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“Oh, wow. I had no idea he was doing that. I’ll have to thank him.”

“If he didn’t say nothing to you, then you ain’t heard it from me. My wife already says I talk too much.”

“I’ll make sure to keep your name out of it.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

It was close to ten in the morning by the time Quinton came out to tell me that I could call and let Tiny Scholars know that he was on the way. He seemed excited which made me excited too.

I liked the idea of having Trey close, no matter how temporary the arrangement might be. I knew better than to withdraw him from day care just because a man wanted to impress me. That didn’t mean I wasn’t impressed. I loved how much effort Quinton was willing to put in for us. I had almost forgotten that I was mad with him just hours ago.

“Tiny Scholars, this is Mrs. Martin.”

“Hey, Mrs. Martin, this is Shiloh Trey and Theo’s mom. A friend of mine Quinton Woods will be picking Trey up shortly and bringing him to me.”

“You know I meant to ask you if that was your truck over there in that lot. That’s where I get my oil changed. It’s almost time for me to come in,” she mentioned.

“Yes, ma’am. That’s me.”

“OK. About how long will it be? I’ll make sure they have him ready.”

“He’s leaving here now, so it won’t be long.”

“OK. I’ll let them know.”

“Thank you,” I said, ending the call.

I was actually a little surprised that Ms. Martin didn’t ask a ton of questions. It seemed like she would have done her due diligence and reminded me that Quinton wasn’t on the list of verified contacts. That made me want to pull my baby out of their day care. Then again, I was glad she didn’t give me a hard time. I actually wanted to see how this experiment of Quinton’s would go.

Thirty minutes later, I watched as Quinton climbed out of his truck and walked around to the back seat. It wasn’t until then that I thought about Trey’s car seat. I had forgotten to tell Quinton to get it out of my car before he left. I could just imagine Trey’s busy self climbing all over the car without his seat. He was just starting to crawl. I had to keep a close eye on him, or he would tear everything in the house down.

“I see you looking. I got my guy a car seat so you wouldn’t have to keep moving yours from your car to mine when we have family time,” Quinton called across the parking lot.

He lifted Trey’s chubby self out of the car and hoisted him on his arm before heading into the building. I picked up my phone and called him.

“Dang, I at least thought you would come over so I could see my baby,” I said when he answered.

“I thought about it, but I know that if he sees you, he’ll want to come to you.”

“You’re right.” I nodded.

“See, I’m always thinking, baby. I don’t want him having a fit before I get him settled. They said it was almost nap time. We are about to build a castle, eat some snacks, and take us a nap.”

“You too?”

“Hell yeah. I got my son a Pack ‘N Play, and you already know I got the big comfy couch for me. All I’m missing is a do not disturb sign for the door, but I got a marker. I got a hammer for the ones who can’t read.”

“So, you gon’ knock me out if I show up?”

“I’m actually hoping you do. Mama is always welcome.”

“Oh OK, just checking.”

“I don’t think Lil’ Q would get jealous if you came to sit on daddy’s lap for a little while.”

“But can daddy behave?”

“You never really know.”