Page 41 of Hat Trick
He tears his eyes from mine and stares at the TV. We both know he’s not watching the game. “I don’t think I’ve ever let myself think about it. Having a child is—it’s like having a part of you, the best part, the most vulnerable part… the most essential part, the one thing that keeps your soul from shattering into a million pieces—it’s like having that outside of you. Where anything can get to it. That’s…” He lets out a heavy sigh. His next words are so quiet I almost don’t hear them. But I do, and it breaks my heart a little for him. “I can’t think of anything more terrifying.”
I know why he feels that way. He’s my person. Some days I know him better than I feel like I know myself. Which is exactly why he’s never let himself love someone as deep and soul-consuming as I know he’s capable of. I also know him well enough to not push the subject any further. Which is why I simply say, “I think you’d make a great dad someday.”
His eyes meet mine again, and he gives me a soft smile. “So would you, Em.”
The sound of Charlie sucking on air refocuses our attention. Kid can slam a bottle better than some of my friends can slam a beer. “Come on, let’s go lay him down. I’m fucking starving.”
Dom huffs a laugh as we take Charlie to Lil’s room where she and Gigi set up the Pack ‘n Play. Between the living room and the twenty steps it took for us to get in here, he’s somehow wide awake again. Dom elbows me with his free arm. “Quick, sing him a lullaby.”
“Do I look like I know any damn lullabies?” I hiss.
“Think of something,” he whines.
I sing the first thing that comes to mind, a song that I could sing from start to finish, any time, any where.
It takes all of five seconds for Dom to figure it out. “‘Neon Moon’? Really?”
“Shut up. It’s the first thing I thought of,” I rush out before continuing.
I grew up on a ranch in Montana. Sue me.
“You’re so singing this next time we go to karaoke.”
“Shut. Up. And sing the fucking song.”
Smiling ear to ear, Dom sings the rest of the song with me. The two of us swaying and bouncing to the beat. However, I have no idea why the fuck I’m bouncing when I’m not even holding the baby.
Wait, is this why moms are always rocking side to side when they’re standing in line at the grocery store?
By the time we reach the last chorus, Charlie’s eyes flutter shut, and his tiny lips pop open.
Success.
“I really think my ovaries are actually going to explode,” Lil’s hushed voice sounds from behind us.
Dom and I turn around to find her and Gigi standing in the bedroom doorway, both their phones pointed in our direction. Dom and I were so busy serenading Charlie to a country classic that we didn’t even hear them come in. But judging by the heart eyes the two of them are sporting, they’re more than happy they snuck up on us.
“I think that was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Gigi says, pocketing her phone and clutching her hands to her chest.
I point my finger between the two of them. “Hush. We just got him to sleep.”
Lil curls her lips in, trying not to laugh as Dom laysCharlie down in the Pack 'n Play. The two of us give him one last longing look before sneaking across the room to shove the two giggling women out the door and closing it behind us. Gigi opens her mouth to speak but I stop her. “If that video ever sees the light of day, the two of you are in so much trouble.”
Dom scoffs. “God forbid the world sees that you’re anything but a crabass.”
Gigi shoots me a wink before the four of us head back out to the living room. Dom asks, “You girls good if we stay and eat our sushi? We weren’t sure when you were going to be back, and Mr. Man in there helped us work up an appetite.”
“Of course,” the girls say in unison before Gigi looks between us. “Thank you for watching him. I needed this afternoon. I feel… well, I feel much better.”
Reaching out, I put my hand on her arm. “Any time, Gigi. Really. Charlie is the best.”
“Yeah,” Dom agrees, California roll already stuffed in his mouth. “I think he might be my new best friend.”
“Say that again and I won’t give you any of my dumplings,” I tell him over my shoulder.
“I can always get one of those dumplings,” he says pointing his chopsticks at my ass.
“Boys,” Liliana scolds, but her smile lets me know there’s no real heat behind it. “Please don’t traumatize poor Georgia. She’s been through enough today.”
