“Nothing,” Melissa says quickly. “Is your video done?”
“Yeah. Can I have a bonus video?”
“Not tonight, sweetie, it’s almost bedtime. Go upstairs and find your pajamas, and I’ll be up in a minute to read you a story.”
From the stubborn look on his face, I expect Liam to argue, but instead he turns to me. “Can Luke read me a story?”
“If it’s okay with your mom,” I say, looking at Melissa for guidance. The bedtime ritual seems significant, and I don’t want to overstep.
Melissa smiles. “Fine with me.”
So the three of us go upstairs together. Liam’s room is clean and cheerful, with a toddler bed shaped like a racecar. Melissa helps him change into pajamas, then takes him to the washroom and helps him brush his teeth.
She’s a great mother. Then again, I always knew she would be.
Liam crawls into his racecar bed and looks at me expectantly, and Melissa hands me a book. “He likes the same one every night,” she explains.
So I sit beside Liam’s bed and read him a story about a little blue truck. After the first couple of pages, Melissa tiptoes out of the room.
“Now you have to check for monsters,” Liam tells me when I’ve finished the book.
“Oh, right.” I pretend to look under the bed. “No monsters.”
“Not there, silly,” Liam says with a giggle. “In the closet!”
“Oh, of course.” I check the closet and declare it monster-free.
“You have to turn out the light before you sing,” Liam says.
“Sing?” I ask, as I move to turn out the overhead light.
“You have to sing the train song.”
“I don’t think I know that one, bud.”
Liam’s face scrunches in disappointment.
“You want me to get your mom?” I ask, moving toward the door.
“Can you sing something else?” Liam asks.
“Okay.” I kneel back down by the bed and rack my brain for a lullaby, but come up blank. I’m about to give up and go find Melissa when I spot the star-shaped nightlight in the corner.Twinkle Twinkle, Little Starwill have to do.
“Again,” Liam demands when I finish the song.
“Sure,” I agree, and I launch intoTwinkle Twinkleagain. My hand’s resting on the edge of the bed, and Liam reaches up and pulls it over his body. I can feel his chest rising and falling, and it’s not long before his breathing deepens and slows.
When I’m pretty sure he’s asleep, I try to extract my arm. It’s almost free when Liam’s eyes fly open, and he pulls my hand back over his chest.
Ten minutes later, I’m still kneeling by the bed and my right foot’s asleep. I’ve made two more unsuccessful attempts to extract my arm, but each time Liam pulled it back.
I hear the door open and turn to see Melissa, silhouetted in the light spilling in from the hall. She tiptoes over to grab something from a toy bin, then crouches down next to me. After tucking a stuffed animal in the crook of Liam’s elbow, she gently pulls my arm from his grasp.
Liam gives a little sigh, but this time, he stays asleep. Melissa keeps her hand on my arm as we walk out of the room together.
After she eases the door closed, she turns to me. Her breasts are barely an inch from my chest; if we both took deep breaths, we’d probably touch.
“I should go,” I say, fighting to keep my tone light.
