“Charlie,”Iyell,assoon as I get the front door open. “Where are you?”
“Bathroom,” she calls back. “I got called in to cover a shift, so I’m getting ready for work.”
I release a huge breath. Thank god for small favors. She won’t be here much longer. Maybe I’ll get lucky and she’ll be gone before Archer gets here. He has to wait for the food to cook, right? Yes, yes. He definitely has to wait for the food. There’s plenty of time for Charlie to be on her way before he shows up. This is good.
Not that I’m looking forward to being alone with him. Of course that’s not it. I just don’t want Charlie to freak out and start yelling at him again when we’re trying to get to know each other. That’s all it is.
I love my sister, but sometimes this protector role she takes on can be a bit much.
Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I want to be alone with him. The guy’s a smoke show and I want him all to myself, even if I know it’s not going anywhere.
I drop the diaper bag on the couch and carry Lincoln back to the bathroom. “Give your nephew a kiss, Auntie Charlie. It’s nap time.”
She puts the cap back on the mascara her mascara and takes Lincoln from my arms, cuddling him close. “Sleep well for Mommy, okay, little guy?” She says before kissing him on the cheek and letting me take him back. “I’m closing tonight and afterward I’ll be heading out with Dax and Tanya from work.” She rushes to add, “Unless you need me to watch Lincoln?” I shake my head no. “Okay, cool. Hey, how did the test go?”
I step side to side, bouncing Lincoln a little. “Oh, yeah. Um, I think it went well. The guy who runs the lab assured me his friendship with Archer made no difference to the testing. Other than him getting us in so quickly, that is. The lab technician said there’s even a chance we could get the results back later today.”
“No shit? Geez, must be nice to have connections. What’d you say he did for work again?”
That’s a good question. He hasn’t told me much. “Something to do with toys, I think. A toy store? A toy maker?”
She snorts a laugh. “Wait a minute. Wait.” She holds up a finger and giggles. “You’re telling me that the Santa…who got you pregnant… is a toy maker?” She forces the last word out before uncontrollable laughter overtakes her. “Oh. My. God. I can—” a snort of laughter cuts her off. “You had sex with Santa Claus. You’re a Ho Ho Ho.” Her body shakes with laughter.
I roll my eyes and yell over the racket she’s making, “He’s not actually Santa, you ass.”
She tips her chin with a sarcastic nod, wiping tears from her cheeks. “Oh, yeah, sure. Tell me, Phoebe, how does the jolly old elf measure up in the downstairs department? What’s his candy cane like? Is it tiny? Striped? Ooh, ooh, ooh…” She pauses dramatically before whispering, “Does it have a big curve?” She crooks her finger and peals of hysterical laughter overtake her once again.
“Jesus. There’s something wrong with you.” I huff and spin on my heel. “I’m putting Lincoln down for his nap. Have fun tonight.”
“Oh, shit. Right,” she says between bursts of laughter. “I need to go. I was already running late.” She shudders after peeking into the mirror, and quickly sweeps her makeup off the bathroom counter and into her makeup bag. “I’ll have to fix this mess and get pretty later,” she says, wiping streaks of mascara from beneath her eyes.
I wave as she hurries past me. “See you later.”
“Bye,” she calls out, her keys jingling as she grabs them from the hook by the door. “Don’t wait up. I might try to find my own candy cane tonight.” Her laughter trails along behind her as she runs out and slams the door behind her.
Phew.I mentally wipe my brow. That was close. It’s a good thing she got called into work today or she may have subjected Archer to another earful. My sister can be a little overprotective, but she usually means well. Her recent interest in his toy maker status, however, would no doubt supersede that. I foresee Charlie making many references to “candy canes” and “the real Santa” in Archer’s future.
“Well, my darling? Should we get you down for your nap?” I’ve been working at feeding Lincoln as soon as he wakes up, instead of using his bottle to help him fall asleep, and it’s been hit or miss. It’s especially hard on those long nights when he doesn’t want to settle to not slip back into feeding him to sleep.
I bring Lincoln to the bedroom, change his diaper, sing him a lullaby, then lay him in the crib. Another thing the parenting books say to do is to put the baby down to sleep while they’re still awake. That’s another tough one. Sometimes he cries when I lay him down, which obviously sucks even though it doesn’t last long, but the thing I find really difficult is when he watches me leave. There’s something gut wrenching about the sad look on his face that kills me every time. But I find he sleeps longer when I do it, so I keep at it. Longer sleeps for Lincoln equals more sanity and, if I’m really lucky, the occasional nap for me.
With a quick kiss and a brush of my hand over his fuzzy red hair, I turn on the white noise machine and the baby monitor and leave the room, closing the door softly behind me.
Archer will be here any second. Should I freshen up? Put on a little lip gloss or something?No. That’s stupid, Phoebe. He has a girlfriend. And you don’t want anything to happen, anyway.Remember Webster? Even your best friend didn’t want you.
Ugh, no Phoebe.You know that’s not true. It’s got nothing to do with him not wanting me. We both got caught up in something that should never have started. He’s been my friend almost as long as I can remember and he’s apologized for the whole wedding and engagement thing every time we’ve spoken this last year. He loves me, but not romantically. And I’m not sure I ever loved him romantically, either. We were both to blame for the direction our relationship took.
None of that matters anyway, since this is about what’s best for my son. No matter how amazing that night with Archer was, I need to focus on what this means for Lincoln. I already know what the results of the paternity test will be, but Archer has his doubts. Reasonable doubts, I suppose, at least from his point of view, but doubts all the same.
Fuck it.
I make a quick stop in the bathroom and brush my teeth. Okay, fine, I also add a little mascara and lip gloss. No one would judge me for not wanting to look like a swamp creature in front of Archer. The man’s girlfriend looks like a supermodel fresh off the catwalk—I haven’t figured out who she is yet, but I’m positive I’ve seen her somewhere—so it’s not like he’ll really be looking at me. It’s for my comfort more than anything.
As I’m leaving the bathroom, a barely audible knock sounds at the front door.
“Hey,” Archer grins when I get to the door and open it. “I hope I didn’t wake Lincoln by knocking too loudly.”
“Not at all.” I motion for him to follow me to the kitchen. “Lincoln sleeps pretty deeply, so a little noise doesn’t bother him. Plus, I have a white noise machine that helps block out any sound from out here.”
