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“Shockingly, no.”
Shereallyneeds this job.
My body aches in a way I’m not used to as I shove to my feet and walk to where she’s sitting with my son. Otto’s done with his bottle and zonked.
Nora, on the other hand, looks hyper-alert as she watches me. “Want to burp him?”
“Yeah. If that’s okay.” I want to hold him, feel him in my arms, and remind myself this is real.
I take him carefully from Nora, resting him against my shoulder. His body tenses, then, after a few gentle taps of my fingers at the center of his back, he lets out a tiny burp.
“Nice work,” she offers with a smile that’s more for my son than for me. “Look at you, getting the hang of this baby thing.”
She has no idea what those words mean to me. If she did, no way would she have said them. “You think?”
“You’re a natural.”
“Good. Because I don’t think I can put this off any longer.”
She raises a brow. “A shower? Go for it. I’ve never actually seen your hair look like—”
“I was going to say telling my family.” I pinch my shirt, pulling it up to take a whiff. Compared to what I smell like after a game, this is nothing. “But maybe I’ll be able to sell the whole has-it-all-together thing better if I clean up first.”
* * *
Nora
Axel’s momdidn’t have an opening in her schedule at the university until this afternoon, so we finished going through the deliveries this morning. Pretty obvious which ones were ordered before Otto— hello, bulk order of Shake Weights and box of “Participation Medals” with a few of his teammates’ names on them —and which came after.
Axel spent a couple hours returning calls, though I think the number of people who actually know about Otto is very small and only out of necessity for things like insurance and beneficiaries. He wants to talk to his family before word leaks and they find out some other way.
When three rolls around, Axel has tidied up a section of his living room that will be on camera, and I’ve got Otto ready in a smart blue outfit with a puppy on the hat.
Watching other people with their families is always weird to me, and Axel with his is no exception. Standing off camera, I peek at the screen.
They’ve got some group video call happening that my family would never be able to manage. Too many people, not enough money for the tech, and why have a video call when everyone can crowd together in one cramped house? But with Axel’s family, there are just the four of them. No one talking over the others. No need to redo headcounts every minute.
His mom has a warm smile and salt-and-pepper hair that’s cut stylishly short, a funky bright scarf wrapped around her neck, and a smile that matches both her sons’. She looks like the professor she is.
His brother, Anders, I’ve seen around the building before but not this close. He’s outside somewhere, a pair of aviators blocking his eyes and the washed blue of Chicago’s November sky above him as he walks.
His sister, Astrid, shares her mother’s features but has so much hair that even up in that messy bun, it’s everywhere. She’s the baby of the family and completely adorable in a slouchy hoodie and shorts, sitting on her bed.
They’re a nice-looking group.
“Axel, honey, I’m sorry to rush you, but I’ve got papers to grade before my next class.” His mom writes something then puts her pen down, focus returning to the call with a smile. “What’s the good news you’ve got to share with us?”
“Endorsement deal with Lamborghini?” Anders asks, flashing a wink and smile at someone he passes on the street. He makes a face and angles the phone so we get to see the retreating form of a curvaceous blonde. “They want to give us all cars?”
Ugh.
Astrid snorts, rolling her eyes. “Earmuffs, Mom. More likely some STD cream. PS, Anders, Nadia says to tell you she wouldn’t date you if you had the last working dick in all humanity.”
I manage to hold back the laugh trying to chase it.
Axel’s mom sighs, picks up her pen, and writes something else.
Anders shakes his head. “Datingisn’t on offer. But you tell Nadia—”
