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“Flllllloat.”
“Yeah!” I cheer, making him smile and splash in the water. “You wanna keep practicing?”
Teddy nods then rolls over onto his back like I taught him to, his arms and legs out.
We practice for a while longer, until I can tell Teddy’s getting tired and a bit cold. I probably keep him in the water longer than I normally would just because I want to avoid this scintillating conversation I know I’m going to have with Colton.
God, can the guy get any more irritated at me? Every little thing I do ends in a critique or dismissal or some sort of angry face that makes me think he’s just searching for ways to get rid of me.
Once Teddy has showered, changed, eaten lunch, and gone down for a nap, I pad softly down the hallway to Colton’s office, bracing myself for yet another faceoff.
chapter seven
colton
The knock at my door is strong and firm, and when I look up, I see Emily pushing through the closed door before I’ve even said to come in.
Gritting my teeth, I indicate she should take a seat in one of the two chairs I’ve recently purchased for the other side of my desk. Once she’s seated, I steeple my hands in front of me.
“When did we have a discussion about whether or not Teddy is allowed in the pool?”
Emily blinks a few times. “I’m so sorry. Did you tell me he isn’t allowed in the pool and I forgot?”
The woman is absolutely infuriating.
“I will rephrase. I do not want Teddy in the pool without me being there.”
“Okay. Noted. But you should really consider having him get some swimming lessons. We were working on floating today, which is the number one technique for making sure young children who wander off and fall into pools are able to stay afloat in the few minutes it normally takes for an adult to notice they’re missing.”
“Well, since I know you do such a great job focusing your attention on him, I’m sure that won’t happen,” I tell her, trying to keep my voice level.
“I was talking about when I’m not around.”
My hackles rise at the insinuation, wondering where in the hell she gets off saying something like that to me.
“Are you saying you’re teaching my son to float so he can save himself when I’m not paying attention? I don’t know what kind of father you think I am, but I would never let that happen.”
Emily’s face morphs quickly in front of me, going from neutral to distressed in a flash.
“Absolutely not. You’ve misunderstood me,” she says, holding her hands up. “I’m talking about if he’s at a friend’s house and they have a pool. People are imperfect and this kind of stuff happens every day. It has nothing to do with you.”
I settle back in my seat, trying to believe she didn’t mean it as a negative against me, trying to let it go. Especially under the circumstances.
“I’m sorry for taking Teddy into the pool without your permission, but to be honest, I asked you for this kind of information when I first started and you just told me not to take him to the beach without you.”
“Well I didn’t think I needed to tell you to keep him out of the pool. I thought that would be obvious.”
“Well, it isn’t,” she volleys back. “The Keifers specifically requested that I teach their children to swim, so your idea of what makes sense and what I should just assume is going to be very different from theirs. Which is why I asked you for that information.”
Letting out a long, irritated breath, I pull a yellow legal pad from the top drawer of my desk.
“Alright, list off the things you did with Keifer kids and I’ll put them into a column of yeses and nos.”
Emily begins to rattle off a long list of things she did with her former charges. Activities she did with them, places they went together. It’s extensive, and my irritation with Emily begins to cool as a little feeling of shame grows in my chest at the fact I wasn’t doing stuff like this with Teddy myself.
“So, to recap. Library, park, walking at the beach but no swimming, playgrounds, fairs, age-appropriate science projects, play dates with other kids—all in the yes column. Swimming in the pool and swimming at the beach are the two nos.”
She licks her lips and nods. “Alright, I’ll make sure to keep him out of the water.”
