The Anti-Boyfriend(17)

Shit. “The agency couldn’t provide you with anyone else?”

“Not on such short notice. I’m supposed to leave in ten minutes.” She shook her head. “I’m just gonna have to explain the situation to Cynthia and see if she can extend my start date by a day. But honestly, if I were her, I’d tell me not to bother coming in tomorrow.”

This made me angry; it wasn’t fair. Carys had all of her ducks in a row. This wasn’t her fault. She needed this PR gig, and might not ever find something so perfect again.

She didn’t know it, but she and I were kindred spirits. I knew full well what it was like to have to redefine your life. Finding something that gave you a purpose after losing your entire world meant everything.

A voice inside my head urged me to offer help, even though it was way out of my comfort zone. It took several seconds for my fear to step aside.

Although I was probably completely crazy, I refused to let her fail. “You think you can teach me everything I need to know about watching Sunny in ten minutes?”

She looked up as my words registered. Her eyes went wide. “I can’t let you do that, Deacon.”

“Come on. We’re wasting time. We know I have the holding thing down. What else do I need to know?”

She just stood there in shock.

It was up to me to push things forward. “Show me how to change her diaper.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes. Let’s go. You don’t want to be late.”

She picked Sunny up out of her playpen and led the way to the baby’s room.

Seeming discombobulated, Carys did the best she could to demonstrate the diaper-changing process.

Her words came out rushed. “You roll the dirty one up in a ball like this and put it right in the basket.”

“Easy enough,” I said calmly, though the diaper thing freaked me out.

“This one was just pee, but if it were poop, you’d lift her legs up sort of like this and use the wipes to clean her. I still use one wipe to clean her after pee, though.” She demonstrated the process of wiping Sunny’s chubby bottom, front to back.

I swallowed. If it wasn’t poop now, the chances of it being poop later were pretty high. I vowed to worry about that when the time came. Couldn’t say I was looking forward to it, though.

“You take a new diaper from here and place it under her, then fold the top over and secure the sides with these tabs.”

I exhaled. “That seems pretty straightforward.”

“Yeah, well, it depends on the situation, but the main thing is, just be careful to make sure she doesn’t roll off the table. If you don’t change or clean her perfectly, it’s not the end of the world.”

After that, Carys put Sunny in the baby swing and brought me into the kitchen to show me where the formula was.

She pointed. “These single-serving containers just pour right into the bottle I use right there.”

Carys placed the jars of baby food I’d need on the counter along with a plastic spoon.

She began writing down a feeding schedule. “She already had her bottle this morning, so the next meal can be these pureed bananas at eight. She normally has rice cereal for breakfast, but that’s a little more complicated to prepare, so I’ll just give her that for dinner.”

I nodded, trying hard to take it all in.

“Don’t worry, it’s all down on this pad of paper—what to give her and when.”

I scratched my head. “Okay…yup.”

“I would change her diaper next around ten. So, approximately every two hours.”

I gulped but tried to seem nonchalant.

Carys lifted one of the jars. “Around 11AM, she’ll have these sweet potatoes and peas. Then I follow it up with another bottle of formula.”

My head started to spin a little. “Got it.”

“At noon, you’re gonna want to try to put her down for a nap. But change her diaper again first. Text me if you have an issue putting her down. It usually just entails placing her on her back in the crib and turning on her mobile. It’s okay to leave her in there awake. She eventually falls asleep if the mobile is on.”

Trying to maintain my game face, I nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Some babies have two naps, but she only has one. I find she sleeps better at night with just the one.”

“And you said in the past, her naps can be anywhere from an hour to three?”

“Yeah. I’m impressed you remembered that.” She smiled. “But yes, very unpredictable.”

“Alright.”

“Depending on when she wakes up, I’d give her another bottle either after her nap or around three. That will tide her over until dinner, and I’ll handle that when I get home.”

I looked at the time on my phone. It was past ten minutes since I’d arrived. She needed to leave. “You’re gonna be late. Don’t worry about us. Go.”

“You’re sure about this?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I owe you big time, Deacon. Big time.”

She rushed around in search of her stuff.

“Don’t forget anything,” I warned, taking one of the drinks I’d brought out of the tray. “Take the coffee with you.”