Cami starts crying, so I start talking to her in an effort to calm her down. “Shh, it’s okay, baby girl. Daddy’s here and we’re going to go meet Phoebe at the doctor’s office. He’ll get you fixed right up, I’m sure.”
I still feel so damn helpless as far as being a parent goes. Esther gave me precise, hands-on lessons with regard to bathing her, and changing her, and when Holly’s at the clubhouse, I pepper her with questions, of course, but other than that, it’s mostly been trial and error. Thankfully, she’s still alive despite my bumbling efforts, but as someone who prides himself on doing things well, my lack of ability bothers me a great deal.
“I need to get a book about babies,” I murmur over her wailing. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I see fat tears rolling down her cheeks and my heart breaks. “I’m sorry, Cami, I’m going as fast as I can, I promise.”
Even though the drive is less than twenty minutes, she’s completely lost her shit by the time I pull into the lot and park my truck. Of course, Phoebe witnessed me dealing with Cami whose cries were so loud heads were turning. Thank goodness she took pity on me and reached out her hands for my girl so I could put my cut back on and not act like I was just bested by an infant.
Now is now, however, and I’m following her back to her place so I can then go and pick up Cami’s medicine, as well as stuff from the clubhouse for her. Again, I’m more grateful than I can express that Phoebe is willing to help me. I know she’s got a busy life, and I’m sure she’s still grieving Rosa’s death.
Me? I’m still so damn angry about her failing to tell me that she was pregnant that I can’t see straight. I get what Phoebe tried to explain; Rosa was a fucked-up mess, but at the same time,she and I used to be friends before our relationship got a bit more personal. If nothing else, I feel like she should’ve at least respected me that much. Hell, I haven’t even been able to look through the scrapbook that Phoebe put together for me, nor have I watched any of the videos either.
“You’re cutting your nose off to spite your face, old man,” I whisper, a teasing memory of my granny’s voice saying that very thing more times than I can count. “Phoebe went to all that trouble to give you something tangible of your daughter that starts from before she was born.”
It doesn’t take long to get to Phoebe’s house and once again, I marvel at how cozy it is, both inside and out. It’s definitely a home made for a family, and I briefly wonder if Phoebe has any prospects in mind or if she’s as single as it appears she is.
“Okay, it shouldn’t take me too long,” I say as I prepare to head out the door to run the myriad of errands that have shown up since Cami got up from her nap and was sick.
“Take your time, Eli. We’ll be fine until you get back, I promise,” Phoebe replies, a small smile on her face. “She’s totally out of it from the shot, which is a good thing, so I’ll set up a pallet on the family room floor and bring my laundry in there to fold so I can keep an eye on her.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Absolutely. Now go and be prepared to have Merv, the pharmacist, talk your ear off. He’s a good guy, but he can be abit long-winded. Just tell him you have to get her medicine home before she wakes up if he starts his spiel.”
I chuckle then say, “Got it. I suspect he’ll keep it short and sweet. Many in the community know us even without our cuts on, and he’s one of them.”
She gets a fierce look on her face and spits out, “If he causes any issues, let me know and I’ll find out who else the doctor’s office uses.”
“Pull your claws back, kitten, he won’t be rude, he’s just… quick when it comes to dealing with anyone with the Steel Raiders. Rebel has already talked to him after he was rude to Holly once and threatened that we’d pulleveryprescription we had from his pharmacy, and considering how many people there are in the club, as well as those who are associated by family, he wasn’t willing to lose that, you know?”
“Kitten?” she asks.
“You were spitting mad, and it reminded me of a little kitten,” I reply, smirking at her again.
“Hurry up and go so you can get back,” she says, rolling her eyes at me. “I’ve got La Princessa well in hand.”
Instead of saying anything else, I head out to get shit done. Suddenly, I’m eager to get back to the inviting space that Phoebe lives in, and I wonder if this is how Rebel and Ash felt when they met their women.
“Thanks again for your help, Merv,” I say as I attempt, once again, to walk away from the checkout counter. In spite of what I told Phoebe earlier about his eagerness to get those of us associated with the SRMC in and out, he’s made a liar out of me.
In addition to Cami’s prescriptions, I picked up the infant fever reliever, as well as some Pedialyte that he recommended. They also carry the popsicles, so I got some of them too in case her gums hurt.
“Any questions, just call,” Merv replies.
“Will do,” I state, flicking my hand up in the air as I head out to my truck, the overflowing bag by my side.
Who knew a baby would require so much stuff? At this point, I’m definitely impressed by the single moms out there who do it all on their own because I’ve got plenty of hands willing to help and Istillfeel overwhelmed most days. Granted, some of that has to do with the fact that the tattoo parlor has been non-stop since we opened, but I suspect it’s also because we’re looking at property for the combat arts gym we want to open. My eyes open at o’dark thirty and close about the same time sixteen to eighteen hours later. Holly says I should ‘nap’ when Cami does, but as a man, I scoffed at her. However, I can feel the candle that’s been steadily burning at both ends sputtering so maybe she had a good point.
Once my cut is off, I get into the driver’s side and place it in the passenger seat. With it now running, I head to the diner, where I had the foresight to call in a to-go order. Who the fuck knew it would take so long to gather everything at the clubhouse to take over to Phoebe’s? I sure as hell didn’t, and I feel guilty that I’ve been gone so long, even though when I called, Phoebe told me that Cami was still asleep and not to worry.
I waste no time going in and getting our dinner, tossing down a decent tip because they put it together so quickly for me when they found out what my hurry was; the owner is a friend of the club and has grandkids of her own. I wouldn’t be surprised if she put dessert in the bag, she’s been known to do that for us from time to time.
Grinning, I whistle all the way back to Phoebe’s house. It may sound bizarre, but even though I’ve only been over there a couple of times, it feels like a missing piece has finally been slotted back into my life. Shaking my head at my imaginings, I pull into her driveway and shut the truck down. First things first, I’ll get our food and Cami’s prescriptions inside. The rest can wait until we’ve eaten because the smell of the food has been driving me crazy and I realize just how hungry I really am.
“I’m perfectly capable of helping, Eli,” Phoebe says as I head outside to get the rest of Cami’s belongings.
“Just go enjoy bath time with the little princess,” I reply. “She’s definitely not as fussy as she was when she first woke up and I gotta say, I’m pretty impressed at how quickly that shot has worked.”
“Oh, I’m confident that she’s riding that false feel-good wave,” she retorts. At my raised brow, she explains, “In addition to the antibiotic, they gave her a steroid which will help with the swelling of her ear canal and gums, so she’s definitely feeling good. But if you insist on doing the heavy work, I’m not gonna argue with you at all.”