22. Chapter Twenty-One
He had been meaning to go over to Janie’s house to check on both of them. After they went to the doctor for Ellie to get her check up, he hadn’t seen them. Janie had told him that she was going to stay home and didn’t need to go anywhere.
That was when he came up with the plan to bring over dinner so he could see them. Could he have just asked? Sure, but there was a possibility she would say no. But he knew she wouldn’t say no if he brought food over. She had mentioned she loved his mac and cheese he made from scratch.
Mac was glad he ended up coming. As he walked up to the door, he could hear Eleanor screaming and crying. Worry had gone through him and when Janie opened the door, he knew that both of them weren’t feeling good. Especially his princess.
Once Pinky had gone to her office, he continued to hold Ellie in his arms as she drank the warm milk. He looked around the kitchen and pantry, trying to assess what she had and what she didn’t.
Janie didn’t have a lot in the house. When she had mentioned she couldn’t cook, he thought maybe she would have some things just in case she needed to. She had a couple packets of chicken noodle soup and noodles, but besides that, she didnt have much. Mostly frozen foods.
Something he didn’t like. Sure, some could be healthy but the majority of them weren’t. He wanted both of them eating good things that would fill them up. Mac was going to have to change that.
“I’m gonna help out your mama and you,” Mac said gently to Ellie. He didn’t know how much she was going to understand him, but he didn’t care. “You two are too precious for me. I want to love you guys for the rest of our lives.”
Eleanor blinked up at him and let go of the sippy cup. Mac caught it before it could hit the ground and set it in the sink.
“Such a good girl drinking all of that milk for me,” he cooed at her. “So good.”
She snuggled her head into his chest and his heart melted even more. He loved kids and couldn’t wait to have some of his own. But he was starting to consider Ellie his own. Sure, she wasn’t blood related to him but that didn’t matter. He cared for her and wanted what was best for her.
Mac knew that he couldn’t just fill that role in her life. Janie was her mother and had the ultimate say. He was just going to have to show that he cared about both of them even more. Mac had been doing that, but it was a slow process. He could see Janie warming up to him even more.
“Your mama is about to go down for a nap,” he said. “I bet she’ll throw a fit before and I’ll be stern to her. She can be a naughty sassy girl, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. But she’ll go down for her nap.”
He could tell that Ellie wasn’t really taking anything he was saying in. That didn’t bother him.
“I don’t know personally how hard it can be to be a single mother but my sister is one,” Mac said as he started to sway with her in his arms. “Your mama takes good care of you. Loves you so much, is protective and wouldnt let anything happen to you. All good qualities to have but she can be stubborn and not let anyone in. Even when they want to help.”
Ellie grabbed his finger and held onto it. She had a strong grip. She was going to be just like her mama.
“But I’m here for you two and I’m not going anywhere. You two are stuck with me for the rest of our lives. You’ll be spoiled, disciplined, and loved like you were my own daughter,” Mac gently said as his princess was starting to fall asleep. “I hope to give you siblings soon. Someone you can play with when you grow up. But if Janie doesn’t want any more kids, that’s okay. You two are enough for me.”
Mac looked up at the microwave and saw that an hour had passed since Janie went to her office to work.
“Wish me luck,” Mac said. “I’m going to need it. Your mama gets grumpy and sassy when she’s tired. So stubborn but I love that about her.” He stilled in his tracks and looked down at Ellie. “But don’t tell your mama that. She’s not ready to hear that I love her. It’s a secret between you and me.”
He continued to walk towards Janie’s office. The door was cracked open, no doubt so she could hear if anything was wrong with Ellie.
“Pinky,” he gently said as he stuck his head through the crack. “It’s time to take a nap.” He walked into the room to see her face really close to the computer screen. “Janie.”
Her head whipped over towards him. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” he softly said. “Everything is okay, but it’s time for you to take your nap now.”
Janie shook her head and Mac knew it was going to be tough to get her to take a nap. Why was she being so stubborn? She was clearly exhausted and needed her rest.
“I don’t need to take a nap,” Janie gently said as she stood up from her chair.
“You do. You have bags under your eyes and I know you’re exhausted,” Mac replied.
She shook her head once again.
“Janie, it’s not up for negotiation. If you can’t fall asleep then just lay in bed for the hour to rest. Don’t worry about anything and just rest,” Mac said. “It’ll be good for you and I’ll take care of Ellie here. We’ll be making chicken noodle soup and cuddling.”
He looked down at Ellie in his arms. She was still holding onto his hand, staring up at him. Every once in a while she would whine and Mac would gently coo at her to calm down. Being icky never felt good.
“I don’t need one,” Janie whined.
“Are you going to throw a tantrum?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.
Her mouth shut and Mac did everything in him not to smile. She was about to throw a tantrum which meant she probably needed to go get some sleep.
“Come on,” Mac gently said. “I’ll come tuck you in.”
Intrigue filled her face. Had she ever been tucked in since she was little? Was she ever tucked in when she was a little kid?
“I d-don’t,” she started to say.
Mac walked up to her and bent down, being careful not to jostle Ellie in his arms. “I think you like the idea of me tucking you into bed. Making sure that you’re all snug and comfortable.”
Her face started to get red and he knew that she was thinking about it.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go tuck you in. I’ll even give you a kiss on your forehead and rub your back, if you want.”
Her eyes went wide and he gave her a small smile. He couldn’t wait to do this every day with her when she went down for a nap. But right now he would just relish in the feeling and hold onto it, never letting it go.
Janie sighed and nodded her head. Mac honestly thought it was going to take more to get her to at least lay down in her bed.
“Lead the way,” Mac said.
She walked out of her office, down the hallway, and into another room. Pink. Her room was all different shades of pink. It was totally her in every way.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“What are you sorry about?”
Janie shuffled on her feet and Mac thought it was cute. “It’s just a lot of pink.”
“It suits you. You don’t need to apologize for that. It’s your room and you can decorate it however you want.”
He saw her shoulders relax.
“Let’s get you into bed,” he said as he walked over towards her bed. “Gotta have my finger,” he gently said to Ellie as he pulled his finger out of her hold.
Ellie whined in his arms but quickly grabbed onto his shirt.
“Such a good girl,” he said.
Mac pulled back the comforter on Janie’s bed before patting it. “In you go,” he said. “Do you need to change before?”
She shook her head. Janie was wearing a baggy shirt and leggings. She slowly climbed into bed and grabbed her pink bear, Josie.
“I want you to try and sleep, but if you can’t, just lay in bed and relax,” Mac said. “I’m enlisting Josie’s help. She’ll tell me if you were a naughty girl and got out of bed.”
Janie’s eyes went wide and she held onto Josie tighter. “You can’t do that.”
“I did. Josie and I have a pact. Trying to keep you and Ellie as healthy and safe as possible.”
Mac pulled the cover over Janie and her stuffy, making sure to tuck it in on the side so she felt safe and comfortable.
“Such a good girl,” he whispered as he bent over. “My good girl.” Mac kissed her forehead.
Janie let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Mac walked over towards the door and stood there for a couple of seconds. Janie was absolutely precious and beautiful laying in her bed. He quietly walked out of the room and closed her door.
“I bet your mama is going to fall asleep,” Mac said to Ellie as he walked back towards the kitchen. “I don’t think she realized how tired she was, but Daddy knows. He can see how tired she is and is going to make sure she gets the sleep she needs.”
Ellie whined in his arms and started to rub her face in his shirt.
“I know, princess,” he gently said. “Feeling icky is no fun. But don’t worry. I’m going to take care of you and your mama. You two will be feeling better in no time.”
Mac swayed back and forth in the kitchen, trying to get Ellie to settle down in his arms. She was starting to get fussy, no doubt hungry and sleepy all at the same time. But she wouldn’t fall asleep.
“How about we get you something to drink,” Mac said. “Maybe something cold.”
He walked over to the fridge and opened it. Maybe Janie had something in the fridge already made. If not, he would just get water for Ellie.
“Look at what your mama did,” Mac said as he pulled a sippy cup out of the fridge. “She had a couple sippy cups already in there for you.”
But he had also seen how bare her fridge was. Was she hurting for money? He didn’t think she was. Maybe it was bare because she didn’t know how to cook. Or maybe they had takeout a lot.
Either way, it was going to change. Once Mac got back to his house, he was going to come up with a list of foods, then go grocery shopping, and then make all of them before he took them over to her. He wanted her well stocked up with food. Stuff they could have this week but also things he could put in the fridge so if she wanted to, she could thaw it out and have it.
That was his goal and he was going to accomplish it. Hopefully, Janie wouldn’t complain or tell him he shouldn’t do it. He was going to do it either way. Mac knew she liked his food so he didn’t have to worry about that.
“Here you go,” Mac gently said as he held the sippy cup up to Ellie’s mouth.
She furiously started to suck on the sippy cup.
“You were just thirsty, huh?” Mac said. “So thirsty and I wasn’t paying attention to you. I’m sorry, princess. I’ll do better next time.”
He walked over towards the pantry and pulled out everything he needed to make chicken noodle soup. Maybe he could take some of the chicken he had and put it into the soup. Give it some extra protein for them.
“I wonder if your mama is asleep right now. Maybe we should go check on her, but I don’t want to wake her up if she is asleep. Better yet, we’ll just stay down here and make chicken noodle soup together,” he said. “How does that sound?”
Ellie just looked at him as she drank her water. Mac started getting the soup all put together and heating up on the stove. The noodles just needed to be cooked and it was ready. Would Janie be awake by that time? Her hour nap time was almost done, but he didn’t want to wake her up if she was still asleep. She needed all the sleep she could get.
“You’re such a good girl drinking your water,” Mac said as he looked down at Ellie again.
He turned around and gave the pot of soup a stir. The noodles should be ready any minute now. Little pitter patter of feet were coming down from the hall. He turned his body and saw Janie come walking, hair wild and sleep still evident on her face.
Absolutely adorable.
“Hi, Pinky,” he said softly.
She stared at him and rubbed her eyes with her balled up fists.
“Do you want a hug?”