Page 14 of The Six-Week Single Dad
Ihadtried.
Shaking away thoughts that I was a bad dad, I pushed open the door and almost ran Bea over with the buggy.
“Is everything okay? You’ve been gone ages.”
“Was I? Sorry.” Alfie’s eyelids were beginning to droop and it was time to head home. “I think he’s tired. Let’s get back.”
We headed out to the car park, stuffed everything in the boot as best we could, what with Alfie’s stuff taking up much of the space, and drove home.
While Bea unpacked the shopping, I took Alfie out of the buggy, pulled off his jacket, and placed him in his cot for a nap. He fell asleep almost instantly, appearing not to notice that it wasn’t his usual one. Trying to make as little noise as possible, I began to put some of his things around him to make him more at home, making sure he had Flopsy the bunny, his favourite toy, as close to him as possible. I tiptoed out and closed the door quietly behind me.
“Tea?” Bea held up the kettle.
“Yes please.” I collapsed on the sofa and leaned my head back on the cushions. “Welcome to the world of parenting.”
I closed my eyes until I felt the cushion next to me give and cracked open an eyelid to see Bea sitting next to me.
“We should sort out some kind of rota.” She had a pad resting on her knee and a pen in one hand. “Did I mention that I was going out tomorrow night? Laura’s arranged some sort of welcome-home party for me. Even though I’ve been home for ages.” Bea rolled her eyes. “Is it okay if I go?”
“You don’t need to ask me for permission to go.” I pulled myself back into an upright position and sipped my tea. I’d have given anything for a beer at that point, but staying sober with a baby in the house would be a better plan.
She smiled. “I thought I ought to check first. In case you already had plans.”
“Maddy didn’t exactly give me much choice in this, so anything I did have going on, I cancelled.” That much was true. I was meant to have gone out with my team at work, for drinks that night, and to something at the rugby club on the weekend. The only thing I hadn’t changed was Sunday night’s gaming with Tom. “What were you thinking in terms of the schedule? I mean, I’m going to be at work Monday through Friday.”
“Stuff like who’s going to be cooking on what night, if there’s anything Alfie’s doing that he needs taking to, doctor’s appointments, that sort of thing.”
“Hang on, Maddy left a list somewhere.” I went over to the buggy that contained the nappy bag and pulled out a notebook. Inside were key dates of when things were happening, such as Alfie’s best friend’s first birthday party. Who knew that one-year-olds even had best friends? I passed it over to Bea.
Her eyes glazed over as she read through the instructions. She tossed her pad to one side. “I don’t think we’re going to need this. The bible here tells us everything we need to know.” Her stomach rumbled loudly again and a flush crept across her cheeks.
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I’d forgotten you were hungry. We should have had something to eat by now.”
Bea looked over towards the kitchen. “I guess I can heat something up?”
“Or we could order pizza. The one down the road usually delivers in around fifteen minutes.”
Her eyes lit up. “I like the sound of that.”
I grinned. “Meat feast okay?” Maddy had always wanted something odd, like a crust-free pizza or something with pineapple. I figured Bea would be a traditionalist.
She nodded. “Ooo, yes please. And can we get some garlic bread too?”
“Your wish is my command.” I grabbed my mobile and dialled the pizza takeaway and placed our order.
True to their word, shortly after fifteen minutes had passed, the driver was buzzing on the intercom. The smell of freshly baked dough, meat and tomatoes wafted through the flat. Bea grabbed a couple of sodas from the fridge and we sat at the table. Barely a word was exchanged as we chewed on the delicious slices. It was a companionable silence and it felt very right. We inhaled the pizza in record time and resumed our places on the sofa. I switched on the TV and found a comedy programme that we’d probably both watched about a million times. As I relaxed, I felt the fatigue kick in. It seemed to have affected Bea in a similar way as she slumped against me, her eyes closed.
It took all of my willpower not to reach over and tuck a strand of hair, that had fallen out of place, back behind her ear. Her breathing was steady and I wasn’t sure whether she was asleep.
I wondered what she would do if I tried to kiss her?
As that thought crossed my mind, a wail came from Alfie’s room. It was almost as if he knew something was about to happen.
Chapter Eight
Bea
The sound of a baby crying filtered through my brain as I struggled to open my eyes. It was still dark and I scrabbled for my phone, squinting as I checked the time. Three-forty-six am. Tempting though it was to pull the pillow over my head, I knew I should go and see what Alfie wanted. I threw off the covers and jammed my feet into a pair of slippers. It didn’t occur to me that I should have put something over the skimpy vest and shorts I usually wore to bed. Using the torch on my phone, I crept from my room into Alfie’s.
