Page 44 of Soothe Me, Daddy
“I can’t move,” mumbled Henley.
Isaac chuckled and slid a hand under Henley’s back, lifting him to a seated position, or at least he tried to, but Henley was like a ragdoll. He rested Henley forward against his chest and wrapped his hands under his thighs to lift him. He stumbled to the bedroom—their bedroom—lying Henley on the already turned down bed.
“Rest, sweetheart. You’ve had a long week.”
Henley snored in response, and, snickering, Isaac pulled the covers over him.
When he entered the kitchen, he picked his phone up and dialled.
“Hi. He’s agreed to move in. Would you mind asking his sisters if they could help us pack up his house tomorrow.”
“Of course, I can. All four are here tonight, so that works well.” Pops paused. “Ariel, I will tell you in a minute. Be patient, girl. Sorry about that. Yes, I’m sure it won’t be a problem. Lewis and I will be there, too, even if we just direct everyone.”
“Perfect, thanks. I’m going to call in some more reinforcements as well. The quicker we get it done, the quicker everyone can have their weekend free.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Pops.”
He cancelled the call and made another.
“Hey, Blake. Are you busy tomorrow by any chance?”
“Not at all. What do you need?”
“Henley’s moving in. We need some assistance to get it done quickly.”
“No problem, text me his address, and I’ll be there.”
“I’m ringing the rest of them, too. I want him in here asap.”
Blake laughed. “Knew you’d be a goner when you found someone.”
“What can I say?” Isaac laughed.
“Tell you what, you call Frankie, Jo and Sierra, I’ll call the others. I’ll text you with who’s free.”
“Thanks, Blake.”
“No problem.”
They rang off. Isaac reached for Henley’s phone. Pulling up the contacts, he dialled.
“Henley! Nice to hear from you!”
“Sorry, Anne. It’s Isaac.”
“What’s wrong? Is Henley okay?” Her voice was panicked.
“Yes, yes! He’s fine. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was calling to ask for a favour.” He explained yet again what he needed, and Anne agreed to help. Her twin sons were home from university, so she would get them to help, too. She also said she’d call Bernie and Neil.
For the final time, he dialled from his phone. “Hey, Dad. I’m calling in the cavalry.”
“What did you do?”
Isaac laughed. “I didn’t do anything. Henley’s moving in. We need some muscle tomorrow to get it done. I’ve got a fair number of people already, but I wondered if you could ask around who of the family is free and send them over tomorrow.”
“Of course, I can.”
