Babymoniter
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"Good morning, boyo," he
said on seeing the toddler standing in his playpen, bouncing enthusiastically. "Ugh - what's your mom feeding
you?" He changed the boy's drawers and carried him into the living room.
Susan had left a note - she had been paged in the middle of
the night, the TV set told him. "I
knew that, Sus," he muttered. The level of loneliness waiting for him this
day would be abated by their son.
"Okay, which one do you want? Banana - or apple?" Cosmo was occupied by a pair of chubby keys
and could clearly care less. Chuck chose
apple and began work on the hot cereal, breakfast for himself a simple
afterthought. The cereal boiled rapidly,
and he stirred it into a bowl.
Cosmo had been watching his father, and he began drooling
when Chuck put a bowl before him. Chuck
dipped the little metal spoon in the dish and popped it into the kid's
mouth. One followed another and another,
and when the bowl was halfway empty Chuck felt it was safe enough to return to
his own breakfast. A clatter and a
squeal sent him back to the child - Cosmo had upset his bowl of cereal.
"Cosmo!" Complained Chuck. He winced at the sound of that name. It had been Susan's idea, one that was
supposed to be original, and he had gone along with it. It wasn't as if he was the one actually
giving birth. His bacon and eggs would
have to wait.
"Time for your bath," he said, unceremoniously.
**
Cosmo was a true Martin, it seemed. He absolutely had no use for water. From there, Chuck selected an outfit at
random from the kid's arsenal and dressed him - slacks and a sweatshirt. Chuck hoped to get him out to the park, but
it depended on how quickly he could get the dishes washed.
Washing dishes was also a Martin specialty - Susan tended to
have a clinical approach to the task that wasted water. By the time he finished, another diaper
change was necessary.
Chuck speculated about the length of time it would take to
get the two of them to the park and back.
If he timed things right, they would have just enough time to make it
back for Boo Bah.
***
The bouncy swings were filled with noisy toddlers. Chuck decided to plant Cosmo in a baby swing
and push him gently. Delighted laughter
filled the air, which reminded Chuck why he had given up her career as a flight
nurse. He loved his boy, and it would be
good to have a masculine influence on him.
Speaking of masculine influence - two girls were watching
them from the other side of the park. A thirtyish blonde and a twentyish
brunette. He grinned. They giggled.
He realized that he had left the house in pajama bottoms.
***
Lunch, strained carrots and rice, ended up mostly in Cosmo's
mouth. Chuck mopped the boy's mouth and
made one last clean up. He deposited
Cosmo on the floor and began stacking blocks, encouraging the child to knock
them down. They interested him for a
little while, but nothing compared to the lure of the big black box.
The Booh-Bahs were scary. But not nearly as scary as Carrie Weaver.
***
They had dinner alone at six - and by now a tuckered Cosmo
slept. Chuck did the same on their
couch, during a re-run of "The Great Escape."
Susan arrived home to this scene, worn out and numb. She would have to tell Chuck soon that the
promotion had fallen through. As she
pulled a blanket around his shoulders, his loving smile told her everything
would be fine anyway.