Page 44 of Never Really Over

“How long does it take for the medicine to work?”

“Depends,” Tori says. “Grab a wash cloth and get it cool,notcold, and we’ll put it on the back of her neck. Why don’t you take her, she might calm down more with you.”

She hands Poppy off to me while Missy gets the wash cloth ready. I sit down in my recliner that rocks and Missy hands me the cool cloth.

“Back of her neck. It will help. This isn’t serious, Colt. This isn’t abnormal, either. This isn’t your fault.”

I nod, even though I don’t feel like her words hold truth about it not being my fault. How could I have let her get this sick?

“It’s probably from teething,” Tori says. “I felt in her mouth and could feel some new ones popping through her gums. Plus, she’s drooling like crazy.”

Oh. “And that would bring on a fever?”

All the ladies nod and say yes.

“How didn’t I know that?”

“Because you’re a new parent,” Tori says gently. “It’s okay, Colt. Poppy’s going to be okay. She needs to cut those teeth and she’ll be good as new.”

I let out a sigh of relief, closing my eyes and sending up a prayer of thanks. “I was terrified.”

Missy laughs at me. “I could hear that. Never heard you so panicked before.”

Tori sits on the arm of the chair, rubbing the back of my neck. “You already know that you just need to pick up the phone and call us. We’ve all been there and understand what it’s like when your baby is sick for the first time.”

Amy pipes up. “So true. Even with more kids, it’s still scary the first time. You’re doing fine. Just look at her. See how much she’s already calmed down just being in your arms?”

“I was holding her before, too, and she wasn’t calm,” I remind them.

“Yeah, but now she’s got some medicine in her and she’s worn herself out. Teething is hard. She might get a runny nose or diarrhea. She might pop some through without any problems. It’s all just a crap shoot.”

“All of parenting is,” Jenna says. “You never know what they’re going to do one day to the next. Did I tell you what Hannah did the other night? Climbed out of her crib. Face-planted right onto the floor. Scared the shit out of us. The sound it made was horrific. Now she has a big knot on her forehead.”

My eyes widen. “What the hell? They can do that?”

The girls all laugh. “Oh, yeah. Don’t think Poppy won’t try it, too,” Missy warns me.

“I’m building a fence around her crib and putting mattresses on the floor all around it.”

Tori smiles and shakes her head. “Papa bear.”

“How am I supposed to protect her if she’s like a monkey, escaping from her crib? How are they not built better? This isn’t right. She’s supposed to be safe with me.”

I can see on everyone’s face that they think this is funny.

Tori pipes up, “She is safe with you. Kids are a mess. All the time. They’re crazy and have a mind of their own and that’s a good thing. It’s scary, but you have to let them fall, and let them know you’re there to pick them back up. That’s part of life. Remember when you were a kid? You were into all sorts of stuff. It’s what we as parents do. Raising them to know you’ll always be there, but letting them learn on their own. You can’t protect her from everything, Colt.”

“The hell I can’t.”

From the corner of the room, I see Layla watching us all closely. For a second, I see something wash over her face that looks a lot like regret. Or maybe it’s jealousy, like she talked about earlier. She doesn’t weigh in on the conversation because she doesn’t have kids, and from what Dalton has told me, she’s not around any as none of her friends in Chicago have kids, either. That’s not to say she can’t be a part of the conversation, but she probably feels awkward and out of place right now. I don’t know if I feel sorry for her, but I do sympathize. It’s hard being the odd man out, like I’ve been in our group of friends for most of my life. As we all grew up, I became the only single guy with no kids. Now I have a kid, but I’m still single. And it will stay that way until Poppy’s out of the house because my focus and attention needs to be solely on her.

Poppy begins to calm down, thumb in her mouth and hot body resting on my chest.

“We’ll leave you to it,” Missy tells me quietly. “She’ll probably sleep quite a bit. Teething is a lot of work for little ones. The guys are coming by later and will help with chores or whatever you need, okay?”

“They don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, they do. Think about how many times you came and mowed our lawns or washed our vehicles for us when we had infants. Brought us pizza or groceries. Checked in and hung out with us to keep us company. Family helps each other and it’s time you remembered that. You aren’t alone,” Jenna says. “You hear me?”

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