“We’re ho-ome!” Brian sang, as he held the front door of the house
open for Nick, who hobbled across the threshold on his crutches.
“Hi!” Leighanne’s voice rang out perkily, and seconds later, she
stepped into the entrance area, Baylee in her arms. Nick’s eyes widened in surprise; Brian was
right – Baylee had grown. And
Leighanne had shrunk. The last time Nick
had seen either of them was shortly after Baylee’s birth. Baylee had been so tiny then… and Leighanne
had still been rather huge. But the
weight she had gained during her pregnancy was gone now, and her figure looked
almost the same as it had before she had gotten pregnant, only a few pounds
heavier.
“Hey!” said Nick, grinning.
“You look wonderful, Leigh!”
Leighanne laughed. “Thank
you,” she said, returning his smile.
“You look great yourself… but what happened to your leg?”
“Stress fracture,” Nick replied, briefly explaining what he had
told Brian earlier in the car. Then, he
went up to her and bent down to Baylee’s level.
“Hey, Baylee,” he cooed, gingerly touching the top of the baby’s head,
which was covered with a thin layer of wispy, light-colored hair. He was rewarded with a wide, toothless
grin. “Hey, he smiled at me!” he
exclaimed excitedly.
Brian laughed, his eyes lighting up. “Well, he likes you.” He walked up to his wife and son, tickling
Baylee’s cheek. Baylee smiled again,
following Brian with his eyes, which were big and blue. “Baylee, this is Nick, your godfather,” Brian
said, talking to his son as if he could actually understand. “You and Nick are gonna have a great time
together, aren’t you?”
“Do you want to hold him, Nick?” Leighanne asked.
“Well, I…” Nick looked down
helplessly at his crutches.
Leighanne smiled. “Here,
come on in the living room. You can sit
and hold him. You probably want to get
off your feet anyway, huh?” She led the
way into the living room, Nick limping along behind her. The room had changed greatly since the last
time Nick had been there. The furniture
was the same, but now there was a playpen set up in one corner and an infant
seat and one of those baby gyms in the middle of the floor.
“Here, have a seat,” said Leighanne, patting the large sofa.
Nick gratefully sat down, propping his crutches up next to
him. Feeling more at ease, he reached
out his arms for Baylee. “Come here,
squirt,” he said, as Leighanne handed him the baby. It had been awhile since he had held a baby,
but he was well aware of how to do it, having played the role of the loving big
brother when Angel and Aaron were born.
Setting Baylee in his lap, he curled his arm around the back of the
baby’s head for support and grinned up at Brian and Leighanne.
“Aww! Bri, isn’t that just
the cutest thing? Go grab the camera; I
want to get a picture!” Leighanne gushed.
Brian ran off and returned seconds later with a small camera,
which apparently they had sitting around the house for all those Kodak
moments. Nick figured they must have
millions of pictures of Baylee by now, which he was sure to be shown at some
point during his visit. Readjusting
Baylee in his lap, he smiled broadly as Brian snapped a picture.
“Cute,” Brian agreed, grinning like a little kid. “He’s almost able to sit up on his own,
Nick. Watch.” Coming up to Nick, Brian sat Baylee up a
little higher and moved Nick’s hand from the baby’s head to his back. “See?” he said excitedly, as Baylee sat
there. “He just needs you to hold him up
a little; before long, he’ll be sitting up all by himself.”
Smiling down at Baylee, Nick offered the infant his finger,
remembering how Angel and Aaron would always grab onto it when he did
that. He assumed it was something all
babies did, and it turned out he was right.
Baylee immediately wrapped his tiny hand around Nick’s finger. Nick couldn’t help but smile, looking down at
those tiny pink fingers clutching his big one.
“You’re gonna make a good dad someday, Nick,” Brian commented
softly, smiling as he watched the scene.
Nick grinned back at him.
“Really?”
“Definitely.”
Nick patted Baylee’s back gently and smiled at the thought of
having a son of his own someday in the future.
He hadn’t thought of settling down and starting a family in a long time;
it was not something that was even remotely close to happening. Yet, as he sat holding Brian’s child, he
realized that someday, he really would like to have a family, a wife and
children. And at that moment, there
seemed to be nothing in the way, no barrier that could prevent this dream from
coming true.
In just over a week, there would be.
***
Nick flew home to Tampa after nearly a week in Atlanta. At the airport, he embraced Brian for a final
time and wished he never had to let go, never had to go home. The next morning, he would be checking into
Tampa General Hospital for a round of tests, a prospect that frightened him,
despite how reluctant he was to admit it.
He had never been in the hospital before, except for the occasional trip
to the Emergency Room with a minor injury.
He was nervous, and the fact that he knew he was going to have to go
through it alone was disheartening. Yet
there was no point in telling anyone – he didn’t want to worry Brian or anyone
else for no reason.
And so, he pulled away from Brian’s hug, pasted a large smile on
his face, and said, “Take care, Frick.
I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
“You too, Frack,” Brian answered back with a grin, patting Nick’s
shoulder. “Rest that leg.”
“Will do,” Nick vowed.
“Thanks for letting me come visit.”
“Thanks for coming. I had a
great time; it was good to see you again.”
“You too, dude.”
The final boarding call for Nick’s flight crackled through the
intercom system, and Nick knew he was stalling.
Finally, he forced himself to go, saying goodbye to Brian for a final
time and ambling off to his plane, dreading the flight home.
***