Page 50 of The Marriage Rebound

“He has a full belly and a fresh diaper, he should be good.”

My attention went back to Peanut, the nickname Shae had given him from the start. She said he looked like a shelled peanut in the long gown and swaddle he’d been wearing the first time she’d seen him. And the name had stuck, with most of the team calling him that in lieu of his name.

He was the first team baby—unofficially—so he had Cannon gear that he could grow into at least until he was five. Not to mention, as athletes, we can be superstitious, so him being born right before our big game made him an instant lucky charm. So much so, Shae had him a tiny MVB World Championship onesie made.

I stared at the little boy with his smooth, soft brown skin and big sweet eyes. Never had I thought of myself as particularly maternal. I didn’t know if this could be my life. To be solely responsible for the every need of someone else, someone so helpless. And if I were being truthful, the thought terrified me. Though Sasha did have a way with children. I’d seen how easily she interacted with the coaches’ kids at games while waiting for me. I’d caught her a few times patiently answering questions, or coloring with them.

Even how she was with Mya. She wasn’t a child, but still, I’d watched how patiently and eagerly she’d taught my sister how to cook on Thanksgiving, and I’d hear bits and pieces of phone calls about “beating her face” and how they both laughed at me when I took that the whole wrong way the first time I’d heard the term. The comment I’d made about Sasha giving our hypothetical baby a mimosa had been out of line, because while Sasha did have her faults, she had a lot of love to give, and I suspected she’d probably be a wonderful mother.

“So, what brought you by?” Doc asked as she returned, taking a seat next to Shae and making zero move to retrieve her nephew.

Had Sasha said something to them? Was this some sort of immersion therapy?

I eased back on the sofa, trying not to jostle Peanut too much as he’d started to nod off. “Oh, um, I just got back from dropping Mya off at school.”

“You mean dropping her off at the airport?” Shae asked.

“Nope.”

Shae leaned forward, resting her forearms on her knees. “You drove her back to Tallahassee?” Her inflection went up at the end of the last word, a clear indication of her shock. It was no surprise given how much I’d bitched about the drive the first time I had to drop off Mya.

I readjusted again, noticing Peanut was fast asleep. “Should I put him down?”

“Here, I’ll take him,” Doc said, moving to scoop him from my arms.

I flexed my fingers at the emptiness before answering. “Yes, I drove her.”

“Oh shit. That bad?”

I nodded.

“Um . . . one of y’all want to clue me in? What’s bad?”

Shae gave her a quick rundown, complete with terrible, overly dramatic impersonations of me detailing all the reasons it had been a terrible road trip.

“I was not that bad, Doc.”

“Ha. Yeah, you were.”

I flipped her off, which only made her cackle harder. “Anyway, I needed some time to . . . think, so the drive it was.”

“What happened?” Doc asked, reaching over to briefly squeeze my leg.

I sighed and wiped my hands on my thighs. “Sasha and I got into it again at Thanksgiving, and I just had all these frustrations I’ve bottled up and tried to avoid by not engaging with her. But . . .” I let out another heavy sigh. “But . . . she said some things, I said some things, and well, I just needed away.” I scrubbed my hands down my face and dropped my head on the back of the couch. “Fuck!”

“Language,” Doc scolded.

“Sorry?” I said with a slight frown.

“He’s four months, he don’t know what she’s saying. And he’s asleep,” Shae said. She tilted her head and gestured at Doc, who was curled up with Peanut sleeping peacefully on her chest. “You’re supposed to put him down, because I distinctly remember Jah saying, ‘Don’t hold him while he’s sleeping.’”

Doc narrowed her eyes at my friend. “Since when do you follow directions?”

“I follow directions all the damn time.”

“No, you like to use rules as guidelines.” She shrugged as she smoothed down his dark hair. “I’m doing the same thing.”

Shae laughed and shook her head. “Uh-huh, well, when she calls again, fussing because little man don’t wanna sleep without being held after hanging out with his auntie, don’t expect me to cover for you.”