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She wasn’t sure whether he did that so she didn’t have to go back to any bedrooms, or whether he just felt more comfortable there. Whichever it was, she appreciated it. She heard the rumors around town that said she was the mother and Travis was the father, and had been asked outright, and had avoided the question as much as she could, which protected the mom of the baby, but it made people very curious about her and her relationship with Travis.
As she walked in, she could see him sitting on the couch, slouched down, with the baby on his chest. He had two pillows beside him, keeping his arm propped up so he formed a little cage with his body so the baby couldn’t go anywhere.
She took a moment to just look at him and smile. He’d come so far from the gangly teen that she first knew, becoming a man of character and someone she admired greatly.
“I hope that smile means that you made coffee,” he murmured, and she realized that his eyes were open.
“I stopped at the bookstore and grabbed some.” She held up the cup she had in her hand.
He drank coffee, while she didn’t care for it. But she enjoyed the smell, and she really enjoyed the way it made him smile.
“My favorite.”
She nodded. He claimed that he’d been all over the world, but that the coffee in the bookstore at Sweet Water was the best anywhere.
She didn’t know if he was just saying that because he loved Sweet Water, or if it was because it was true.
“Hard night?” she asked, although she didn’t figure she needed to.
He nodded, shifting up carefully without waking Alice. “She just fell asleep about an hour ago. From experience, I think we can pretty much drop a bomb in the next room and she wouldn’t wake up now.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t think you’ve had a night of good sleep since she came.”
“No. It...makes me understand a little more when people say how parenting is so hard. Is such a sacrifice. I don’t think she’s going to be appreciating this anytime soon.”
“Probably in another thirty or forty years,” Ellen said with a small laugh. She didn’t really remember her own mom, but she must have stayed up overnight with her. Must have fed her when she was hungry, changed her, and put cute little dresses or outfits on her.
“What’s that look for? I feel like I lost you.”
He always noticed. Even when she didn’t want him to. Not really. Although, she did want to share those memories or thoughts of her mom.
“I guess I was just thinking about my mom. I don’t really remember her at all, but she must have stayed up with me. I suppose at this point in time, I’m ready to thank her for it, but... I don’t even remember.”
“That’s sad. You had a mom who cared, whom you can’t remember, and I had a mom who didn’t care, and I remember her all too well.”
That made her heart clench, and she wanted to go over and sit down beside him. Take his hand in hers, and somehow cover the ache that must be in his chest over the fact that his mom never really seemed like she liked him very much.
“Although, she did kind of give me a gift with that.”
“She did?” Ellen asked, walking over and handing him his coffee instead.
“Yeah. You don’t know how many times in the last couple weeks since Alice came that I thought to myself, if somehow I managed to survive the neglectful care that I know my mother gave me, surely I can’t really do anything that’s going to hurt Alice.”
“I guess that’s one way of putting a positive spin on it.” Leave it to Travis to find the good in it.
He nodded.
“Here. Let me take her, and you can have a little bit of peace and quiet time.”
That was usually the extent of their conversations, because by the time he would get up, she would be ready to leave.
But he shook his head this morning while slowly straightening. Moving the baby down so she was cradled in his arms, he stood with his coffee in one hand and the baby in the other. She almost made a joking comment about how he’d gotten really good.
She didn’t, because she was too busy wondering. Maybe he heard the rumors and was going to tell her to go home. That he could handle it by himself from now on.
He had the pack and play still set up in the living room, although she had gone to the store the second day he had Alice and bought the crib. That was set up in the spare bedroom. The one that used to be the boys’ room.
He set the coffee on the end table and put Alice down in the pack and play gently, tucked her blanket around her, and straightened.
