24. Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
“Your dad is a party pooper.”
The rest of the day dragged on as Abe grew anxious for it to be over. Maggie left at six, and Gentry left at seven, leaving Abe to run the kitchen and serve the customers. He and Gentry took turns on the shift to give them more time at home with the boys.
When eight o’clock finally arrived, Abe shut everything down as quickly as he could and headed to his parents’ house. He was anxious to see Kai, even though Allie had assured him in the two phone calls he made during the day that everything was fine.
When he walked into the house, Kai was on John’s lap looking through an old atlas. Abe walked up to them. “Are you two planning a trip?”
“By the time the boy is old enough to know what a map is, I’m afraid there won’t be any physical proof that we once managed to get to where we needed to go with a paper map.”
“I’ll make sure he knows what a map is, Dad.”
“See that you do.”
Kai held his arms out to Abe. “Papa.”
Allie came in from the kitchen. “He’s had dinner and his bath.”
“Oh, thanks.” Bath time was Abe’s favorite time of the evening, but he wasn’t about to tell his mother that. She was trying to help, and he appreciated it.
“You should get him home and to bed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
John looked at Allie. “Honey, let the boy have some say in how he raises his child.”
Allie gave Abe a look conveying that she hadn’t told John everything that happened last night.
Abe smiled at her. “I appreciate the help and the advice, Mom.”
She kissed Kai, then patted Abe on the arm. “You two have a good night.”
“We will.”
Abe picked up the backpack and headed for the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He got into the car and strapped Kai into the car seat. “Maggie is coming over for dinner. My dinner, not yours. But you can stay up a little while to hang with her.”
“Mama.”
“Maggie.”
Kai banged on the car seat. “Mama, Mama, Mama.”
“Whoa, buddy. We’re not there yet.”
On the way home, he swung by Milo’s house. His brother was waiting for him, wearing oven mitts and holding a casserole dish. He had a towel draped over his shoulder and walked up to the window. “It’s still hot. But if you’re not ready to eat, just pop it in the oven on warm.”
“Got it. Thanks, man.”
Milo opened the passenger door and put the towel down, then set the pan on top of it. “Enjoy.” He smiled. “You and Maggie, huh? Again? Still?”
“Kind of both, I guess.”
“Make it stick this time. You need someone like Maggie in your life.” He looked between the seats at Kai. “And there’s the Kaister. Hey, pal!” Kai giggled. “I might need to bring you to school for show-and-tell one of these days.”
“The Kaister and I need to get going.”
Milo backed out of the car. “Say hi to Maggie for me?”
“Will do. Thanks again.”
“Anytime. Cooking for one sucks.”
“I’m aware. See you.”
Milo closed the door then waved as Abe pulled away. “Your Uncle Milo can be very cool sometimes. Except for the Kaister thing. That’s a little lame.”
When he got home, Maggie was already there. She came to the car to greet them. “Do you want me to release the beast?”
“Yes, please. I need to grab dinner.”
“Dinner?”
“Courtesy of Milo. I cheated slightly and asked Milo to put together an enchilada casserole for us.”
“Milo made it?”
“He’s quite the cook. Very experimental. But the casserole is traditional and really good.”
“I can’t wait to taste it.”
Abe put the casserole in the oven to stay warm, then joined Maggie and Kai in the living room. She was on the floor with him building an elaborate structure with blocks.
“You’re quite the architect.”
“I’m just waiting for Kai to knock it all over.”
“It won’t be long.”
As Maggie set the last block on the top of the tower, Kai lunged for the castle and knocked it over. Maggie gasped, and Kai laughed.
“You think that’s funny?” She reached over and tickled him. “You think that’s hilarious?”
Kai fell back onto his back and patted his stomach, waiting for more tickles. Maggie accommodated him and ended up on the floor next to him. Abe stayed on his feet and watched them.
Maggie looked up at him. “Come join us, Dad.”
“No. Tickling was never really my thing.”
She turned to Kai. “Your dad is a party pooper.”
“Pooper.”
Abe shook his head. “Thanks for teaching him that word, Maggie.”
She pointed at him. “Pooper, pooper, pooper.”
Abe picked Kai up off the floor. “Okay, kid. Your friend is getting a little out of line. Let’s go pick out a book.”
When they returned with a book, Kai insisted Maggie sit next to him and Abe during story time, and the second time through the book, he wanted her to read.
“Is that okay with you, Dad?”
“Go for it. I’ve read this book so many times, I know it by heart.”
Maggie read the book, then Kai looked at Abe. “No, son. Two is the limit.”
Kai closed the book, then dropped it on the ground before climbing off Abe’s lap onto the floor. He patted Maggie’s knee. “Bed.”
“Your dad will put you to bed.”
“Bed, bed, bed.”
Abe stood and picked up Kai. “Come on, kid. You’re being a nuisance.” Kai started to cry, and Abe glanced over his shoulder at Maggie. “Maybe you could…”
“I’ll be along. We need to make it seem like I just wandered by and wasn’t going on his insistence.”
Abe took Kai to the bedroom and put him in the crib. “Calm down, buddy.”
Kai drew a shuddering breath, then laid down, before whispering, “Dog.”
Abe glanced under the crib, but the stuffed cat wasn’t there. “Hmm. Where did you leave it?” Kai pointed at Abe’s bed. “In my bed? Were you sleeping with Grandma last night?”
“Gramma.”
Abe grinned. “I hope she’s heard you say that.”
Maggie came to the doorway. “Did I just hear him say grandma?”
“Pretty close, yeah.”
She walked to the crib. “You are so smart.”
“Papa hug.”
Abe hugged him, then Maggie did. Kai hugged his cat, and Abe covered him with the blanket. “Goodnight, kid.”
“Papa night.”
“I’ll be in soon.” He looked at Maggie. “Ish.”
They left the bedroom and went to the kitchen where Abe took Maggie in his arms. “Our second first date is going quite well.”
“You’re here. That’s a big improvement.”
He put a hand on his heart. “Oh wow. Ouch.”
She put her arms around his neck. “We should start working on that backlog of kisses.”
Abe leaned in and kissed her. “More of that later. Right now, we should eat some dinner. I’m starving.” He kissed her again, then stepped back.
She sniffed the air. “It smells wonderful.”
Abe opened the oven door, filling the kitchen with the scent of green chilies and melting cheese. He pulled out the pan and set it on top of the stove. “I think I can eat this whole thing.”
Maggie came up next to him. “But you won’t. You will share.”
“Gladly.” He went to the refrigerator. “Normally, I’d drink a beer with this. But after last night, I think I’m done with beer for a while.” He held up a can of soda. “Will this work?”
“Perfect.” They sat down to dinner, and the casserole was even better than it smelled. “Oh my gosh, I think I’m dating the wrong brother.”
“Ouch again.”
Maggie laughed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it. Milo is too…” Abe raised his eyebrows, and she shook her head. “Too not you.”
“That’s real clear.”
“He’s quiet, sweet, and…”
“Boring?”
“No. Highly organized.”
Abe grinned. “I’ll tell him to add that to his dating profile. So what am I, then?”
“You can be sweet.” She held up a hand. “You are sweet. You just don’t let everyone see it.”
“Okay, what else?”
“Your um…muscles are quite appealing.”
“Okay.”
“And you’re a great kisser.”
“Maybe Milo is too.”
“I wouldn’t know. Nor do I want to. Why are we talking about this?”
“You brought him up.”
When Abe’s phone rang, he got up and retrieved it from the counter. “Mom. Probably checking up on me to make sure I haven’t abandoned my son again.” He answered the call. “Hi, Mom.”
“How’s Kai this evening?”
“He’s fine. Went to bed. Haven’t heard a peep out of him.”
“Did you take his temperature before you put him down?”
No. “Um…yeah. Of course. It was normal.”
“Good. I just wanted to check. Have a good night, honey.”
“You too.” Abe ended the call then turned to Maggie. “I just lied to my mom.”
“About?”
“Taking Kai’s temperature. I guess I was supposed to check it before he went to sleep.”
“He felt fine and was back to himself. He doesn’t have a fever.”
Abe sat back down. “Okay.” He stood again.
“I’ll just go feel his head.” He left the kitchen and went to the bedroom.
Kai was sleeping soundly, and Abe rested the back of his hand against the boy's forehead.
It felt cool, and he sighed. “Good job, kid. You successfully navigated your first illness. At least your first one with me. I made a mess of it, but you were a champ.”
Maggie came up beside Abe and whispered. “He’s fine, right?”
“Yeah.”
“He is so darn cute. I just want to hug and kiss him constantly.”
Abe nodded. “He gets that from his father.”
Maggie nudged him in the ribs. “You are very cute, but your son is cuter.”
“That’s okay. I can live with that.” He put his arm around Maggie’s waist. “Can you… Never mind.”
“What, Abe?”
“Can you see this thing we have going lasting?”
“Like long term?”
“Yeah. Like forever. Or at least until Kai is married with a few kids and we’re old and gray, sitting on the porch reminiscing about the good old days.”
Maggie laid her head against his shoulder. “I can totally see that.”
“Hmm. Okay, then.” He turned to her and hugged her. “This is officially our last first date.”