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“We should get ready to go.” Garet gets to his feet and picks up Armani, bouncing her on his hip as I get her stroller and diaper bag together. He gives the stroller a worried look. “Is that thing safe?”
I shrug. “Safe enough.” Taking the baby, I buckle her in. My comms beep, and turning them on, I see a message from Alice.
Alice:Did Garet find you?
Me:Yes! He spent the night. :)
Alice:Get it, girl! Just so you know, I am free to babysit tonight if you two lovebirds want to have some time to yourselves. ;)
Me:I just might take you up on that.
“Alice is offering to watch Armani for a bit if we want to go out on a real date tonight,” I tell Garet as we head out the door.
He grins. “I’ll get us reservations somewhere nice.”
I text Alice the time we would need her to come by. After a few minutes, she messages me back that she can do it.
Our first stop is to the furniture store. There, we pick out a nice crib that monitors the baby’s health and sleep while she’s in it, a stroller that looks much safer and sturdier, and a hover highchair with optional legs. It’s much smaller and more portable than a regular highchair and can even be used as a makeshift stroller in a pinch.
He has the crib and highchair sent to the apartment, but we switch strollers right in the store. The clerk raises an eyebrow when he sees where the furniture is being sent, but after a warning look from Garet, he doesn’t say anything.
Armani quickly settles into the stroller and enjoys the ride through town. With all my work trying to make ends meet, she hasn’t had much opportunity to see anything outside of the walls of our apartment.
By the time we’re done with the furniture, she’s getting fussy and both Garet’s and my stomach are rumbling. We find a café and settle in. While Garet orders, I feed her.
“It’s so nice to have your daddy, right? Things are going to get better from here. I promise.”
Garet takes his seat across from me. He looks like he wants to ask me something but can’t seem to find the words to say it.
“What?” I ask.
“I was just wondering if…if I could try feeding her,” he said, not meeting my eyes.
I chuckle. “What? Are you afraid that feeding your own child will somehow undermine your badassery?” Getting to my feet, I hand him the baby, the bottle, and the burping cloth. I lean in close to his ear. “If anything, you being a good dad makes you even hotter.”
“I’m glad to hear that, because I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.” With my help, he nestles her comfortably in his arms and she gets back to enjoying her lunch.
After a few minutes, the waiter appears with our food and drinks. By then, he’s onto burping her like an old pro.
My pulet rice is absolutely amazing, made even better by the fact that I was able to eat the whole meal without having to worry about Armani interrupting it. As soon as she finishes her bottle and is burped, she goes right to sleep in her stroller.
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” I ask.
He’s pushing the stroller back and forth in a gentle rocking motion with one hand while eating a sandwich with the other. “Well, we have the essentials, so now’s the fun part: clothes, books, and toys.”
We hit up three more shops after lunch, buying her stuffed animals, learning blocks, board books, and a bunch of adorable outfits. As the sun starts to go down, we meet Alice in front of the apartment.
“There you are,” she coos at Armani. “Come to your Auntie Alice.”
“Thank you so much for this,” I say as we take the elevator up to my floor.
Alice tickles Armani’s belly. “Anything to spend time with my favorite adoptive niece.” She looks up at us. “Besides, you both need to hang out like grown-ups. Consider it a makeup date for the one you missed on Kalei.”
The boxes of new furniture are waiting in front of our door. Garet brings them inside. A project for tomorrow.
I change into some nicer clothes, and with a final kiss to Armani’s forehead, Garet and I leave for dinner.
We take a hovercab to the nice part of town, and I’m glad I’m wearing some of my old clothes from working at a high-end fashion studio. Otherwise, I’d look incredibly out of place.
