Page 138 of Seasons of Love
“Hey, Darius, you know that favorite uncle title you’re going for?” Ellis asks. “Now is your chance.” He points at Benji, who’s falling asleep while trying to eat a chip.
“I fail to see how putting him to bed would give me cool uncle points,” Darius says, grabbing a chicken wing with his hands and eating without any care for the mess on his face.
Ellis rolls his eyes and stands.
“Is it okay if I go with you? I’d like to check on Sara,” I say.
“Sure.”
Alice smiles at me in the same way she did earlier, but now I get it. She’s hoping for something between Ellis and me.
Yeah, me too, my friend. Me too. But given the way he reacted to me earlier, it’s not happening, so…
Since Sara is occupying Benji’s bed, we take him to Marnie’s room. I help Ellis clean the remnants of Benji’s lunch from his hands, but he definitely needs new clothes, so Ellis points at the drawer where I can get some.
We work together to make sure Benji doesn’t wake up. At some point, we stop, look at each other, and smile.
He whispers, “I hope you understand Alice is currently looking at the baby cam and watching us work together, probably picking the colors of our bridesmaids’ dresses as we speak.”
“Personally, I’ve always been a sucker for teal,” I joke, but then I see the look on his face, and I can’t tell if he’s terrified because I’m joking, or worse, that I might be serious. Either way, it’s not a positive look. “I’m only joking. Don’t worry. No misunderstandings here, whatever Alice may or not be hoping for. I think you can do the rest on your own. I’ll go check on Sara.” I walk all the way to the door before I turn back. “By the way, you were wrong earlier. You’re not too old.”
I keep my expression as neutral as I can until I open the door to Benji’s room and I’m safely inside.
Sara is awake, holding on to her blankie with one hand while the other reaches for one of Benji’s stuffed animals.
“Hey, baby girl, ready to go home?”
When she sees me, her smile is so big that it fills up all the empty spaces in my heart.
I pick her up, and she calls out Dada. “That’s right. I’m your dada. And one day, when you’re a little older, I’ll tell you all about your real dada and momma, and your grandma too. She was the best, you know?”
When I return to join Ellis’s family, the table has been cleared of all the food. Marnie is asleep on an inflatable toy under the tree and the adults are all in the lounge area.
I approach them. “This little lady was awake. I guess it’s time to take her home.”
“Already?” Alice asks, sounding disappointed.
“It’s been a long day for her. I really appreciate the lunch and the clothes. I’ll borrow my neighbor’s car this week to get the box if that’s okay. I’m walking home, so I can’t take it.”
She gives Ellis a stare.
“I can borrow their car and drop you off,” he says.
“That’s okay. After all the food, it will be nice to walk.”
“Please, I insist,” he says.
There’s nothing worse than feeling like someone is doing something nice out of obligation, but I know there’s no point arguing, so I agree.
Alice fills the trunk of her car with three boxes of clothes for Sara, and I thank her again for her generosity.
The drive to my place is silent.
“Did I say something wrong? You seem awfully quiet,” Ellis says.
“What? No. I’m just a little tired. After work and the big lunch, I just want to see how my neighbor is doing, and then I’ll do a couple of hours of studying.”
He narrows his eyes as if he’s assessing me.
