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But the squalling continued, and it felt like my heart was shattering in my chest. I felt so helpless. I knew why he was crying, and it was the worst feeling, not knowing what to do or how to help him.
I was so involved in trying to get him to stop crying that I didn’t hear the door open behind me.
“You might want to try ice,” a voice said from behind me, and I glanced back, startled. Monty was standing there with his trademark sardonic expression. “Sorry. I took a chance and assumed you were fully dressed this time.”
Desire flashed in his expression, but he suppressed it quickly. It wasn’t gone, I knew. It was simply there, simmering under the surface.
Monty reached down and picked Hunter up in his arms, using the other hand to reach out with a block of ice. He held him calmly even as Hunter moved around restlessly, and as Hunter’s mouth opened up to emit another cry, Monty rubbed the ice on his gums.
Hunter began to gum the ice curiously and tried sucking it.
“Careful,” I said instinctively, pulling the arm back slightly when Hunter swung forward, attempting to put the whole thing in his mouth, only to find that Monty had already moved it back.
“I am,” he said, sending me a look. “Trust me.”
It was the hardest thing for me to do, but I nodded and remained quiet as I watched him continue to ice my son’s gums. Hunter’s cries slowly reduced to sobs and then whimpers before he eventually dropped off into sleep about fifteen minutes later.
“How did you learn how to do that?” I whispered as Monty headed for the crib and slowly and gently laid Hunter down.
He shrugged. “Watched my mother do it for my little brothers all the time. A thing or two stuck.”
I nodded, then checked my watch and sighed. Great, I was now thirty minutes late. By the time I got there, I would be a whole hour late.
Strangely enough, no one had texted or called me yet to inquire about my whereabouts. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“What’s wrong?” Monty asked.
“Nothing, just running late for work,” I responded. “You can watch him today, right?”
He nodded. “Of course. Although, I don’t know why you’re going.”
“What do you mean? I have to work to eat, don’t I?”
“No, you don’t.” He walked toward me with a meaningful expression on his face. “You know when I said I would take care of you, I meant it, right?”
I smiled. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I’ve been taking care of myself for a while now, and I’ve gotten good at it. I may need help occasionally with Hunter’s needs, but I would truly rather work as well to support myself.”In case you ever get tired of playing house with me and take off one day.
“Besides, I already owe you enough.” He had paid off the debt I owed Mrs. Wilson, and even though I insisted on paying him back, he said it was the least he could do after not providing any support for the last few years. I told him that was not his fault, but he insisted regardless.
It was a sweet thing to do, and I was ashamed that I had kept him away from his child for so long.
“Wouldn’t you rather be at home working on your writing?” Monty asked, and I blinked at him, startled. It was the second time he brought up my writing, and it impressed me that he still remembered something I had mentioned offhandedly. It also warmed my heart enough to admit, “I wouldn’t be writing anyway. I have really bad writer’s block. So, right now, what I need to do is go to work and at least be useful in some way.”
He was thoughtful for a moment and then looked like he wanted to push the issue further, but instead, he simply nodded and walked away. “We’ll talk about it when you get back.”
* * *
By the timeI got to the restaurant, it was packed, which was bad news. They were probably overwhelmed with work, and my tardiness didn’t help. I immediately worked out my apology in my head as I approached the manager, who looked somewhat surprised to see me.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” I started speaking before he could begin laying into me. “My kid was acting up this morning, and I couldn’t get away. I had to make sure he was okay. I promise it won’t happen again.” I thought about the statement and knew I might very well not be able to keep my word, so I added, “Or rather, I would try my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again and plan out my life even better.”
“Yeah, that’s all fine and good.” The manager pushed up his glasses. “But I was under the mistaken impression that you were quitting today.”
I blinked at him. “What gave you that idea?”
“Well, we got a call from your husband to that effect.”
“My husband?” I blinked. “Who?”
