AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Put it so I can see both of you. I like to look at Otto, but it’s weird not seeing you when you’re the one I’m talking with.”
I move the phone. “Better?”
“Absolutely.” He shifts, adjusting the pillow behind him. “So, I was thinking on the plane, and I know this might sound weird, but I want Otto to hear my voice when I’m gone. I want him to know that I’m there for him, in my own way.”
I nod, smiling at the things this man thinks of. “Of course. Do you want me to set something up next to his bouncer? A recording, or—”
“I was thinking I’d bring one of his board books to read to him. And when he’s able to look at a book, maybe you— or I guess whomever we hire —can hold a second copy of it for him. But for now, I was thinking maybe we could justtalk.”
“Talk?”
I see the wince and immediately wish I hadn’t choked on that single word.
“Yeah. You and me. On video like this. Maybe make it feel a little more like I’m around.”
I don’t know what my hesitation is about. It’s not like we haven’t been talking this whole last week. We have. So, what’s with the little warning clanging in my chest?
It’s ridiculous. This gig is another three weeks, max. What could be the harm?
“Okay, sure. What do you want to talk about?”
* * *
It started simply enough.Sunday night, we talked about logistics and updates. Travel times. Appointments. What Otto was wearing.
Monday started the same way with questions about how long Otto slept during the night and whether he’d woken me or if I’d had to wake him for a bottle. But Axel had a bruise on his jaw, and after trying to ignore it for ten minutes, I finally broke, asking if it hurt.
It wasn’t too bad, he said, but then followed up with some reference to another injury… and suddenly, it was ninety minutes later, and somehow the conversation had segued through a dozen different topics and I was wiping tears of mirth from my eyes, demanding to know how he’d gotten his overalls caught in a box spring when he was seven and why being stuck under a bed made him think he was paralyzed.
It was like it had been in the beginning with us. Too easy to talk about too many things. Too easy to look forward to.
Now it’s early afternoon Wednesday, and Otto’s currently holding on to my pinky finger from his bouncer while I sing my sister Caroline’s favorite song. His eyes are open and alert, curious. Sweet.
It’s really too bad I’m going to have to maim his father.
My phone sounds with an incoming video call, and I answer with a wide grin and a saccharine voice. “I’ve been waiting for you to call.”
Axel’s nothing if not observant, and his smile falters, eyes turning wary. “Yeah? What for? I’m not even in the same time zone, what could I have done?”
Right, like he doesn’t know.
“Really? That’s how you want to play it?” Except, for some reason, I can’t seem to get mad about it.
“Okay, I can see Otto, so I know everything’s okay with him.”
“Otto is perfect.” I lean over and give him a kiss, making him blink and purse his lips. “Always.”
A deep laugh sounds through the phone. “Did you see his face when you did that? He loves it.”
“He’s a little flirt.” I give his cheek a soft stroke and look back at the screen. “But you’re in trouble.”
Axel’s in another hotel room, sitting on another bed in a Slayers T-shirt that fits him so well it looks like someone sewed it on him. He raises a brow. Then leans forward.
“Wait, move the phone around. Is it the couch? Did it finally come?”
“You know, it did, actually.” I pluck Otto out of his bouncer and hold him to my chest before grabbing the phone.
“What’s wrong with it? I swear, they said it was the same as the last one.”
