Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
I leaned against him and kissed his cheek before saying, “Thanks, that was nice of you.”
“Want me to bring it to you? Owen looks like he’s going to be busy for a while.”
“In a little bit,” I said. “I think he’ll go down for a nap pretty soon. They’re usually hit or miss, but that was an awful lot of excitement for one day.” Owen was sitting on a blanket a few feet away, having finally switched from the box tops to an actual toy. He was taking apart a new wooden block puzzle and banging the pieces on the board. Percussion was a big thing with him.
Lark was sitting on his boyfriend’s lap across the room, and he reminded me, “There are still some presents to unwrap, and they have your name on them, Logan.”
Lucky asked, “Is that a family tradition, bringing gifts to the parent on the baby’s first birthday? I really like that idea and wish I’d known. I would have brought you something.”
“JoJo came up with it and wants to see it sweep the nation.” I gestured at my friend, who was curled up on the couch with her fiancée.
“It really should become a tradition,” she said. “Just look at what parents go through in the early years, between horrific diaper changes and missed sleep and constant worry. They should all be issued a bottle of wine, some chocolate, and a set of comfy sweats annually. Spoiler alert, that’s exactly what’s in the gift bag from Yo and me.” JoJo flashed me a tipsy smile.
“New sweats, thank god,” Hal muttered. He was curled up in a chair with his third or fourth Bloody Mary. “Now you don’t have to go running in your gross junior high P.E. sweats, Logan. Also, nobody told me we were getting daddy gifts, either. I would have been all over that.”
“You coming here this weekend was my gift,” I told him, which made him roll his eyes.
“Whatever. I would’ve gotten you a nice bottle of tequila, and we could’ve had a margarita party.”
“And then you could have passed out, thrown up, and died,” I told him, “not necessarily in that order. In fact, maybe don’t try to finish that Bloody Mary. You and I both know you’re a total lightweight.”
Lucky chuckled and muttered, “Pot, meet kettle.” Then he bumped my knee with his and asked, “When are you going to open your presents?”
“Once the baby’s asleep.”
“He seems wide awake to me,” Lucky said. Then he called, “Isn’t that right, kiddo?”
Owen had been taking apart another new wooden puzzle, which had pieces in the shape of farm animals. He looked up at Lucky and smiled. Then he picked up the piece shaped like a cow and shakily got to his feet.
Hal whispered, “Holy shit,” as he grabbed his phone and started filming.
Owen fell onto his padded bottom, but then he got right back up again and took three wobbly steps. This brought him directly to Lucky. He tipped forward, and Lucky caught him and put him on his lap. The baby smiled at him, held out the wooden cow, and said, “Ba,” because it was the only thing he could say.
I whispered, “He actually did it.” Then I turned to Hal and said, “Please tell me you got that.” My best friend smiled at me as he held up his phone, which was playing the video of my son’s first steps.
I looked around the room at my housemates’ stunned faces, and then Eliot whooped with joy and started applauding as he shouted, “Yeah, Owen! You did it, little dude!”
The rest of us cheered and applauded, too. Then JoJo asked, “Why do I feel like I just witnessed a miracle?”
“Because it is,” Yolanda said, as she put her arms around her fiancée. “Every single time, with every single child.”
When I looked at Lucky, I was surprised to see tears in his eyes. He was staring at the baby in awe, and I linked my arm with his and put my head on his shoulder. “That was amazing,” he whispered, and I nodded. “I’m sorry I was in the way. He was trying to come to you, but—”
“No, he was absolutely coming to you,” I said. “He wanted to show his new friend the cow from his puzzle. Isn’t that right, Owen?”
He smiled at me and said, “Baba.”
Then he rubbed his eyes with his chubby little fists, and I jumped up and announced, “It’s nap o’clock. I might have just enough time to get him into his crib before he has a meltdown.” I picked up my son and told my friends, “Be right back,” before hurrying upstairs.
I managed to take off his little red overalls and do a very quick diaper change before exhaustion caught up to him. He cried it out as I settled him into his crib, and I talked to him quietly until the tears finally dried up.