“Caleb is walking.”
“What?” Now Caleb is sitting on the floor between the girls. Jamie is unbothered with the commotion, continuing to watch the show.
Bode thrusts the spatula at Dax and walks into the living room and bends down next to the girls. “Caleb. Are you walking? Can you walk to Daddy?”
Caleb looks like he’s deciding before he pushes himself up. Fishing my phone out of my jeans pocket, I turn the video on, hoping he’ll take another step.
“C’mon, Caleb,” one of the guys encourages from behind. “You can do it.”
“Go, Caleb, go!” the girls cheer in unison.
He’s looking around the room at all the people staring at him.
“You can do it,” I tell him.
It’s not like he can understand me, but I want Bode to see this. With his schedule, there’s no telling if he’ll be home the next time it happens.
“Show everyone what you just did,” Bode tells him. “You can do it.”
Then Caleb takes one step and then two more before he starts to fall and Bode scoops him up.
“My kid is amazing!” He holds him up, peppering his face in kisses. “Way to go, buddy!”
“All kids—” Jasper starts, but he can’t get a word in edgewise.
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Harper hisses next to me.
Tears well in my eyes at seeing how happy Bode is. It’s the sweetest moment seeing Bode experience this.
Things might be hard right now, but getting to be with Bode during this milestone? Being with Bode?
It’s worth all the hard.
ChapterThirty-One
STEVIE
“Here’s your next appointment.” Cressy passes over the tablet, giving me the details of my next client.
“I have an appointment?” I question, taking a bite of my apple. I’ve been sitting in the employee locker room since I got here. Every single one of my appointments for the day have canceled. After canceling yesterday as well.
I got that same sickly-sweet smile from Becky when she told me. It ratcheted up my annoyance having to go back to the locker room and sit for most of my shift.
Again.
It’s been crickets for the last week and it has me anxious. I can’t keep up like this. I rely on this job to make ends meet.
“You do.”
“But I’ve only had a handful in the last two weeks.”
Ever since the media found out who I am, it feels like there has been a target on my back. No one wants me as their aesthetician.
“They didn’t fill out the intake form?” Glancing down at the info, they also booked two back-to-back sessions. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“They’re waiting for you in your room.”
Cressy wiggles her fingers at me and heads back to grab her next client.
