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“Well, tell him not to.”
Leo elbowed Reid.
“Sorry,” Reid apologized, “I didn’t mean to imply it would be us causing issues. We love you, and we’ll always have your back.” Reid side-hugged me, then it was Leo’s turn, and they both fussed over with Charlie for a while, taking it in turns to hold him.
“He sure looks like you,” Leo murmured as he held out his hands for another hug with Charlie.
I gave him straight over and watched Leo fuss over and jiggle him, and then it was Reid’s turn again, and I could see the very moment they had hearts in their eyes.
“Life sure has a way of surprising you,” Leo murmured, as Reid handed Charlie over to me. I hadn’t realized how I didn’t want him being out of my arms until I had him back. I settled him against my chest, and he burbled away without a care in the world.
God, was this kid ever unhappy?
Reid sighed. “So, a lost baby, a letter, a mysterious vanished twin? Is it just me who feels we’re in the middle of the storyline in a soap opera?”
He wasn’t wrong.
“But with no script to follow,” Leo added as he stroked Charlie’s soft hair. “Okay then, Charlie is moving in until some point in the future, and we cross bridges when we get to them.” Leo was attempting to sum up the entire situation. “I can stay today to help?—”
“It’s okay, I’m staying,” Arlo said, and then went scarlet, as if he thought it wasn’t his place to say that. I couldn’t wish for anything better than to have Arlo here for a few hours at least, with his calming influence.
“It’s okay, Turt, Arlo’s here, and we have work to get through on our next projects,” I said. “You go back to your families.”
“But you’ll tell us if anything happens?” Reid said.
“Of course.”
There was muttering and concern, and advice, but in the end, I said my goodbyes to Sean, thanked him, and swore him to silence, which he confirmed was part and parcel of patient confidentiality. He could’ve been bullshitting me, but he and Leo had been friends for a long time, and I trusted the guy. Reid headed off soon after to take his kids to soccer, which left Leo chatting to Arlo on the subject of the dark-haired guy. I had to believe it was a friend of Zach’s, and that he had Charlie’s best interest to heart. Leaving them to it, I headed to the comfy seat by the window, staring out at the yard, cradling Charlie in my arms. The late morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting ribbons of light across the wooden floors, as I sat, lost in thought.
Where was Zach? Why had he been forced to leave Charlie with me? Was he in real danger? Was he out there breaking the law, or was he one of the good guys?
I stared down at my nephew, at his tiny face. A mixture of wonder, awe, and pure love filled my heart, and I was reminded of the quiet moments when I’d held my new baby daughters, when everything seemed possible. Charlie’s fingers curled around one of mine, his grip strong for someone so small. His cheeks were round and rosy, and his eyelashes cast delicate shadows on his cheeks as he blinked up at me, his dark blue eyes filled with curiosity.
They weren’t green like mine, and it made me wonder if my twin had my green eyes or was he very different to me? The only photo I had is the one sent to me of the two of us, that had to be thirty years old—both of us in a buggy, him a little bigger than me, both of us with red hair, but I couldn’t make out eye color. The ancestry test I’d signed up for, in hope of finding Zach, backed up my Irish/Welsh heritage which explained my hair, freckled skin, and eye color, and I’d always assumed my twin brother would be a replica of me. Maybe we were fraternal twins? That was a thing, right?
Anyway, didn’t a baby’s eye color change? Maybe Charlie would have green eyes one day?
As I gently rocked him, and his soft breaths syncing with the rhythm of my heartbeat, I felt a profound sense of responsibility settle over me, followed close on its heels by a rush of love so intense it stole my breath. Just the same as India and Iris, I knew I would do anything for Charlie. Something eased in my chest, but I wondered if it was my emotions, or part of the twin thing Zach had talked about. He was out there, forced to give up his child, doing God knows what, and all I could hope was that he was safe. I’d worry about the rest later.
“Your son will be okay. I’ve got him now,” I murmured to my twin. I didn’t know what I expected to feel in return, but some of the tightness in my chest eased, and I closed my eyes.
I thought about all the moments I could share with Charlie, and with Zach if he did make it here. Maybe he’d tell me about where he’d been, and why he’d never tried to contact me, even though it was obvious he knew where I lived. The letter left with Charlie indicated that he had reasons he couldn’t share, but what could they be?
I pressed a gentle kiss to Charlie’s downy hair, inhaling the baby-sweet, innocent scent as I rocked him. I found myself humming a song from Madonna that I’d heard on the radio only this morning.
“And that, Charlie, is ‘Like A Virgin’ by Madonna,” I said when I was done. “And this is just stage one in pulling you to the dark side of pop dance and disco.”
He blew a raspberry at me, and I couldn’t help but think that this might have been Arlo’s response as well. As I met Charlie’s curious gaze, he smiled at me, blinking, and making tiny baby noises.
“More? You want more? How about some Gaga.” I began to hum “Poker Face,”,’ as I imagined the eye roll Arlo would give me, and the shake of his head because I wasn’t humming something more educational. “Gaga rocks, right?”
“Gah,” was all I got in return, but it was enough.
“Yep, gah-gah.” He reached for a lock of my hair, attempting to grip it, and I bowed my head so he could reach. “Bet you can’t wait to see your daddy again.”
“Gah.”
“Do you think I’m your daddy?” I asked, and he didn’t even answer this time, yawning the cutest tiny yawn with his eyelids finally drooping. “I bet I look just the same as him,” I mused.
