"Why are your knuckles swollen?"
Nick glanced down at the fingers that were wrapped around his fork. Jake leaned towards me.
"The dentist bit him."
"The dentist?"
Jake squirmed in his seat. "Ayyyee-J gave me this!"
He tilted his head. I saw a long, mishaped black blob on his neck.
Nick's face turned red.
"What did I miss while I was at work?" I asked.
We started at each other. My eyes widened. I don't know why, but I knew by his guilty look what he had done.
"You didn't."
"Now, don't overreact."
"I took care of it!"
"I just added some extra toppings!"
"Are we eating ice cweam for dessert?" Jake asked hopefully.
"No, you're getting some chocolate Teddy Grahams," I said, addressing Jake. I went back to Nick. "It's done. It's over. It doesn't bother me anymore."
"Well, it bothers me. I've known him my whole life and he's gone off the deep end. And he hurt you."
"Who hurt mommy?"
I sighed. A little mind trying to worm its way into an adult conversation wasn't working.
"After dinner," I said.
Nick nodded.
I delayed the inevitable for as long as possible. Even though Jake didn't really need help spilling his milk (aka his Teddy Graham swimming pool) all over himself, it certainly didn't hurt to splash a little more on.
Or to be the first one to suggest he get a bath.
"This is Pirate Ducky. He has a wed hat, a bwack patch, and a bwue banana and he goes quack, quack, ARGH!"
"ARGH! That thar is a bandana not a banana matie!" I growled in Pirate- ese. Jake burst into giggles. Shay pressed her hand lightly over his eyes and poured a cup of water over his soapy hair. The minute she let go, Jake stood up.
"You're not done," Shay said patiently.
"ARGH," he said, sinking back down.
When he was done, I got the honor of wrapping the squirmy baby butt in a towel and hoisting him out of the tub. A stream of water trickled off his toes as I let him swing in the air. He hugged me tightly.
"That was the best bath ever!" he declared. Shay smiled. I took the edge of the towel and brushed a bubble off his nose.
"Agreed," I said. I kissed his cheek. "Pajama time?"
"Aye, aye!"
The more time I spent with Jake, the more I noticed he latched onto things easily. For what seemed like the millionth night in a row, he had to wear these red pajamas with paw prints. He fell back, legs in the air, as I scooted the bottoms up. Once I was done, he flipped over until he rolled off the bed.
"Can I watch Thomas?" he asked. He held up a DVD.
"Well..."
"Sure. Just a couple," Shay said. I hadn't noticed her in the doorway. She came over and took the DVD from Jake. He scrambled into bed.
I had been about to make an excuse that TV before bed wasn't good. I say excuse because I was delaying the 'Kevin' talk with Shay. Instead, Jake crawled back onto bed, cupping his head in his hands. Thomas lit up the screen. Jake did a full-body shake of delight.
"I'll come check on you," Shay promised/warned. She ruffled his hair and gave me a look.
"C'mon Nick."
Nick couldn't stall anymore. Jake was happily watching the trains go down the track and Nick and I were sitting face to face on the couch.
The couch.
"First off, thank you," I said softly. Nick's eyes widened in surprise.
"Thank you?"
"You didn't have to do that today."
"Yes, I did."
"Did it make you feel better?" I asked. Nick sighed.
"Not really. It's just his behavior's so odd. He's acting like me. I mean, like me before. Not now. Because I'm not that way now."
He was rambling. It was cute...endearing even. I laughed. "I know that."
"You do?"
"Nick, it's in everything you do. The way you are with Jake. What you did today."
"So you're not mad?"
I shook my head. "I'm not mad." I bit my cheek to stop myself from grinning.
"But what the heck was that thing on Jake's neck?"
Nick had the decency to look sheepish. "AJ watched him while I went to the studio."
I didn't know a lot about AJ. What I had seen looked...wild. Nick seemed to read my face.
"It didn't go bad! J gave him that temporary tattoo. I think it was supposed to be a skull, but it came out looking more like a paintball blow."
I laughed. "Yes, it did."
"And there was the one small thing with my dog, but..."
"What thing?"
Nick was trying so hard not to laugh. "Jake accidentally let Silas out the front door. J went after him, but by the time he got back...Jake locked him out."
I gasped. "He didn't."
I guess they played a half-hour game of "Jake, May I?" before Jake 'remembered' how to turn the lock.
"What am I going to do with that boy?" I asked. We both smiled. We both knew the answer.
We were going to love him to pieces.
"Daddy, one more."
"Jake..."
"Pwease?"
I glanced over at Shay. She sighed. "One more."
Jake beamed. He patted the bed.
"Daddy, come watch."
"I'm going to go clean up the kitchen," Shay said. "Let him watch one more. That's it. Okay?"
I nodded. "One more."
Shay left the doorway. I crawled into Jake's bed. He took my arm and crawled right up to my chest. I could feel his heart beating under my palm.
I don't get Thomas the Train Engine. I guess just because it's a train, its cool. But there was something about those big eyes that moved weird that creeped me out. I've heard the newer, more animated, version isn't that bad. But the originals were scarier than a dozen horror movies I had seen lately.
On the plus side, the bed was warm. And it was nice holding Jake with his head propped on my arm and my head propped on his Buzz Lightyear pillow.
Everything suddenly reminded me of home when I was little. The sounds from the kitchen were mom making bottles for Angel and Aaron. The TV on low was dad watching the basketball game with me in my room, underneath my city made of chairs draped with sheets.
I'm pretty sure I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
