She did have an amazing figure.
But over the last few times I'd met with her, my opinion of her had slowly changed. She still had an edge to her, but it was something that made her interesting. The fact that she'd let her hopeless neighbor in and calmed his baby suggested that she had a more generous spirit than I'd given her credit for the past.
"You don't want to have kids someday?" I asked her.
"I thought about having a family in theory, but at this time of my life, I don't really think about marriage or kids."
I laughed. "Turns out you don't need marriage to have a kid. I'm proof of that." I shook my head because it still sometimes knocked me for a loop that I was a father. "I'll be honest, I never thought I would have a family or be a dad. But from the first moment I saw him, this little guy has wheedled his way into my heart. There isn't anything I won't do for him. My life is his now."
At first my words seemed to soften her. Then her eyes narrowed, and I could feel a chill between us.
"Yeah, well, just don't overdo it. You don't want to smother him."
"I think I read somewhere that it's not possible to spoil babies. The crying is how they let us know to fulfill their basic needs."
She shook her head. "Not now. Later. Someday you're going to have to let him live his own life and make his own choices."
I nodded at first, not understanding the negativity in her tone. But then I remembered her brother and figured she must be referring to him.
She tilted her head to the side. "Speaking of overprotective people, have you spoken to my brother recently?"
I couldn't decide if it was her or my fatigue that made it different for me to track the conversation. "No. Should I have?"
She stared at me with the same suspicion that she always looked at me with. Then she shrugged it away and I realized I was probably over staying my welcome.
I rose from the couch. "Listen, thank you so much for this. If there's a God, he’ll make sure Mo sleeps for a couple hours. Lord knows I could use the rest." I stepped close to her as she slowly, smoothly handed the baby over to me.
The move put me in very close proximity to her. So close I could inhale the scent of her, a mixture of sunshine and something more exotic.
Her gaze went to mine, catching me staring at her. Her lips parted slightly in surprise, and I had the most incredible urge to bend over and taste her delectable looking lips. Mo shifted in my arms bringing me back to the issue at hand.
"Thank you again, Harper. I'll try not to make this a habit." I left her place with each step sending up a silent prayer that he would continue to sleep. Back home, I got Mo upstairs and into his crib without him waking. I crept out of his room, shutting the door quietly. I crossed the hall into my own room and crashed on my bed like an oak tree falling in the forest. I was asleep in a second.
I woke up feeling refreshed. That feeling was followed by panic.What time was it?How long had I been asleep?
I looked at my watch and realized it was the next morning. Mo hadn't woken me up during the night.Oh God!Had something happened to him?
I ran from my room to his. Mo was laying on his back, watching his mobile. The adrenaline crashed and relief flooded me.
I reached into the crib picking him up. "Good morning little guy. Are you hungry?" I changed his diaper and by the time I made it downstairs and put him in his infant seat, he was starting to fuss.
I quickly fixed him a bottle, and picking him up, I walked out to the sunroom sitting in the large comfortable chair to feed him as I sipped coffee. Having a child upended my life but sitting in the quiet calm of the early morning while Mo drank his formula was nice.
Once Mo finished eating, I took him upstairs and got him dressed. I laid him on my bed as I put on a pair of running shorts and a tank top. I strapped the baby carrier on and put him and it.
"How about a walk on the beach?"
I felt like I was living on borrowed time. That at any moment he was going to start crying and not stop again. But so far, he seemed perfectly content. Could that mean we’d turned the corner and whatever had made him unhappy before was gone?
As we headed out, I grabbed my phone, shoving it in my pocket. I put a small cap on Mo’s head, and a baseball cap on mine. I walked out the back door and down the trail to the beach.
Before Mo arrived, I used to run on the beach nearly every morning and then I’d head inside to my gym with every piece of fitness equipment imaginable.
I might be retiring but that didn't mean I didn't want to keep up my strength and physical fitness. I found I needed it more now in caring for Mo than just about any time before. I still ran on occasion, but it was on a treadmill when I knew Mo was sleeping.
When we reached the beach, I turned left heading south, walking at a good steady clip. It was still early with the sun only just hitting the beach.
As I passed the back of Harper's house, I looked up, curious about her and this odd situation of her ending up next door to me. I retired and moved up here for peace and quiet, but my experience with Harper was that she was the opposite of calm.