Her Dad’s Best Friend
Chapter 76

He drops it on the carpet and crawls quickly away from me, as if he's been spooked. I just watch as he picks up a pink rubber toy that squeaks. He rolls it with his hand and then overbalances, landing on his side. He scrunches up his face and prepares to cry. I don't think he's hurt. He's just surprised.

"Hey, little one." I stroke his back. "You're okay." I then shout, "Camilla."

"Coming," she says. When she walks into the room, she's carrying a big clear box with folders in it. Camilla has little tabs with labels all over them. "I'm still trying to replace the right thing."

I say, "Jacky just sort of overbalanced and seemed like he was going to cry."

"It happens all the time," Camilla says. "He thinks his body is bigger and more stable than it is, so he's perpetually surprised," she explains. "Don't worry," she continues.

With his mother back in the room, Jacky wanders over to a floppy stuffed dog as if the near-tears never happened. He purses his lips as he tries to get the dog to stand on its four legs, even though the dog doesn't have enough stiffness to make that happen.

Camilla is kneeling on the ground, digging through the box. "Okay, recipes..." She pulls out a sheaf of recipes and begins to leaf through them. "Aha! Gotcha!" she exclaims.

"Great job," I say, holding out a hand for the recipe. She walks over to me.

"Fennel? Seriously?"

"Don't knock it until you've tried it." Camilla smooths back a little hair that escaped from her headband. "There are mothers who would sell their souls to cure their babies' colic. The midwife had dealt with a lot of mothers, and she said that this was the best remedy. It won't hurt the baby."

"Cool," I say, tucking the recipe into my purse.

Jacky is now in the process of trying to stand up. He's doing downward dog, trying to push against the floor, but he doesn't seem to know how to get upright.

"How are you and Lincoln doing?" I ask Camilla. I drink more of the sparkling apple cider.

"I am so in love," Camilla sighs. "Yesterday, he brought home a bouquet of roses."

"Did I forget your birthday?"

"Nope," she says.

"Anniversary?"

"No," she replies, laughing a little. "He bought me roses just because he was thinking of me."

"Really sweet," I say.

"You wouldn't think so, because he's so...masculine, but he's really tender sometimes."

"Girl, you're verging on TMI territory." I cover my eyes. "Tell me about Jacky."

"Boy is growing like a weed," Camilla complains. "I barely buy clothes that fit him today before he's grown out of them. At this point, I'm going to have to buy clothes that are 3 sizes too big just to catch up." I raise my eyebrows. "Lincoln is pretty tall," I say.

"Yup," Camilla agrees, nodding a little. "And Jacky just might get there."

Jacky has given up on standing and has settled back into crawling. He goes under the table legs and replaces an abandoned Cheerio.

"No!" Camilla says. "Dirty!"

Jacky immediately puts it in his mouth, crunches it, and swallows. Camilla is appalled, but I'm hiding a smile behind my hand.

"He's a handful," I say.

"Believe me, you're seeing him on his best behavior," Camilla says. But there's a secret smile lurking around the corners of her mouth. She pours herself more cider and sips on it. "How are classes going?" I ask.

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