the little guy at arms’ length and shudders. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he might gag.
He blows out a breath through pursed lips. “That’s okay. It’s okay. We’ve got this. Nikki, can you see if there’s a changing station in their little bedroom up there? If not, we’re going to have to spread one of these blankets over the floor.”
“Come on, Hazel,” I say, feeling giddy now. “Let’s go see if there’s a changing station.” I hurry back to their room and holler as I see that there is. “Yep. There are diapers and wipes here too. And one of those diaper keepers,” I add as I notice the unique-looking trash bin beside.
Kai does not move quickly this time. But he does move carefully, keeping little Henry at arms’ length as he steps cautiously into the room at last. “It’s about to drip,” he says, his lips barely moving. Probably trying not to breathe.
Hazel pats my hand and squeals, smiling as she watches Kai place Henry gently on the table. I secure a box of wipes, rest them on the changing station, and pry open the lid.
Henry’s flat on his back now. Kai cups a hand over both of the little guy’s feet and reaches for the stack of diapers with the other hand. I watch, genuinely impressed as he snaps the diaper open with the fast flick of his wrist and wiggles it beneath Henry and the soiled diaper.
“Okay,” he says, reaching for a baby wipe next. “I’m going for it.” Quickly then, Kai goes to work like a skilled surgeon of sorts. Dabbing, wiping, cleaning, and covering the area back up with a flourish.
“There,” he says after stuffing the soiled diaper and the two-dozen wipes he used into the special bin and sealing it shut.
I stay close to Henry to make sure he doesn’t roll while Kai hurries over to the small sink to wash up with—count them—six squirts of soap.
“That wasn’t so bad,” he says while patting his hands dry. “Now, Henry…come to Papa!” Kai looks so pleased with himself that I almost hate to burst his bubble, but somebody has to tell him that he needs to washmorethan just his hands.
I nod to the disgusting poop stain on his shirt and grin. “There’s poo on you.” I can’t even get the words out without cracking up.
Kai doesn’t look down. Instead, he continues to walk toward Henry, who’s happily kicking his feet in the air while I steady him.
“Nice try.” Kai shifts into more of a swagger, strutting confidently toward the baby until his arm brushes against the smelly glob.
Suddenly his face freezes in horror.
