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“Our relationship was pretty immature,” he admitted. “We both still live at home. It made intimacy difficult. I was satisfied to leave it where it was at, but she wanted more. It was the topic most of our arguments were about. I spent too much time with the guys, not enough with her. Refusing to move out of my parents’ house was a big conflict.”
“Why didn’t you? I mean, I understand why you didn’t, but when you’re in a relationship and want to be together, isn’t that the next step?”
“It is now,” he said, scooting over to be closer to her. With his arm around her, he leaned in for a kiss. “I’m ready to move now.”
“Well, don’t yet. I have a place where we can go, okay? Save your money until it’s an issue.”
“I save. I have enough to make a good-sized down payment on a house in Southern California.”
“You’re doing okay, then! I’m impressed.”
“Well, don’t be. Like I said”—and here they chorused together—“I live with mommy and daddy.”
The relaxing afternoon stretched out before them. Talking about their lives prior to that moment, side by side, his arm around her back, with baby Flynn in the crook of her arm, the clouds cleared for a while and the sun moved across the sky.
“We’d better take our walk,” she said, fighting the desire to lie back on Roberta Saint’s quilt and make love to her son.
“Okay, although I’d rather lie here with you.”
“Me too, so we’d better take a walk.”
While she changed the baby and got him situated, Tony took everything back to the truck. They’d walk the trails for an hour before returning to their picnic spot.
“Are you ready to head home?”
“I’m ready,” she said, hoping she could restrain from taking him to bed. Five days was not long enough to know someone.
As they pushed the stroller across the street together, peace permeated every step. At the apartment, they unloaded everything, and when the leftovers were put away, she led the way back to the bathroom.
“Time for baby to have his bath. I’ve been using a dishpan from the dollar store. It’s the perfect size to hold a baby and an inch of water. I’m afraid he’ll slip out of my hands and I’ll drown him.”
“Yeah, I hear ya. Don’t think I would attempt this myself.”
He held the baby while she prepared the bathwater. When it was ready, she undressed Flynn and dipped him the water. The screams of anguish that only bathing an infant can produce rang out, echoing throughout the apartment. Her next-door neighbor yelled through the wall, “Bath time?” and Bridget yelled back, “Yes, thank you!”
She worked fast and, after less than two minutes, lifted him out and rolled him in a soft towel. Dressing him quickly before he cried again, they went into the living room together so she could nurse him once more before bed.
“Light that candle, will you?” She nodded to the coffee table, where a candle and a book of matches lay.
Finding her spot on the couch, she lifted her shirt up and, with the baby’s head blocking, took her breast out. Flynn didn’t hesitate, and the sound of sucking reached Tony’s ears.
“Is that what I think it is?” he asked, grinning. “I guess I didn’t hear it at the park because of all the noise.”
“He is greedy. Are you uncomfortable with me like this?” She was flirting and she knew it, but it was fun.
“No, not at all. I’d like to see it, actually.”
“I think you want to look at my boob.”
“Well, that too, but I’m intrigued. How could a grown guy who watched a delivery in training never see a baby nurse?”
“Didn’t your mother nurse your little brothers?”
“Roberta? Not on your life. My mother came home from the hospital in her skintight pants and stilettos. You’ll have to meet my mother soon. She’s a character. The last thing she’d do is let a kid suck on her breast.”
“She seems pretty accepting of me, since she lets me use your van to pump.”
“Don’t get me wrong, she loves babies, loves kids, is all about the nurturing mother, but doing it herself? Never. I’ll tell you a family secret.”
