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Melanie slowly turned around, not wanting to miss the interactions taking place on the sofa. It was clear Paige had limited knowledge of interacting with a child, the way she spoke and the words she used didn’t change from when she spoke to anyone else. But Alfie clearly had no issue with that at all. And if something pinged near her heart, it was definitely wind and completely unrelated to the two people currently bonding over Star Wars. Instead, Melanie did as instructed, and called Cleo.
* * *
It was a good thirty minutes later by the time she’d talked her manager around some of the more intricate parts of the pay systems. But she was relieved to hear the groceries were there, and the booking system that had been playing up all week seemed to be resolved for now. Melanie made sure Cleo had her contact details and then sent a message to Louisa to make sure she was turning up at four like usual. In which case that was two hours-ish.
‘Right, loves, I’m off for my makeover with Sophie. See you later.’ Connie was quickly gathering her bag and coat and was out the door before anyone could say bye.
‘Erm, I think this kid is broken,’ Paige said. ‘He’s also leaking.’
Melanie stood up and saw an image that would be with her forever as one of the cutest things she’d ever seen. It wasn’t that Melanie did cute necessarily, but this was too much. She was tempted to take a picture and in fact she very subtly tried to steal a picture as she got closer.
‘Firstly, he’s not broken, he’s napping and what do you mean leaking?’
Paige pointed to the arm on her T-shirt where Alfie had snuggled up and rested his head, drool coming out of his lips.
‘Can I move or am I stuck here forever now?’
‘Stuck forever I’m afraid. You must never ever wake up a small kid, and their naps have been known to last a minimum of three hours. Alfie is a pro though — he normally goes four hours solid. I hope you’re comfy as you’re officially that kid's pillow.’
Melanie watched as Paige glared open-mouthed.
‘You’re messing with me, aren’t you?’ she said, sounding surprised. What like no one had ever tried to wind her up before?
‘Of course I’m messing, hang on.’ Walking round to the front of the sofa between the coffee table and the couch she knelt down. ‘Right, I’ll move him off you and lie him down, but you’ll need to scoot out of the way, OK?’
‘Sure,’ Paige whispered. Melanie tried not to grin. Alfie was out for the count, no talking, moving or otherwise would wake this kid up right now.
Melanie leaned forward and brushed her hand down Paige’s arm to the back of Alfie’s head. Her other hand went around the back of his shoulders, as she tugged him gently up a little.
‘Can you squeeze out?’
Paige quickly moved out of the way and far away. But before Melanie could lay him down flat, a little cushion appeared on the sofa for Alfie to rest his head on, and just as she had him settled and comfy, a blanket appeared and was gently placed over him.
‘Should I move the coffee table? Will he roll onto it?’ Paige asked still whispering.
‘Good idea,’ Melanie said as they both grabbed an end and moved it further towards the TV unit.
‘How long will he sleep for? Should I pause the film?’ Paige asked with complete and utter sincerity, and Melanie felt her heart melt. So yeah, probably not wind, but maybe caffeine again.
‘He can sleep as long as he wants and that’s for my sister to deal with later tonight. No, wait, hang on.’ Melanie opened up her app. ‘No, he’s with me, in that case no more than half an hour, and no you don’t have to pause the film, you can watch it if you want it’s not going to disturb him.’
‘So, he’s your nephew?’ Paige asked as they both stood over Alfie.
‘Yup. He’s cute right?’ Melanie watched as Paige shrugged. ‘The right answer there by the way is yes, or yes he’s the cutest, even if you don’t believe it.’
Paige’s lips curled slightly to one side. ‘He’s the cutest.’
‘You don’t mean it.’ Melanie laughed. ‘Yeah, I share the childcare with my sister — she’s a surgeon.’
‘Is there no other parent around?’ Paige asked.
‘No, my sister had a very intense relationship that ended as quickly as it began, and he left before he knew what he’d left behind. My mum had warned her and well . . .’
‘Well, what?’
‘Well, my mum adores Alfie, but she has a chip on her shoulder about Emily, saying that she should have been more careful, that having a child could damage her career.’
‘But you just said she’s a surgeon.’
