Chapter Eight
Josie
Five Weeks Postpartum
Iwatch through the window as Evie leaves, Harper has been picking her up every evening since her car broke down. It took the mechanics a day for them to tell Evie that her car was toast and she was better off buying a new vehicle.
Unease settles in my stomach as I watch her drive away. I don’t like that she has to take a ride share in the morning, or that she has to rely on someone else to pick her up. The natural need to take care of her flares in me.
The taillights disappear as they turn the corner, gone out of my sight. I move to the bathroom where Monty is with Shiloh getting him washed up. We agreed to a bubble bath, so I don’t know what I’ll be walking into with those two goofs.
I hear the mess before I see it. The tell tale sounds of water splashing over the side of the tub, followed by the giggles of my boys.
As I stand in the doorway, I watch as Monty places bubbles on his face, giving himself a long bubbled beard.
He abruptly stands, grabbing an invisible staff as he looks at Shiloh before stating “You. Shall. Not. Pass.” stomping his foot with every word.
A giggle burst from me as I watch my husband act out a scene from a movie he has probably see a hundred and one times. Monty catches me from the corner of his eye, a playful smirk plays across his lips.
“Be still my heart!” He starts, “for my love has come to save me.” He falls to his knees and reaches out his arms to me. I raise my eyebrows at him, and his smile widens while shuffling on his knees before me. He clasps my hands in his and brings them to his heart. Shiloh giggles in the background.
“Alright, alright” I laugh as I remove my hands, “It looks like the washing is all done, let’s get out and ready for bed”
“You got it momma!” Shiloh responds as he unplugs the tub.
We spend the next half hour getting Shiloh ready for bed. We snuggle up in his bed and I read him two stories. He goes to the washroom one more time, says goodnight to his dad, before crawling back into bed. I quickly tuck him in and kiss his forehead.
“Okay my boy, what’s one last thing you want to share before momma shuts off the lights?” I ask him. This is a routine we have been doing for a few months now. We fought with bedtime while I was pregnant. Shiloh would constantly get up and fight going to bed.
He would come up with any excuse to stay awake, it wouldn’t matter how tired he was. I became so frustrated I took to the internet to try and figure out if there was something I could do.
That’s when I discovered I could make a to-do list chart.
I would take the steps we do in our bedtime routine and put it on a chart.
Everytime he would complete a task, he would put the velcro done tag on that spot.
This helped him visualize the routine for bedtime, and he knew once he got to lights out.
That it was time to close his eyes and go to bed.
The last thing, I discovered when I was doom scrolling on facebook and came across dadchats and he shared about how he lets his kid share one last thing before they go to bed. Allowing the kid to share what is on their brain.
“Mom, if I swallow a glow stick, will my belly turn into a nightlight or will I just become… legally a firefly?” Shiloh shares, before trying, and failing to stifle a yawn.
I open my mouth and shut it a few times, trying to not only comprehend what he just said, but also trying to formulate an answer, because what the hell?
“Uh…” my fingers ghost over my lips, if there were people in my head trying to find an answer they would be running around frantically with their arms in the air in panic as they try to find the answer. “You know what baby, I think momma needs a minute to think of an answer.”
He lays there, eyes heavy with sleep but still focused on me. “Okay,” He abruptly answers and rolls over, presenting his back to me. “Can you rub my back please?” Shiloh asks as he pulls the blanket up to his chin.
Shaking my head, I oblige. “Okay, but only for a couple minutes.” I sit on the edge of his bed as I rub circles along his spine.
The sounds of his lullaby music playing softly in the background, gently caressing our ears, as he begins to drift off to sleep.
When I hear the faint snores coming from his little body, I slowly extract myself off his bed, quietly stepping toward the door.
Just as I’m about to reach the door, my foot collides with a toy on the ground, the momentum sailing it across the room with a bang.
“momma, what are you doing?”
“Shit,” I whisper, I was almost free. I quickly turn around and make my way back to Shiloh.
Forty five minutes later, I appear in the living room.
I decided after getting Shiloh back to sleep that I was going to get a shower in before Hayes woke up for his witching hour.
He normally wakes up around ten p.m. for his last feed for the night.
Often staying up for the hour, just taking in everything.
I’m sure everything still looks like blurry blobs at this moment, but I adore watching those newborn blue eyes check everything out.
His eyes have started to darken slightly, so I wonder if he’s going to take on Monty’s brown eyes.
Monty is currently splayed across the couch, he’s got the hockey game on. He’s got one of his fidget toys in his hand, knee bouncing consistently as he focuses on the game. Which means that his favorite team is playing right now.
He’s been a fan of the Tampa Manta Rays ever since Maverick Hart was drafted. Monty sits forward toward the tv, eyes following the puck as the other team gets closer to the net.
“Come on, come on, come on.” He mumbles, “block it!” he doesn’t raise his voice as much as he would love too.
He has perfected cheering and yelling at the tv during these moments at a lower volume but still packing the punch of his enthusiasm.
The forwards race closer to the net, passing the puck back and forth.
I walk up to the back of the couch and watch with anticipation.
The forward makes his way around the net with the puck, there is a cocky smirk on his face, as he thinks he’s going to slip it in easily.
They clearly underestimate the skill of the Manta Rays center, as he blocks the attempt with ease.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Monty whisper shouts, “fucker thinks he could sneak that by Maverick and get an easy goal? What an idiot.” He flops back onto the couch, and it’s then that he notices I’ve been standing there.
His chocolate eyes light up, “well hey gorgeous,” he pats the spot next to him, “come sit and watch the rest of the game with me.”
I feel his eyes on me as I make my way to the spot beside him. A shiver runs down my body, before my skins begins to heat. After all these years my body still reacts the same when Monty’s eyes are on me. When I get to the couch however, I don’t sit down.
Instead I stand there, and I take in my husband. His head is resting on the back of the couch, a sly smirk on his face as his eyes trail my body. My chest expands with air as my eyes snag on his large hand as he trails it over his body, before resting it on his chest.
“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me, or are you going to sit your fine ass beside me and let me hold you?” Monty asks, snapping me out of my transfixation.
“I was thinking of something else” I reply, and before he can ask more I move forward. Placing one knee on either side of him slowly. I have been overall feeling better, but I know that I can’t overdo it. His hands slide up as he begins to knead my thighs.
“Well this is much better, I will admit.” He continues his ministrations on my thighs as my breathing picks up slightly.
My lips pull up into a smile as I lean forward and press my lips against his.
We spend the next couple minutes kissing like teenagers.
His hand roams up as he cups my cheek lightly, before pulling his lips away from mine.
His eyes bore into mine, and then we hear the siren go off on the tv behind us alerting us that there was a goal.
Our eyes both widen before Monty tilts his head around me to see.
“Oh fuck!” He groans. I quickly climb off him and snuggle next to him as I look at the tv and catch the rerun of the other team scoring on the Manta Rays, tying up the game with only a couple minutes left of the third period.
We spend the rest of the hockey game watching the heated match as the Manta Rays battle for the final goal with seconds left of the game.
Giving them the win and securing their spot in the rankings.
Monty jumps to his feet and does a victory lap around the living room, causing my body to shake with laughter.
When he sits back down on the couch next to me we sit in silence as the highlights play in the background. I prepare myself to bring up what I want to say next. I don’t think he would have an issue with it, but it still doesn’t quell the anxiety.
“So, I wanted to talk to you about something.” I start.
“Uh oh, that could go one of two ways.” He states in a serious tone, but there is still a sparkle in his eye. Encouraging me to move on.
I bring my leg up on the couch, turning my body so that I’m facing him. He sits in silence, spinning a fidget toy in his hand as he gives me the time I need to bring the subject forward.
“I don’t like the fact that Evie is taking ride shares to and from here every day.
It can’t be cheap, and you never know who drives those cars.
I know they’re screened but it’s been putting an uneasy feeling in my stomach all week.
” I look at Monty, and there’s a soft smile on his face as he listens to me, so I continue.
“I was thinking, why don’t we offer her my car?
Or even the apartment above the garage?” I pause, trying to gauge Monty’s reaction.
We have this in-law suite above our garage that Monty built for our parents when they come down to visit for a while.
They don’t always use it, so it kind of just sits there.
Xavier has crashed there a few times when he’s come over for hockey night and had a few too many drinks.
I do upkeep cleaning on it weekly so it’s well kept and not just collecting dust.
I know Evie mentioned how she shares her apartment with other roommates, and I hate that idea.
Then once her car broke down, and she started taking these ride shares.
That part of me that likes to take care of the people I care about started to flare.
She’s Harper’s best friend, and I love Harper.
I love how she loves my best friend. She sees him the way I always wanted his next partner to see him.
He was really hurt after Shelby died. Harper heals him, and doesn’t let Shelby’s memory fade.
Even despite the fact that she is Harper’s best friend. I have grown to care for her, and the way she cares for our boys. I don’t want her life to be more difficult, and honestly I love having her here helping with the boys.
“I mean that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Are you wanting to get the shop up and running once the doctor gives you the all clear?” Monty inquires.
I never thought of that part either. After high school I went and got my cosmetology license.
I worked in a few different shops as Monty worked on growing his business.
I enjoyed the social aspect of what I was doing.
I specialized in waxing and lashes, the structure of both bring a calm to me.
I enjoyed being able to care for my clients in moments that they did a little self care.
When Monty’s business took off, I started expanding my services. I went and got trained so I can offer some facials and gel nails. With the hopes that one day I could open my own little shop.
Josie’s Heavenly Getaway. Opened once I got Shiloh sorted into daycare. I was quietly getting things together. A business plan of sorts while I was pregnant with Lo, I kept it in my nightstand and would work on it during the nights I was too uncomfortable to get sleep.
What I didn’t know was that while I was having naps during the day, he was creating my dream space in our garage.
Our two car garage with the apartment on top, turned into a one car garage.
He had taken one side of the garage and created my own home salon.
I absolutely sobbed when he showed it to me.
He told me he had a surprise for me, but a surprise from Monty could mean literally anything from a trampoline, to a night out to dinner, to a simple flower he found while he was working.
My life has never been a dull moment since I ran into my husband all those years ago.
“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea,” I toss the idea around in my head before resting my cheek on my palm. “I’m sure the ladies I have waiting for me will love the idea of me coming back sooner. I gave them a longer timeline just in case I wasn’t ready to come back so soon.”
Monty’s hand reaches for me as he pinches a loose strand of my hair between his fingers before ultimately tucking it behind my ear. “You can go back anytime you’re truly ready Josie, there’s no pressure to go back before then.”
My chest flutters at my husband as take in his words. “I know, and I appreciate you thinking out for me babe.” Leaning forward I peck him on the lips. “I think I’m ready to get back at it, maybe not right when they give me the okay to go back to work, but I like the idea of getting back.”
“So it’s decided then.” He claps his hands together.