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But to have no one…
“Go get a shower, bruh,” I said to him, using the term he liked to call me when he actually showed up for work. “Take a break. I’ll stay for a bit.”
Until I got a call out, anyway.
It would happen eventually.
Until then…
The kid didn’t go to sleep, but he wasn’t crying, either.
I counted that as a win, and almost laughed when Assman all but ran out of the room.
Obviously, it’d been a while since he’d showered.
Pulling out my phone upon him disappearing, I called the one person I knew would help no matter what.
“Mamasauce,” I said when she answered. “I need your help.”
Mom or ‘Mamasauce’ as I liked to call her when I wanted her to be in a good mood, was swift with her response. “What’s going on?”
After explaining everything, I waited for her to arrive. She wasted zero time.
It took her all of ten minutes to get there, and my sister was in tow. While I was waiting for them, I got some of the dishes done that didn’t require any elbow grease… or moving the kid on my arm.
They both took one look at the apartment, and at the now sleeping child in my arms, and went to work.
When Assman came back out of his bedroom, freshly showered and looking a whole lot better than when he went in there, he was shocked.
“My flabber is gasted.” He spoke, eyes wide, as he shook his head in disbelief. “You… My dishes are done.”
“Assman, I’m sure you’ve heard of or even met my mom before.” I introduced him to Ande and Mom. “Mom, Ande, this is Assman.”
“Assman,” Ande drawled, her eyes narrowed into laser beams. “Are you making fun of him, Quaid? You know that’s not nice.”
“It’s my actual name,” Assman covered for me. “I don’t even know what to say.”
Mom patted him on the chest as she passed him with an armful of laundry and said, “Honey, everyone needs a village. You just found yours.”
I grinned and said, “See you at work tomorrow?”
“My grandma promised she’d be here,” he agreed. “And we talked about it today, and I think that I can cover her salary at the grocery store if I move in with her and she watches him full-time. Until he’s not so… awful and won’t get kicked out of daycare for crying all day.”
“Okay. If that ever changes, call my mom. There are plenty of people in the department who have folks willing, and trustworthy enough, to watch this little devil,” I said as I walked back over to him and handed his kid over. “Bye, Mom. Ande. Assman.”
Ande and my mom both waved, and I headed out to get on shift. Assman looked like he was about to cry.
I closed the door before any sobbing could commence and headed to Assman’s beat.
There I stayed, writing plenty of tickets, for the next four and a half hours.
When I had another spare officer, I had him take over Assman’s beat, and then began my journey back to the station.
It was when I was about halfway there that I got the call.
“Unit 1093, I have a call about a car too close to the on ramp on 30.”
I sighed, knowing that I’d have to take it because I was literally the only one in the area who wasn’t responding to something.
