My love-for-life dial was cranked up to 100 and locked into place with superglue. Nothing was gonna slow me down.
Of course, all that changed with a phone call from my former friend-with-benefits. Beth was busy becoming a doctor, and neither of us had time for a relationship. But Netflix and chilling became our thing for a couple of months last year, until those two little pink lines changed everything. Beth was carrying my baby, despite the precautions we’d taken.
But even with the massive overhaul of my social life, life is better with Marley, on all counts. She’s given me purpose, a word I thought was only reserved for the kind of people who go on mission trips to Guatemala twice a year.
Nowadays, I’m so much more than just Connor Blake, the bachelor. More than co-owner of Chicago’s number one sex-toy shop.
I’m a dad.
When I come to, I realize I’ve been droning on about day cares for give or take ten minutes. Even Wolfie’s sharp eyes are starting to glaze over.
“In summary,” I mutter, “finding a good day care in this neighborhood is a bitch.”
“Why don’t you just get a nanny?” Caleb says, cracking open his second beer. “I had the best nanny growing up. She still comes to my family’s Christmas party each year.”
“Probably ’cause you still need supervision.” I sneer at him, relishing the opportunity to give him a hard time.
But before Caleb can get a word out, Hayes cuts in.
“Where do you even find a nanny?”
“I’m sure there are databases for nannies,” Wolfie says, ever the pragmatic one.
“I don’t want to pick some random person off the internet, guys. If I get a nanny, they’d be alone in my home for the majority of the day. I’d need to trust them.”
“Do you have anything valuable to steal?”
It’s Caleb’s turn to give me shit, and damn, does it feel like we’re back in the shop. With a sleeping baby on my chest, I can’t smack him upside the head like I normally would. I’ll make up for it by teaching Marley to kick Uncle Caleb in the shins every chance she gets.
Hayes chuckles, shaking his head. “Other than his kid?”
Never too proud for a pissing contest, I’m about to tell him exactly how much I paid for my high-end espresso machine when a small sedan filled with moving boxes rolls to a halt in front of my neighbors’ house. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes have lived in that house for over two decades as happily retired empty nesters. I’ve only met them a couple of times, but the old couple have grown on me.
Hayes, Wolfie, and Caleb must sense my curiosity, because the conversation stills as we wait to see who steps out of the car.
I hear the door slam and the soft padding of feet before I know who they belong to. When the driver comes into view to lift the roll-up door, I can’t help but do a double-take because the girl is unbelievably gorgeous.
She’s young, around our age, with thick brown hair pulled back in a long, unruly ponytail. Wearing sneakers, shorts, and a loose-fitting T-shirt, she looks like any twenty-something on moving day. She opens the trunk and lifts out a hefty suitcase, clearly stronger than she looks, and sets it on the sidewalk.
“Do your neighbors have a hot daughter?” Caleb asks, standing to get a better look.
“Will you sit down?” Wolfie sighs, aging with every second that Caleb does anything immature.
For the first time in a while, I’m kind of with Caleb on this one. I’m curious.
“Just sons, as far as I know,” I murmur.
When she reappears, I see her face for the first time. She’s flushed, but not just with the summer heat. She’s excited. And excitement looks really damn good on her.
“Jessa!”
We all turn to see Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes waving to her from their porch with wide, friendly smiles.
The woman we now know as Jessa sets a box down on the edge of the trunk and gives the old couple a wave. She jogs over to them, giving Mr. Wilkes a hearty handshake and Mrs. Wilkes a quick hug. I can’t hear their conversation, but I get the impression they’re meeting for the first time.
“All right, I’m bored.” Caleb sighs, plopping back down in his chair. “Anyone want another beer? Or am I supposed to finish this twelve-pack all by myself?”
I peer down at Marley, who is squirming unhappily, her bleary little eyes opening and closing. I guess nap time is over.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jessa’s box tilting over the lip of the trunk, about to topple. Instinctively, I jump to my feet, jostling the already grumpy baby. The box falls, Marley wails, Jessa and the Wilkeses turn, and suddenly everyone’s eyes are on me.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath. “It’s okay, Marley. It’s okay.” I pat her back softly, but it’s like comforting a fire alarm. I turn to the guys. “Would someone go help her with that box?”
Caleb and Wolfie spring into action as Hayes leans across the brick ledge with an apologetic smile for the neighbors. “Sorry for the commotion, folks. Can we help you out?”
“Oh, that’s all right. It wasn’t fragile stuff. Don’t worry about it,” Jessa calls back, her voice clear and cordial.
But Caleb and Wolfie have already rescued that box and are now unpacking the car, which contains a few more boxes, another suitcase, a smaller bag, and a duffel bag.
“Really, it’s okay,” she says, trying to intercept Wolfie on his trajectory to the Wilkeses’ front porch. One look at him in the zone, and Jessa steps aside, her eyes wide and a timid smile on her lips. “Well, thanks, um . . .”
“Wolfie’s the scary one. That idiot’s Caleb,” Hayes says, waving off her concern. “Best to just let them do their thing. They’ve already got an assembly line going.”
And they do. Caleb stands near the car, pulling out boxes as Wolfie carries them an outside staircase that leads to a separate entrance on the second floor that Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes directed him to.
You’d better believe that I’d be right there with them if I didn’t have a screaming baby in my arms. Marley’s eyes are scrunched tightly closed, tears trailing down her pink cheeks.
I try rocking her. I try bouncing her.
Is she crying because she’s tired? Hungry? Scared? I never fucking know.
In the ear that isn’t already deaf, I hear Hayes making polite conversation.
“That’s my buddy Connor’s house.” He points in my direction. “He’s the normal one. I’m Hayes, by the way. Where are you coming from?”
“Oh, I’m Jessa. Nice to meet you. I’m from a couple hours east of here. Well, east is the lake. Southeast. I’m from Indiana.” She laughs, somehow pulling off awkward and sweet at the same time.
Unable to take my eyes off of her, I ask, “What brings you to Chicago?” Instantly, I regret drawing attention to myself.
Yes, let’s all look at the sad son of a bitch who has no idea how to calm his distraught baby.
I shift Marley’s weight in my arms, hoping a new position will help. It doesn’t.
I don’t even hear Jessa’s answer to my question, as much as I’d like to. While Jessa and Hayes make small talk as Wolfie and Caleb continue to unpack the trunk, I pace back and forth, trying to soothe Marley by gently patting her back and humming softly. I wish I knew what was wrong so I could fix it. She does this once in a while, and I’ve yet to figure it out.