Page 120

Maylee stood there another minute before looking toward Pops.

“Daddy, can I hold him?”

“Come sit down.”

She practically ran to the chair Aunt Tori pulled beside Ma’s bed. Once she was sitting, Aunt Tori helped her position her arms while Pops carefully lifted the baby from his bassinet.

“Make sure you support his head,” Ma said.

Pops settled the baby into Maylee’s arms while Aunt Tori stayed close enough to help. Maylee immediately stopped talking, her attention completely on the little face peeking out of the blanket.

“Hey, baby,” she whispered.

He moved his mouth a little, and she gasped.

“He smiled!”

“He probably got gas,” I said.

Maylee’s head snapped toward me, then she looked back down at her brother. Aunt Tori moved over to Ma’s bedside and started asking about tomorrow.

She wanted to know what time they were expecting to discharge her, whether the baby needed anything else, and if there was anything she wanted done around the house before they came home. Ma told her everything was already taken care of. That didn’t stop Aunt Tori from making plans anyway.

“I’ll make sure there’s food ready,” she said. “You ain’t about to come home trying to cook.”

“Trust me, I don’t plan on it.”

“And you,” Aunt Tori said, looking at Pops, “you better not be trying to do too much either.”

Pops frowned.

“Why everybody keeps talking to me like I’m a child?”

“Because you act like one when somebody tells you to sit down,” she quickly responded.

I laughed so hard I had to turn my head. For the next little while, the room felt almost normal. Maylee kept asking questions about the baby, Aunt Tori fussed over Ma, and Pops sat beside the bed talking about how ready he was to get his family home. I listened more than I talked. It was good seeing everybody like that. Especially Pops. He wasn’t back to himself physically, but he was here. That mattered more than anything. My phone vibrated against my thigh. I glanced down, expecting another message from Penelope. Instead, Tahari’s name was on the screen.

Tahari: Meet me outside the hospital in 20 mins.

I read it twice. My eyes moved toward Pops before I could stop myself. He was listening to something Aunt Tori was saying, completely unaware of the message I had just gotten. I looked back at my phone. Tahari didn’t say why he wanted to meet. He didn’t ask whether I was busy or tell me he’d be coming upstairs.

After everything we’d talked about earlier, I had a pretty good idea that this wasn’t about checking on Ma or the baby. I typed back that I would be down in a minute, then I slipped my phone into my pocket.

“Who was that?” Ma asked.

I looked up.

“Huh?”

“You got quiet all of a sudden.”

“Oh, nothing. It was just a text.”

She studied me for a second before letting it go. Maylee was still holding the baby, although he was starting to move around more now. Pops was right there watching her like a hawk. I could already see that his protective instincts had extended to the newest member of our family.

“Ma, you need anything before I head out?” I asked.

“You leaving?” she looked surprised.