Page 11 of Staying for You

She offers up a smile that doesn’t come close to reaching her eyes and wipes under her eyes. After taking a deep breath, she grips her forearms and with a definitive nod says, “I will be. I will be.”

“I’m just up the way if you need anything,” I say, pointing to the lodge just as the sounds coming through the baby monitor grow louder. “The babies, they help. I can be having a supremely shitty day and I’ll FaceTime with either of them — well, they really don’t have a clue what they’re doing but just seeing their faces and hearing their voices, it turns my day around.”

That gets me a soft smile that wipes away some of the sadness. It makes me feel like a million bucks.

“Okay.”

“Why don’t you do your thing. Get yourself settled and if you want to come up tonight and join us for dinner, you’re welcome to. We’re having a really deluxe meal of boxed mac and cheese, peas, canned pears, and cubed ham. I’m sure it sounds incredibly appetizing, but right now I eat what the babies eat.”

“You don’t have to take care of me, Owen,” she utters softly.

It’s not the first time she’s said my name out loud, but it’s the first time it affects me. It makes me immediately wonder what it would sound like if she were whispering it into my ear.

“Well, offering a fancy out of the box and can meal isn’t really doing much, Cami. And it’s just an offer. Truly. If you’d rather hang out here, you’re obviously welcome to. But right now, I need to get back up to the kids.”

“Go. I’ll stop up later if I feel like it, that okay?”

“Works for me. Enjoy. And, you have my cell. Call me if you need anything.” I’ve already told her that, but I don’t want to leave. Not even for the kids, which makes me sound and feel like a supremely crappy person.

“I will. Thank you. For everything. It’s obvious you don’t usually have a lot of guests this time of year and maybe you made an exception for me, but I appreciate it. I, uh, feel like I need to be here.”

I pause just before leaving, hoping that she’ll find whatever it is she’s looking for here but not wanting to voice it. I also make sure not to tell her that it is a little weird to have guests this time of the year unless they’re ice fishing and even they aren’t around the lodge or main cabins much. I’m happy to have her. I have three ice fishing houses that the guests will rent but they spend all day on the lake. “Anytime.”

Chapter Four

Owen

I quickly head back upto the lodge as I hear Brody yell “O!” loudly and drawn out. It makes me chuckle to hear his cute little voice try to say my name to get my attention. As I push through the front door of the lodge, I holler, “I’m coming, buddy!”

He replies with an “O? Come?”

“Yup!”

I climb the stairs and quickly go into the bedroom the kids are staying in. Brody is standing up in the portable crib he’s sleeping in, his blankie dangling from his fingers and hair a mess. Isabelle’s sitting up in her portable crib rocking back and forth on her butt. Her thumb is in her mouth and she has a few tears on the apple of her cheeks that break my damn heart.

“I’m sorry. So sorry, kiddos. I got caught up.”

I pull Issy out of her crib first which ticks off Brody immediately. I tease, “Hey, buddy. Ladies first. Best for you to learn that now. You’re going to be protecting her for the rest of your life.”

I’m pretty sure that only makes him even madder because he scowls and then tells me, “I stinky.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I thought the sewer was backed up.”

Neither of them laugh at me, which makes sense because they’re under two and wouldn’t have an idea what I just said. Besides, they’re both cranky for having to wait three minutes for me to get here after they’d woken up from their peaceful nap.

“Tough crowd,” I murmur.

I set Issy back down in her crib because no one needs to sit in their own poo for more than a hot second. She screams at me in protest so I grab her stuffed unicorn, kiss the top of her head, and promise that it won’t take me long. She makes it clear she doesn’t believe me, which isn’t a surprise. Rex doesn’t make his baby girl wait for anything. She has him wrapped around her little finger and he doesn’t care one bit.

“Alright, little man. Let’s get you changed out of that nasty diaper.”

He wrinkles his nose and looks down where the stink is coming from. “I know. It’s bad. Those chicken nuggets might not have been the best idea for you.”

Issy’s whimpering is getting louder at being ignored while I try to change Brody’s diaper as quickly as possible, not only because I want her happy, but also because this job is the literal worst.

I wipe my forehead because I’m sweating, which is obviously a rookie move and I realize belatedly that changing a diaper is not, in fact, the literal worst. Wiping your nephew’s poop on your forehead is.

“Shit,” I grunt.

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