Knight opened the door to see Mike standing there with a couple of paper bags. “I got you take out,” he said, and shouldered his way in.
“Take out?”
“Yeah. I remember Raina when she first had the kits. She couldn’t get out for a couple of days, and figured you’d need a change of pace.”
Knight looked back at the couch to see the three babies, each of them kind of staring at each other. Roland was reaching out to touch Caroline, while ‘Seph watched the two of them interact with each other.
“Are those the little bundles of joy?” Mike asked, after he set the paper bags down. “What’s their names again?” He walked over to the couch.
“Caroline, Roland and Persephone.” Knight followed Mike, assuming he would have to help Mike if he needed to hold the babies, or to pick out which one was which.
But he went right to ‘Seph, and picked her up like he had done this kind of thing all his life. “Hello there! I’m your Uncle Mike, yes, I am!” He held her in the crook of his arm, and let her grab a hold of his finger. “Yes, I am, little one. You’re going to be a mage, just like your uncle and dada.”
Knight watched him play and coo at the baby. He was not as uncomfortable as Scott had been. The two other babies were watching him with ‘Seph. He leaned down to look at the other ones. “You must be Roland because you’re all in blue. And you must be Caroline because you’re a big girl, like your daddies.” He straightened up, “But you’re my favorite, eh, little one?”
“You’re gonna spoil her rotten,” said Knight.
“Damn right,” Mike said, moving his arm up and down a little, rocking her. “I guess Scott and I were wrong, huh?”
Knight walked away.
“What? What did I say?”
“Nothin’. I’m gonna eat b’fore it gets cold. Are you gonna stick around an’ eat?”
“No, I just wanted to see the cute as a button ginger baby. Yes, I did. Uh huh.” He spoke to the baby. “You are so adorable, just like dada.”
Knight started pulling out the different containers of Chinese food. “Hey, I heard you got a license plate of the people who ran me off the road.”
“Yes, and I gave it to Mal. He’s working on it, I think.”
“Do you remember it?”
“No. You’re not thinking of going out there – ”
“I am thinkin’ of it.”
“Let Mal take care of it, Knight. He’ll make sure nothing like that ever happens again.” He turned to look at the baby. “Oh, you got a present for me?”
Knight started toward Mike, “Want me to – ”
Mike waved his hand. “I got it. I’ve taken care of babies before.” Again, he looked at ‘Seph. “Yes, I have. And when I don’t want to take care of you anymore, you go right back to daddy, yes, you do!” Knight watched as Mike confidently went into the nursery.
Caroline started to make a frustrated noise, and Knight went over to her. Roland was quiet, watching everything going on around him, much like Mal would do. Knight picked up the plastic keys Caroline had dropped and handed them to, who grabbed at them. He could hear Mike saying, “Oh, yes, you’re an eating, sleeping, pooping machine, yes, you are! But you’re cute, which makes it worth while, it does, it does.”
Knight wanted so badly to get up, to stand in the doorway and watch Mike change the baby, but he knew that it would be like the helicopter parent that he had read so many negative things about. He had to let someone else take care of them, and the only other person he trusted to take care of them at the moment was Mal. Pretty soon, Baba, the nanny, was going to show up and she was going to have to take care of them as well. Then Knight was going to have to leave them in her care for hours at a time.
The thought terrified him.
But he also didn’t want to stay home for the rest of his life, and live for the children. There would come a time when he would resent them if he did that. Because there was one thing about children and cats that were similar – they usually didn’t do what you wanted them to, not without bribery or trickery.
Mike came out of the nursery, covered in powder. “Freshly changed, and ready for presentation! I thought you were going to eat?”
Knight realized he was sitting next to Caroline. “Oh, yeah.”
Mike set the baby down next to Roland. Roland turned to look at her. He sneezed. “G’blesh you!” said Mike, again in that over-exuberant voice.
“Had a fight with the powder?”
“A little,” Mike said, smearing it all over his shirt. “Well, enjoy your dinner. I’m going to come back later with a camera, maybe.”
“I got the pictures from the hospital,” said Knight. He went over to the shelf, took down a book and pulled out a sheet of baby pictures. He cut out two of them, handing them to Mike. “Give one to Scott.”
“Sure will,” Mike said. “Enjoy dinner. Bye, little ones!”
Knight watched Mike leave. Maybe…maybe he wasn’t such an asshole after all.