Page 76 of My Little Doe
“Yep, I’ll be over first thing.”
“Yes, Titi, I’ll bring her,” he said, shooting me a glance.
“Alright, see you tomorrow.”
He hung up the phone, then walked over to the counter. He started cooking the food he’d been prepping earlier. I walked over to the chair and made the blanket into a little bed, placing Lucy in the middle. While he cooked, I washed the dishes. We sat down at the table and ate.
“I got a movie for us to watch,” he said.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, once we get done eating, I’ll put it in,” he said.
We finished supper and washed our dishes. I scooped up Lucy and sat down in the chair. He went over and popped a VHS into the player, turning everything on, before he sat down.
As soon as the floating feather appeared on screen, I knew what movie it was. I smiled and then instantly felt sad. This movie got me through captivity. It was the lines that I drove Quinn crazy with. A tear rolled down my cheek.
“Oh, Zay, I thought you would be happy,” he said.
“I am, but sad too. I used to quote these lines to Izayuh when I was pregnant,” I said.
“Oh… I… we can watch something else,” he said.
“No, no. I want to watch it,” I said. I reached up and held the pendant in my fingers, rubbing it back and forth.
We finished the movie. Of course, I called out my favorite lines in sync with the movie. Instead of being annoyed, Quinn laughed. His laugh was contagious and instantly made me smile. I fed Lucy one more time before we went to bed.
I slept with Lucy right next to me in a little bowl I made with a small blanket. Every three hours on the dot, she moved around and made little squeaks. I put her supplies in the bathroom so I could make her bottles during the night without waking Quinn up.
Morning came quickly, and I wasn’t as tired as I thought I’d be, but that was only the first night of waking up. Quinn was up and moving around when I walked out of the room to get her another bottle. He was making French toast, something he made frequently.
“After we eat, I’d like to get over to my Titi’s and see Callie,” he said.
“Alright, I’m feeding Lucy. Do I have time to shower and eat, or do I need to pick one?”
“I’ll never make you choose between food and a… shower,” he said.
“Alright, I’ll eat once she’s done, and then take a quick shower,” I said.
Lucy finished suckling her bottle. By the time she was done, he’d already finished his food. I walked over to him and held Lucy out toward him. He looked down at her, then at me, and then back at her.
“Nope, go put her on the chair,” he said.
“But she likes to be cuddled,” I said, pushing her into him.
He grumbled before grabbing onto her.
I smeared peanut butter onto my French toast, sprinkled powdered sugar on top, and drizzled a little bit of syrup all over. I shoveled it down as fast as I could. Then showered quickly, knowing that he was eager to get over to his Titi’s. We climbed into the truck, Lucy in my lap, and her supplies at my feet.
“Listen… Callie has no filter, and she holds nothing back,” he said.
“Sounds like the rest of your family,” I told him, then chuckled.
“Except that she and I are very close… she knows almost every dark secret I have,” he said.
“Is there something she might tell me that you should tell me now?” I asked.
“No. Maybe. I don’t know. She’s different, that’s all,” he said.
