Chapter 16 Alexander
Alexander
Nothing kills a morning boner like scrolling through a family group chat.
My family in particular.
MILES THE GREAT: Great birthday party tonight, Al. Any of you losers want to meet me in the pub for a nightcap?
THE DUKE: No.
MILES THE GREAT: Anyone?
MILES THE GREAT: Anyone?
THE DUKE: Miles, for fuck’s sake, go to sleep. The pub’s shut, it’s 1 a.m.
MILES THE GREAT: Clem?
CLEMENTINE: No, sorry. I’m falling asleep and turning my phone off. Sleep tight, love you.
MILES THE GREAT: Al, what about you? Where did you disappear to during the party anyway? *winky face*
MILES THE GREAT: God, you lot are boring.
I’m so glad I missed these messages last night. But amazingly, there are only six hours between Miles’s last text and the ones coming through thick and fast right now.
MILES THE GREAT: Morning, campers. Rise and shine. It’s a beautiful day. Anyone want to come for a ride?
MILES THE GREAT: Al, how’s the birthday girl this morning?
I peer over at Everly in her cot, and she’s still fast asleep, like I wish I was.
When I came back upstairs from my midnight session in the kitchen with Haven, she was wide awake and grizzling. So I gave her a bottle before it became a full meltdown, changed her, and she’d already fallen back to sleep before I had the chance to lay her down again. And she hasn’t woken since.
Me? It took me a little while.
I was too wired from kissing Haven and how things would be in the cold light of the morning. If I’m being truthful, I’m still wired. My dick’s no longer rock hard thanks to my siblings, but I’m tempted to get in the shower before I begin daddy duties to take the edge off.
I’m about to toss my phone when it buzzes again.
HENDRICKS: Why are you awake?
MILES THE GREAT: You’re awake.
HENDRICKS: Because I have a five-year-old snoring next to me.
MILES THE GREAT: By that logic, Al’s awake.
MILES THE GREAT: Al?
MILES THE GREAT: Al?
MILES THE GREAT: Al?
MILES THE GREAT: Al?
ALEX: Miles, fucking stop it. What is the matter with you?
MILES THE GREAT: Ah. I win the bet. Hen owes me a grand.
ALEX: What bet?
MILES THE GREAT: That you’re sleeping alone?
ALEX: What?
MILES THE GREAT: If Haven was in bed with you, there’s no way you’d be replying. Still haven’t sealed the deal?
ALEX: What the fuck are you talking about?
MILES THE GREAT: The tension between you two last night could have been cut with a knife. Only a matter of time, buddy . . .
One of these days, I’m going to murder Miles in his bed.
Or not his bed. Just straight-up murder him wherever he happens to be when he’s annoying me.
Like right now.
And 50 percent of my annoyance is because I thought I’d gotten away with my behavior toward Haven without anyone noticing. Which clearly didn’t happen, but the longer she was upstairs changing Everly’s nappy, the longer I had to stew on the kiss.
It didn’t come out of nowhere.
She’d had that kiss saved up and waiting for me, for who knows how long. Since she arrived? Since I left Aspen?
Whatever the timeframe it brought back the annoyance I’d almost let go of after she didn’t return my call, along with—if we’re being truthful—the hurt and dented pride.
MILES THE GREAT: Al?
Strike that. Annoyance is seventy thirty to Miles.
I start typing, then stop. Then start again, then stop.
I don’t know what to reply. Miles will have a comeback to whatever I say.
It would be easier to just ignore it and go back to sleep. Everly’s not awake, I have time.
That’s when I realize my mistake. The all telling dot dot dots have given me away.
Fuck.
MILES THE GREAT: Spit it out, Al.
THE DUKE: Oh my God, what the fuck is going on?
MILES THE GREAT: Morning, Your Grace. Want to come for a ride?
THE DUKE: No. I want to go back to sleep.
THE DUKE: Holiday wants to know if I can add her to this group chat, seeing as you woke us both up.
THE DUKE: Actually, never mind, I’m not subjecting her to this shit.
MILES THE GREAT: Okay, I’m going to the stables. Last chance to join me. Otherwise, I’ll see you all at family movie night.
I reread his last message four times before I realize he’s talking about today and slap a hand over my face. How can it only be 7 a.m. and the day’s already gone to shit?
ALEX: Family movie night?
MILES THE GREAT: It’s Friday, Al. We all agreed that this week would be movie and pizza because Holiday’s got a screener of that new Christmas film.
I definitely didn’t agree to that. I’d remember. I might have forgotten it was Friday, but I would not have forgotten anything that involved Christmas movies. They must have decided it last week when I excused myself to stay in with Everly and Haven.
I wasn’t ready to subject Haven to our weekly family supper quite so soon.
All I wanted to do today was take Haven on a date. The only reason I picked my phone up in the first place was to ask Clementine if she’d babysit Everly so we could get dressed, go out and enjoy dinner without one ear on the baby monitor.
Now my first date with Haven will involve my entire family while I live through the nightmare of a Christmas film.
THE DUKE: We’re also bringing pumpkin pie as a final taste test before Thanksgiving.
MILES THE GREAT: Sign me up for that focus group.
Urgh.
I’ve had enough.
Glancing at Everly still sleeping peacefully, I want to apologize for bringing her into my crazy family. Because we are crazy.
Miles especially.
But thinking about Everly and Miles in the same headspace reminds me that he was the one to come find me when Haven arrived. He and Clemmie were the ones who picked up the pieces when I stormed away.
You know what they say, you can’t pick your family, and as much as they annoy the fuck out of me, I wouldn’t trade them for the world.
I don’t even need to look that deeply to know how lucky I am to have them.
They could have given me a hard time about Everly, and the way she arrived into the world, but they’ve taken to her like she’s a miracle baby years in the planning. Even my mother.
The long and the short of it is that as much as I want to take Haven out, she’ll have to settle for movie night as our first date. Our second date can be the two of us.
I manage a lightning shower before Everly wakes up, and when she does, I change her, get us both dressed, and fill her in on the events of last night.
“Big night, last night, baby girl.” I grab her toes and blow raspberries on them until her cheeks crease with chubbiness. “Daddy kissed Mummy. And if I play my cards right today, I’ll be kissing her a lot more.”
It’s hard to imagine what life was like a mere few weeks ago when my mornings belonged only to me, and I didn’t start my day with her smile, because it’s an arrow straight to my heart. She’s so perfect and tiny, it’s still a marvel that she’s half of me. That I was part of her creation.
It’s overwhelming to the point of debilitation.
Sometimes I just stare at her and fifteen minutes have passed, or I’ll be thinking about something she did—grab my finger, for example—and I’m choked with tears before I can blink.
I should ask Hendricks if this is how he felt because I’ll have to start allowing for more time in my schedule.
I’ve also discovered that I enjoy dressing her. I like clothes, but I’ll buy the same shirt / jeans / chinos in five different colors, have them tailored to my body, and Bob’s your uncle. It’s easy and I don’t have to think. I walk into my wardrobe and pull out the first things I see.
Thanks to my mother, Everly has more clothes than I’ve ever had, and I suddenly care about which pair of tights goes with which dress, or whether the stretchy pants match her sweater.
If this is what Clemmie calls a girl dad, then I’m nailing it.
I finish today’s look with a pair of pink spotty socks edged in lace and scoop her up with a big kiss. “Come on, sausage. Let’s go and see what’s for breakfast.”
I don’t hear any movement from Haven’s room when I press my ear to the door, but I’m craving those pancakes she started last night.
Blackberry is waiting impatiently on the kitchen table and purrs loudly at Everly as she lies in the bouncer while I get her bottle warmed. A sharp bark at the back door has me rolling my eyes, and when I open it, Dolly is there waiting.
“You’ve already been fed,” I grumble, watching her trot straight in like she owns the place.
But being the enabler I am, I pour out her food along with Blackberry’s and leave them to it. Everly guzzles down her bottle as usual, and throwing a cloth over my shoulder, I burp her while figuring out what to do with the pancake batter.
Toast is usually my limit, though I have breakfast five days a week at Burlington before I head over to the office. But what the hell, I’m feeling brave. I’m a girl dad, and I’ll have breakfast going by the time Haven wakes up.
“Can’t be that hard, can it, Evey? I’m sure Daddy’s capable of making pancakes.”
The pan’s still out from last night, but I add more oil and turn on the stove. I’m guessing it should boil or something before the mix is poured in, so I make a coffee while I wait and watch. It doesn’t boil, but it does start hissing a little.
I’m in two minds whether to text Hendricks to ask if I’m doing it right, because he’s the only one of us who can legitimately cook, but he’d only take the piss.
In hindsight, I shouldn’t have had the burner on full, and I should have used a ladle to pour the batter instead of the jug, as it came out too fast. The moment it hits the pan, the oil spits and bubbles; the flames under the burner fire up, and the batter smokes black.
Fuck.
It takes me a second to get everything under control, waft a tea towel through the smoke, and calm the situation. And peering at the pancake, it’s a little crisp around the edges, but it’s still definitely edible.
I turn around to grin at an oblivious Everly spinning the colored bricks attached to her bouncer.
“Phew, close call, sweetheart.” I wink confidently.