“Thanksgiving.”I smile awkwardly, and he nods in agreement.
The beginning of a cry grabs our attention, and we see Lola’s chin quiver as she builds up into tears. “Itchy. Ow.” She begins to scratch.
Hayes and I rush to her, and both wince when we notice various spots in different stages of the virus.
“Let me find the spray stuff,” he mentions and begins to scan the kitchen counters.
“Mommy.”Her hands get grabby in the air.
I scoop Lola out of the highchair and hold her close to me and begin to stroke her hair. “I know. It’s not fun, is it? We’ll put on some fresh jams and read a book, okay?”My words fall on deaf ears as she only cries.
Hayes frantically returns with two bottles in hand. “It’s going to be a long day, isn’t it?”
“Very. Coffee and little sleep. Just the way we wanted to spend our Saturday,” I say and hold Lola closer to my body as I sway.
But something in Hayes’s face tells me that he isn’t complaining at all. This is where he wants to be.
The entire daywas a constant team effort to spray, spread cream, and freshen Lola's clothing and sheets. Luckily, she ate, which meant I could devour my own food that Hayes had delivered. He quickly learned that nuggets are a magical food group in themselves for Lola, and I needed salad with fries on the side. But finally, we got her down for what I believe will be a few hours of actual sleep.
We both carefully tiptoe out of her room with the nightlight projecting stars on the ceiling. Leaving the door open, we get one last look at her tucked in and now asleep. I nudge Hayes’s shoulder to encourage him to let her be, and I’m not sure who leads the way, but I go into his room next door and leave the door open in case Lola makes noise.
Collapsing onto his bed with a mutual loud sigh, we stare at the ceiling as I feel the toll of the day has taken on my body.
“I think she might be getting a little better,” he comments.
“Hopefully.”
I hear him shift, and in the corner of my eye, I see that he rolled toward me on his side with his head propped by his arm. “You’re amazing, Elodie. For doing all of this.”
“You helped. Remember? I have competition on the cuddles-when-sick front.”
He cracks a soft smile. “I mean, who knows how many times you’ve done this in the last two years, and alone.”
Moving, I roll to my side to meet his gaze. “I would do it all again. But I also have friends and family.”
“Still.”
I quirk my lips to the side. I don’t particularly want to go down the guilt route that we share. For him, probably, that he wasn’t there for it all. And for me, the feeling that I kept her from him, even if it wasn’t my intention.
Changing topics is my solution. “Lookie here.” I pat the mattress. “I’m back in your bed.”
His lips press, aware of what I’m doing, but his growing smirk also shows me that he won’t let go of the obvious, either.“Where you should be.”
“Is that so?” I smile to myself. “Someone is a little confident.”
“Someone knows we’re both sleep-deprived, and as you already experienced this mattress once, then it’s logical you would return.”
“Nothing related towhosebed this is?”
His long finger combs a loose lock of my hair behind my ear, purposefully gentle to cause that sensitive sensation to wave down my body. “It’s you pointing it out, not me. I’m playing the gentleman card.”
I roll my eyes theatrically. “Smooth.”
“I know, right?”
A calm silence finds us as our eye contact remains strong. His thumb feathers circles where my jawline meets my ear.
“Elodie, I’m still trying to figure you out. In the first few days, as I tried to navigate our situation, once I found out about Lola, I saw the angry, upset side of you. But I have never seen you sad. I just realized that. There are many sides of you that I have yet to learn. I hope I never have to see you sad.”
