“Hello?” Zachary asks curiously.
“Hi,” I smile at the phone, “it’s me and Thomas.”
“Oh,” Zachary sighs happily. “Hello, Caitlin. Hello, baby boy.”
“Dada,” Thomas squeals at the phone excitedly.
“Yes, baby,” Zachary laughs. “Daddy is coming home soon. Are you ready for me to come home?”
Thomas squeals again and then rolls over on his stomach, facing the phone. “Dada!”
“Who’s a good boy?” Zachary coos at the phone. “Who’s daddy’s boy?”
Thomas babbles happily at the phone and Zachary laughs again. “I think he said something about being daddy’s good boy,” he teases. “Right, baby?”
Thomas giggles and then looks up at me with big eyes.
“Okay, okay,” I chuckle at him. “Let daddy talk to you now.”
Zachary laughs again and then starts babbling at the phone. “Baby boy,” he says happily, “is that what you said? Dada?”
I watch Thomas giggle happily on my stomach, chatting back to Zachary as he lays on his tummy.
“I think that’s what he said,” Zachary tells me.
“You’re good at this,” I tease him. “You should be a teacher or something.”
“I don’t think so,” Zachary chuckles, “I think I’ll stick with my job.”
I smile at the phone again. “Well, maybe you can teach me how to talk to him like that.”
“Sure,” Zachary agrees, “I can teach you. But you have to come in to work tomorrow.”
“I’m already scheduled to work tomorrow,” I remind him, “but if I do, you’ll have to be ready for me.”
“Oh,” he sounds surprised, “you’re really going to hold me to that?”
“Yes,” I agree, “I am.”
“Okay,” Zachary sighs, “I’ll be ready.”
“Good,” I smile, “because I’m looking forward to it.”
“You are?” he sounds shocked.
“Yes,” I agree, squeezing Thomas to my chest, “I am. And so is your son.”
Zachary doesn’t say anything for a minute and then he speaks. “Okay,” he sighs, “I can’t wait either. I’m sorry again that I missed dinner tonight. I promise that I won’t miss it again.”
“It’s alright,” I forgive him easily. “We’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Will you?” he asks excitedly.
“Yes,” I assure him, “we’ll see you then. And then we can start making plans for Saturday night.”
“I was thinking about that,” he tells me, “and I don’t really know what to do.”
“Well,” I sigh thoughtfully, “what are your hobbies?” I ask him. “Maybe that will give me an idea of what we can do.”
“Uh,” he laughs awkwardly. “My hobby is spending time with you and Thomas.”
“Okay,” I say slowly, feeling a little flustered. “Um, maybe we can just talk to each other then.”
“That sounds good,” Zachary agrees. “I just want to spend time with the two of you.”
“Me too,” I tell him sincerely. “That’s what I want to.”
“Do you?” he asks curiously. “Really?”
“Yes,” I nod at the phone, even though I know that he can’t see me.
He laughs happily. “I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
“Me neither,” I agree.
“Goodbye, Caitlin,” he says, sounding a little choked up.
“Goodnight,” I respond before ending our call.
And then I stare at the phone for a minute before finally looking down at Thomas. “You and daddy are going to have a lot of fun together,” I promise him, kissing his forehead.
He babbles happily up at me. “Dada.”
I smile and then lay down with him. We can spend some time cuddled up together before dinner. I turn on the TV and then settle him close to my side.
My mind is still racing with thoughts of Zachary, trying to figure out what our relationship might be like, when Thomas starts crying.
“I’m sorry, baby,” I say apologetically. “Let me feed you.”
And then I sit up and pull my shirt down, feeding him before laying him back down for the night.
He falls asleep almost instantly in his crib and then I head downstairs to make myself some dinner.
I spend the rest of the night lost in thought, thinking about Zachary. I have a good feeling about him, like he might be someone that I can really care about.
So I’m going to go all in and see where things between us go.
And I hope that they go in the right direction... a happy future for the three of us. I smile to myself and then head upstairs to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be the start of something amazing. I’m sure hoping so.
When I wake up in the morning, I feel more rested than usual. I think that last night was the first time that Thomas has slept all the way through the night since he was born.
I pull him into my arms and kiss his cheek. “Good morning, baby.” He coos at me happily. “Are you ready to get up?”
He nods and babbles at me. And then I pull him out of his crib and set him on his feet. He stumbles a little but then smiles up at me.
I help him into the bathroom and then pick out some clothes for him. Today is a new day and maybe it will bring some new things to my life. I hope so anyway.
I’m excited to spend more time with Zachary and hopefully get to know him better. He seems like a nice guy and a good father to Thomas.