Chapter 10
Kyle
Kyle slept poorly, worrying about Wyatt and how everything would work out. Even being wrapped in Jon’s arms, which normally made him feel safe and cared for, didn’t ease his anxiety. He finally got out of bed at five thirty, determined to make that day better for all of them.
Wyatt was, miraculously, still sleeping, so Kyle made a pot of coffee and looked around the kitchen for something to give his new son for breakfast. Sipping the much-needed caffeine, he made a list of things he hoped to accomplish that day.
Just as he was finishing, he heard footsteps on the stairs.
Jon carried Wyatt to the table and handed the boy to Kyle.
“Good morning, son.” Kyle kissed Wyatt on the cheek, then accepted a kiss on the lips from Jon.
“Couldn’t sleep, huh?” Jon asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
“Not really,” Kyle answered. “But I made a list of things to do today.” He paused and sipped his coffee. “I was thinking, you should probably go in to work today. No sense in both of us staying home.”
“I don’t want to leave you to deal with it all, though.”
“I’ll be fine,” Kyle assured him. “I’ll call Aunt Ellen in a little while.
Maybe she’ll want to come over to see this guy.
” Kyle bounced Wyatt on his knee. “Sometime after nine, I’ll ring Fred to see about working from home.
I’ll also ask about parental-leave benefits, just in case I need more time off.
And maybe Aunt Ellen will have some ideas about childcare. ”
“Okay, how about some breakfast?” Jon asked.
“I was thinking of oatmeal for this guy, and I’ll just have toast,” Kyle said.
“Ope-meel,” Wyatt repeated, turning to look at Kyle.
“Ope-meel it is,” Jon agreed.
After they ate, Jon tidied up the kitchen and kept an eye on Wyatt while Kyle quickly showered. When Kyle returned, Jon went to get ready for work.
“I’ll call you later,” Jon said, kissing Kyle on the lips and Wyatt on the forehead, then scooting out the door.
Kyle picked up his phone and placed a call. “Hi, Aunt Ellen. How are you doing?”
“The best I can, I guess, Kyle. How’s my grandson doing?”
“He seems to be coping pretty well right now. I’m hoping that continues. I was wondering if you wanted to come by and see him today? Or maybe we could visit you?”
“Oh, I’d love to see Wyatt!” Ellen effused. “It’s probably a good idea if I get out of this house. I could be there in an hour or so if that’s okay with you.”
“That’s perfect. We’ll see you then.”
When the doorbell rang, Kyle picked up Wyatt—who was clutching his stuffed elephant—and answered the door. When Wyatt saw Ellen, he shouted “Gama” and started to squirm. Ellen caught him and hugged him tightly.
“How’s my boy?” She kissed him on the cheek, and Wyatt giggled.
After they got settled in the living room, Kyle said, “I need to call my boss about my work schedule. Can you keep an eye on this guy for a few minutes?”
“Of course, dear. Take your time.”
Kyle sprinted up the stairs to have a bit of privacy and called his manager.
“Fred Jameson.”
“Hey, Fred, it’s Kyle.”
“Kyle! How are things going? Are you still in California?”
“Actually, Jon and I got home last night. My uncle Mike is still there, but I expect he’ll be coming home in a couple of days. There really wasn’t anything more I could do there, and we thought it best to bring Wyatt back and get him in a regular routine as quickly as possible.”
“That makes sense. So when do you think you’ll be coming back to work?”
“That’s part of why I’m calling. I was wondering if I might be able to work remotely one or two days a week.”
“I don’t see a problem with that. I imagine you’re learning all the new and exciting things that go on in your life when you have a child.” Fred was the father of two and spoke from experience.
“I am,” Kyle agreed. “Fortunately, Jon helped out with his sister’s kids, so he’s teaching me how to give baths and change diapers. There certainly is a lot to know.”
“You can’t even imagine.” Fred laughed quietly. Kyle felt like everyone but him was in on a huge secret that he didn’t think was all that funny.
“Thanks for agreeing to my working from home. I need to line up some kind of day care, but I want to be around Wyatt as much as I can right now. His world is pretty topsy-turvy, and we want to make things as normal as we can,” Kyle explained.
“By the way, do you know if I’m entitled to any kind of parental-leave benefits?
I don’t expect anything crazy to happen, but I’d like to know what my options are. ”
“I would think you would be, but I’ll reach out to Melissa in HR and ask her to get in touch with you.”
“Thanks. Okay, depending on how quickly I can line up care for Wyatt, I’ll be back to work no later than Monday.”
“That’s fine. I’ll make sure Neil keeps an eye on your accounts for the time being. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.”
“Thanks, Fred.”
Just as he ended the call, his phone rang. It was Jon.
“Hey, sweetie. What’s going on?”
“Hey, Kyle. I checked with my manager, and she said I can work from home one day a week if that would help our situation.”
“Oh, that’s great. I just got off the phone with Fred; I can do two days a week if I need to. That means we only need care for two days a week. Aunt Ellen is here. I’ll ask her if she knows anyone who might be able to do that.”
“Perfect. I’ll call you later. I can pick up something for dinner on my way home.”
“Sounds good. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Kyle went back down to the living room to find Ellen sitting on the sofa and Wyatt asleep on her lap.
“I spoke to your uncle this morning just before you called,” Ellen told him, keeping her voice low. Kyle guessed it was so she wouldn’t wake Wyatt. “He thinks he’ll have everything done by tomorrow, and then he’ll come home.” Her shoulders slumped. “I really need for him to be home.”
“I understand. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for you.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. I still can’t believe it,” she sobbed. Kyle sat next to her and put his arm around her. After a few moments, she collected herself and whispered, “The service will be even more difficult, I imagine.”
“Oh,” Kyle said. “Uncle Mike and I didn’t even talk about that. Where is it going to be?”
“Here. As you know, Becky didn’t have any family, so we’ll just have a small service for family and close friends, and their cremains will be buried here.
” Ellen’s voice broke. “Mike and I have a family plot here in DC. There will also be a small memorial service in California at some point, once we can work out the details. Your uncle will take care of the arrangements for that.”
“We’ll get through this as a family,” Kyle told her.
“I know, dear. But enough about that. I can’t dwell on it.”
“Well, then, I need your help with something.”
“Of course. What do you need?”
“I spoke with my manager this morning, and he’s agreed that I can work from home two days a week.
Jon checked with his boss, and he’ll be able to work remotely one day a week.
So we have three days covered, but we’ll still need to arrange for day care two days a week,” Kyle explained.
“Do you know of anyone, or can you recommend a service where we could hire someone?”
Kyle watched his aunt. It was almost as if he could see the wheels turning in her mind. After a few moments, she turned to him and said, “Actually, I know the perfect person for the job, and it won’t cost you a penny.”
“Really? Who?”
“Me!” Ellen exclaimed. “I’d love to watch this handsome boy a couple of days a week.”
“Are you sure?” Kyle asked. “It won’t be too much for you?
” Several years ago, Ellen had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and after dealing with surgery, chemo, and radiation treatments, her doctors were confident that they had caught it early and things were now under control.
Still, she tended to take it easy. Kyle didn’t want to impose on her.
“I’m fine, dear. And it will be good for me to keep busy, especially with all that’s happened.”
“Well, then, it’s settled. You’ll get to watch your grandson two days a week.”