Page 10 of Never Really Over

“Oh, I don’t know,” she says, looking at Poppy. “Some men are meant to be fathers, even if it’s to your niece, I can see that it suits you. I always knew it would. Even as a teenager, you were good with kids.”

I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. For some reason, her words resonate with me deeply and I hug Poppy tighter.

“When did you ever see me around kids?”

She gives me a look like I’m dumb. “When you helped coach little league in the summers, you were the first to sign up to read with the kindergarten kids for your English classes. I remember you telling me about the elementary kids that would come for football camp in the summer that your high school team would put on and your face just lit up.”

My eyes widen at her words and my hands go clammy. With a small shoulder shrug, I tell her, “Yeah, well, it doesn’t look like fatherhood is in the cards for me, so best uncle in the world will have to do.”

She cocks her head to the side. “No lady in your life?”

“Nope.”

“Hmm.”

I chuckle. The sound of her hmm is far too calculating for my liking. “Don’t hmm me. It might have been quite a long time since we’ve seen each other, but I know you, Maureen. Don’t go thinking about setting me up with someone.”

She places a hand on her chest. “Me? Never!”

“Right,” I say with an eye roll. Poppy begins to fuss again, letting me know she’s far surpassed the amount of time she wanted to grocery shop. “I think it’s about time to get out of here. I’d hoped to make it back home before the rain.”

“Oh, of course! Well, it was certainly nice seeing you.” She reaches out and tweaks Poppy’s cheek. “And you, too, beautiful.”

Poppy responds by burying her face into my shoulder. She can be shy around strangers, so her reaction isn’t surprising.

“Good to see you, too, Maureen. Do you still have the same number? I’ll give you a call and have you over for dinner soon.”

“You cook?”

“Well, I am a single guy who’s gotta eat, you know?”

“I suppose that’s true. Yes, I still have the same number. Give me a call. I’d love to catch up more.”

“Will do. Take care.”

We give each other a quick hug then I make my way to the checkout. Luckily there’s not a line and the checker moves quickly, scanning our items and placing them in the grocery bags I somehow remembered to bring with me. Usually they sit on the kitchen counter and I get to the store, realizing that I’ve once again forgotten them.

After a quick stop to grab food through a drive-thru, we head back for home, and have barely gotten inside when the rain starts coming down hard.

A bottle for Poppy after lunch, a clean diaper, a few books, and she’s ready for a nap. I lay her down in the portable crib and do something I rarely do. Watch a movie in the middle of the day. Keeping the volume low as to not wake Poppy, I prop my feet up on the leather ottoman and let out a deep breath.

Me:Home from the store, Poppy’s taking a nap. Forgot to call you earlier so I’ll call when she wakes up.

Halfway through the movie, my phone rings with a number I'm not familiar with. Figuring it's someone calling about my car's extended warranty, I ignore it and set my phone back down on the end table next to my chair. Unfortunately, within a minute, it begins ringing again so with a heavy sigh, I answer it.

“Hello,” I answer, rather irritated.

“Mr. Samuelson?”

Something about the tone of the person's voice sets me on edge and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. I hit mute on the television, put my feet on the floor, and sit up straight.

“You’ve got him.”

“Mr. Samuelson, this is Dr. Klein from Hollow Grove Regional Hospital.”

“How can I help you?” I ask, wearily.

“I'm afraid I'm going to need you to come down to the emergency room as soon as possible.”

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