His head cocked to the side, and I laughed. The thick white cotton of my towel collected water droplets from my skin, immediately leaving goose bumps in their place from the slight nip in the early morning air.
Fall was my favorite time of year, and this fall was going to be the best yet. The sweltering heat had let up enough for Avery to once again drown in my oversize hoodie. I loved the look of her bare legs under my sweatshirt when she woke in the morning to make coffee. Unfortunately, our schedules had shifted again, and I was working mostly nights.
Dax yelped as I wrapped the towel around my waist, shaking my head at how short it was. I would have to get some more of those oversize ones Mrs. Cipriani had given us as a wedding present. Avery used the only two we had and left the tiny ones for me.
“Do you see this?” I pointed to the small pile of towels in the corner as Dax’s tail began to whip harder. “I am not married to you. You can’t tell me what to do.” I padded my way to our bedroom, leaving wet footprints in my path. Grabbing a pair of basketball shorts from the clean laundry basket, I tugged them up over my hips, rolling my neck to the side and closing my eyes as it popped loudly.
“Let’s go.” I followed him from the bedroom, grabbing his leash from the counter and clipping it to his collar before leading him downstairs.
Our newest neighbor was shoving her key in the lock to her apartment, a baby car seat in the other hand and the straps of her wristlet purse between her teeth. She’d only moved into the apartment below us a few weeks before, and her colicky son’s room was directly below our bedroom.
“Let me help you with that,” I said, hurrying to her side. I took the seat handle from her hand, smiling down at the chubby baby inside.
“Thank you.” She batted her faded pink hair from her face and let out a loud, exasperated sigh as her key finally found its way into the lock. She shoved the door open with her shoulder and stepped out of the way so I could enter.
Her place was laid out exactly like mine and Avery’s, but with baby furniture and paraphernalia. It looked like a Babies “R” Us had exploded.
Hope called over her shoulder as she put her purse on the kitchen island. “Thank you so much, Josh. You can just set him down next to his playpen, if you don’t mind.”
I set the carrier on the floor and began to unbuckle the little boy. “How you liking this place?” I asked, smiling down at him.
“It’s a quiet neighborhood.” She laughed. “Well, I guess I’m the loudest one around here. Sorry about that. Toby doesn’t sleep through the night yet.”
“No worries.” I pulled the boy from the seat and stood with him in my arms.
Hope watched me.
“Oh,” I said. “I hope this is okay.”
She smiled. “He likes you.”
I bounced him a bit. I had no clue whether that was the right thing to do or not, but it felt right. “It’s good practice. We hope to be adding a baby to our family soon, too.”
“Oh,” she said, surprised.
“What?” I paced the floor with Toby, bouncing slightly.
“Oh, nothing. I just thought you guys were a casual thing. I don’t see her around much and she’s always running out in the morning.” Her cheeks darkened, embarrassed by how much she knew.
“She works days and I have the night shift at the moment. But Avery’s definitely not casual. She’s my wife.”
“Wife? Congrats.”
“I know. She’s way out of my league,” I said.
“Don’t sell yourself short.” Crossing the room, Hope pulled Toby from my arms. “I just meant you look too young to be married.”
“Ah … well, when you know, you know.”
“Yeah … I mean, I guess.” Hope set her son in his swing and turned it on. It swayed and chimed a nursery rhyme tune while Toby became mesmerized by the lights. “Best invention ever.” She turned to me. “You know, Josh … I thought I knew once, too. Believe me, it was never my plan to be raising this little man on my own.”
Dax pawed at my leg, anxious to continue downstairs. “All right, furball. Let’s get you to the grass.”
“Thanks, Josh. You’re my favorite neighbor.” Hope stood and held the door open for me.
“Anytime. If you guys every need anything … we’re just upstairs.”
“I just might take you up on that.” She called to me as I left her apartment.
The morning chill was beginning to subside as Dax wandered down the narrow walkway between apartment buildings to the small yard in the back. My thoughts went to Avery and the possibility of us having a child of our own. We’d need a place, something bigger with a yard where he could run, and big enough for a tree that could hold a swing. The oak in the center of the yard offered the only shade on the property.
I wasn’t certain the landlord would allow us to hang anything from the branches like the old plank swing my father had hung out back for us … us. My gut twisted and I shook away the sad memory of my sister.
My father had always tried his best to make our childhood perfect. All the hours we’d spent tearing down and rebuilding motors wasn’t to line our pockets, but to heal our souls. Still, it kept us afloat, and it was something I was good at. I blinked. Something I can easily do now and be able to spend more time with my wife.
Reaching up, I pulled a scrap of bark from the old tree. We’d need a home of our own, one with a large yard and not just a tree, lots of trees. I could already see Avery outside, soaking up the sunshine and working on her garden as our children ran around her, playing.