Page 133 of The Moment You Know

David glanced down the hall. He could hear the faucet running in the bathroom, but that didn’t always mean Jacob was in there; sometimes he’d leave and forget to turn the water off.

“Relax, man. He’s still washing his hands,” Evan said. “So, have you had any more?”

David lowered his voice. “Even if I have, I’m not telling you about them.”

“Which means you have.”

David shrugged, then looked down the hall again. “Jacob!”

A few seconds later, Jacob poked his head out from his bedroom, making David sigh and Evan crack up.

“Turn off the water and come eat,” David called down the hall.

Jacob ducked back into the bathroom and the sound of the water cut off. Then he was running down the hall to the kitchen, and as he started to climb onto his booster seat, David noticed that the little boy’s hands were still dirty. “Did you wash your hands?”

Jacob shook his head.

“Go wash your hands,” David told him.

Jacob made a face and semi-stomped back to the bathroom, where the water began running again. After almost a minute, Evan said, “That seems to be taking a long time again. Although, this time I think he’s actually still in there.”

“They teach them in preschool to wash for thirty seconds, but yeah, it’s taking longer than it should.” David sighed before yelling, “Jacob, that’s enough!”

The water turned off and then Jacob appeared in the hall with wet hands, water running down his arms and dripping on the floor. “There’s no towels.”

Evan cracked up again.

“Shut the fuck up,” David muttered under his breath in Evan’s direction, then instructed Jacob, “Just use your shirt.”

Jacob darted into his room.

“I meant the one you’re—” David broke off with a sigh before finishing with, “—wearing.”

Evan scratched his head, still amused. “Parenting in real life is a lot different than what they show on TV.”

“No shit?”

“Ashley’s going to have her hands full.”

“Probably.”

“You worried about that?”

David paused. “Let’s just say I’m a little apprehensive.”

“When is his first visitation with her?”

“This weekend. I thought it would be better to not start in the middle of the week and it gave Ashley some time to move into her new place. She wants me to spend Friday night, to make the transition easier for him.”

“Are you going to?”

David nodded. “I can’t just drop him off at a new place and leave.”

“Where will you be sleeping?”

“On the couch. Ashley made it clear I could sleep with her, but I declined.”

Evan gave the pizza box a longing look, then opened the top and grabbed a slice. “I’m done waiting on the kid. I’m eating.”

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