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“I can promise you that’s not going to happen,” I replied.
He offered a nod and a small smile in return. “Fair enough. I figured before I leave this morning, I can do a quick rundown of everything, just to make sure you’ve got a refresher, since this is technically your first official day.”
While I hadn’t forgotten anything I’d taken in last week when I was here with his mom, I didn’t think it was wise to stop Banks from doing what he needed to do. He’d had his mom looking after his kid for so long. This was likely a big adjustment for him, and he was probably doing this more for himself than he was for me. I couldn’t imagine it would be easy for me if I was in his position, so I said, “That sounds like a great idea.”
For the next ten minutes or so, Banks ran through every pertinent piece of information he believed I needed to have. Truth be told, he shared more than was likely necessary. I figured it was going to take him a few days to get to a place where he was comfortable with me being here with his son on my own. Until that happened, I’d endure his unnecessary reminders about Rhys’s schedule, food, and location of things for his kid.
When he finished, he asked, “Is there anything I missed? Do you have any questions for me?”
I shook my head. “I think you covered it all.”
“Right. Well, to confirm, you do still have my number in case of an emergency, right?”
“Rhys and I are going to have a great day today, andnothing bad is going to happen, but yes, I do have your number in my phone in the event something unexpected comes up,” I assured him.
His eyes roamed over my face briefly before he turned his attention to his son. “You better behave yourself today,” Banks warned him, as Rhys smiled at his dad. “I mean it. Don’t give Lamise a hard time on her first day. We want to make sure she comes back tomorrow.”
I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I couldn’t stop myself from speaking. “While I understand the need to parent him and lay down some ground rules, I think you should know there isn’t anything he could do that would send me running in the opposite direction.”
“That’s good to know.”
Done with his lecture, Banks kissed his son several times on the cheek and hugged him close before holding him out to me. I happily took Rhys into my arms and cuddled him.
A moment later, Banks said, “Okay, so I guess I’m going to head out of here and get to work. I’ll call later this afternoon, just to check in and make sure everything is alright.”
“Sure.”
At that, we walked out of the kitchen and toward the front door together. Once there, Banks opened it and started to walk through, but he stopped himself. My brows pulled together just as he turned around, looked at me, and said, “I almost forgot. I talked to my mom on Friday after you left here. She had mentioned that the two of you exchanged phone numbers and you were going to send her some updates on Rhys’s days as a way to help her through her recovery.”
“Oh, right. Yes, I’m sorry. I forgot to mention that. Is that okay with you?”
Banks nodded. “It is. In fact, not only am I okay with you sending her updates and pictures of Rhys occasionally, but I’d love to get some from you as well.”
Glad that he wasn’t upset by my idea, I stood a little taller and tightened my hold on Rhys. “I can absolutely do that,” I promised him.
He held my gaze briefly before he offered a gentle nod and said, “I’ll see you two later. Have a good day.”
Banks leaned forward, gave Rhys one more kiss, slid his eyes to mine, and walked out.
After confirming the door was locked, I looked at Rhys and said, “It’s just you and me, kid. Are you hungry, or do you want to play?”
He grinned at me before he leaned forward and tried to eat my face, so I took that to mean he was hungry.
For the next few minutes, I busied myself with getting Rhys fed and settling us both in for our first day alone together. Once he ate, we sat and played on the floor in the family room for a while, Rhys doing a whole lot of baby talking in the process, and me being more than happy to chat with him.
Time passed so quickly, and before I knew it, the time had arrived for Rhys to go down for his morning nap. After getting a fresh diaper on him and getting him settled in his crib, I turned on the monitor and picked up the laundry basket on the way out.
I tossed a load of Rhys’s clothes into the wash before making my way through each room on the first floor where the two of us had left a mess, either with toys or dishes.
I’d gotten through that rather quickly, and that’s when it hit me. When I was here last week, I had Robin to keep me company. Now that I was alone, I suddenly had nothing to do. My only options were to turn on the television,scroll through my phone, or sit and stare at the walls.
Of course, I chose to do none of those. I allowed my eyes to drift to the pictures and confront the one thing I hadn’t addressed up to this point.
Banks’s wife.
Rhys’s mom.
I still hadn’t met her, and I thought it was the strangest thing ever.
