Not by Blood by Chris Narozny

Author:Chris Narozny [Narozny, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

We were back at Paul’s by seven PM. Time enough for a bath and a bedtime story. Aiden treated bathing like a watersport; I expended more energy wiping down Paul’s blue slate tiling than I did wiping down my son. It wasn’t until he was dry and wearing pajamas that the protests began.

“But I’m not sleepy.”

“That’s why we’re going to read a story first.”

“I don’t want a story. I want to see Babes in Toyland.”

Paul stifled a laugh.

“You’re raising an old soul.”

For me, it was a sad kind of funny: Aiden’s love for Ollie Dee and Stannie Dum came straight from Tom. March of the Wooden Soldiers was a year-round regular on their watch list.

“Tell you what,” I said. “If it’s okay with Uncle Paul, you can watch half tonight, half tomorrow night.”

A deal I made knowing Aiden would last fifteen minutes, tops.

But what a sublime fifteen minutes they were. Paul made popcorn. Aiden sat between us, his warm little body sloping into mine. Laughter and applause followed by a faint snoring. He woke for a second when I picked him up, then dropped back asleep in my arms. I kissed his forehead, lingered before turning out the light.

It was a gentle end to a harsh and shitty day.

If only it really had been the end.

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