My head snapped up.
“No. That won’t be necessary. I’m taking him home.”
Back in New York,things kicked into high gear. Being related to the executive assistant of one of the richest pregnant women in the world definitely had its perks. Vittoria Widnicki was very active on social media, so despite being able to afford anything in the world for her kids, her office was bombarded with "gifts" from every company that made anything for a baby hoping it might end up in an Instagram post.
Within days I had everything I needed to keep this kid alive, including furniture, toys, clothes, diapers, food…you name it. And since Kimberly's bosses found out they were expecting a girl, I also had boxes of expensive hand-me-down clothes from their son who was a year or two older than CJ, a name my dad had given him and kinda stuck. I had everything I needed except a clue to help me figure out what the fuck I was doing.
Kimberly took it upon herself to sign me up for every parenting blog, bought me everyhow to raise a toddlerbook, and blew up my phone with articles about vaccinations, screen time, and something calledbaby-led weaning. Too bad I never had a chance to read any of them because my days and nights were filled with trying to keep up with this kid.
He had inexhaustible energy. He hated everything I gave him to eat except grapes, that I had to slice into quarters, or these little puff thingies that came in a tube. I'd never changed a baby in my life, but now I spent half my day elbow deep in dirty diapers.
I was part clown, part personal chef, part toxic waste disposal, part crisis aversion specialist, and I was fucking exhausted. This kid only slept for three hours at a time, day or night, and cried constantly. Mom said he most likely missed his mother and needed time to adjust, but I wasn't sure how long I could last. She and Dad helped me whenever they could though they were very clear that I had to figure this out on my own. I was doing my best. I didn't regret my decision to take CJ home for a second, but I was fucking struggling.
"You need to start looking for a nanny, Cole." Kimberly was scraping dried carrots off of the door of my refrigerator while Adam gave CJ airplane rides around my living room. Adam was in town for the weekend, and after hanging out at my parents’ house all morning, they offered to take CJ off my hands for the afternoon. I planned to use that time to clean and organize, maybe start prepping for my return to work, but as soon as they left, I'd collapsed on the couch and slept for four hours.
“I wouldn’t even know where to start to look for a nanny.” I yawned. “And aren’t nannies really expensive?”
"What about putting him in daycare?" Adam asked before he lifted CJ's belly to his mouth and blew a giant raspberry. My little brother screeched and giggled. "You drop him off on your way to work and pick him up on your way home."
"That's such a great idea, honey." Kimberly tipped over to her fiancé and kissed him on the cheek. I was too exhausted to be disgusted, and Adam's idea actually made me hopeful that there could possibly be a light at the end of this tunnel.
"How do you find a daycare?" I asked because I was desperate for information and also to stop my sister from eye-fucking her fiancé in my living room.
"Google is still free," she snapped, which made Adam chuckle.
“Hey, my job has a daycare for employees. You should see if HC has one,” he suggested.
"Thank you…Adam." I gave Kimberly a pointed look, and she narrowed her eyes at me.
“You know, you wouldn’t have to worry about being able to afford a nanny if you would rent out your apartment,” Kimmy said.
“Nope. Not doing it. Stop asking.”
"What do you have down there, a sex dungeon?" she joked. Adam furrowed his brow at her.
“Yep. It’s a sex dungeon, right out of fifteen shades of gray.”
“It’sFiftyShades of Grey. And that wasn’t a sex dungeon. It was a red room of pain.”
I rolled my eyes. Adam tilted his head, still staring at her. I needed to steer this ship away from Crystal's apartment and sex dungeons.
"Okay, well, thanks for watching CJ. He looks like he had a good time." My baby brother was now sitting on Adam's shoulders, clutching his forehead, drooling into his hair while wearing a giant gummy grin accessorized with four tiny, tic-tac-like teeth. "I'm gonna call the office andGoogledaycares.”
Kimberly laughed and leaned down to kiss me on the head. “You’re doing good, Fruity Pebbles.”
“Thanks, sis.” I smiled at her.
“Later, man.” Adam lifted CJ off of his shoulders and handed him to me. “Later, little man.” He wiggled as Adam tickled his belly.
Adam made a joke about buying a can of red paint, and Kimberly slapped him in the chest as he followed her out.
“Just me and you again, buddy.”
CJ laughed.
It was still late afternoon, and if he didn't nap with Adam and Kimberly, there was a chance that he might fall asleep if I put him in the stroller, plus I was hungry, and there was nothing here to eat that wasn't mashed in a jar or shaped like a dinosaur. I decided to walk down the block and grab dinner.
We ate atSettepani, where I had a bowl of spaghetti Bolognese, and CJ had a bowl of diced grapes with some puffs from the diaper bag. Afterward, we took a lap around Marcus Garvey Park with a pit stop at the playground, only then did he finally start to doze off. I made a beeline for the house, hoping I was looking at the beginning of a long afternoon nap.
