Isaac drove to the tux rental place in a fog.
He was a father.
Sort of.
What the hell had he gone and done? Was he ready for this? Did he even know how?
Holy cow! He was a father.
A foster father, but still. That counted, didn’t it?
What the actual hell?
His stomach flipped over like an olympic gymnast.
Deep breaths, Ike. You can do this.
He could do this.
Yeah.
He could totally do this.
“…and then I think we should really go to a baby store or someplace and get a few things. My gosh, we need everything, Ike. I should start making a list. But mostly he needs clothes. I think that should be our first priority…”
Sidney was happily chattering away in the passenger seat beside him, completely oblivious to his silent freakout, but it was happening.
Chest tight.
Breaths shallow.
Shit. He was panicking.
Isaac gripped the steering wheel like he was trying to choke it.
He needed to focus on his breathing. He worked hard to take a deep breath, concentrating on it. Only it just wouldn’t come. Not freely. He opened his mouth and tried to suck in a few gulps.
Oxygen.
His brain needed oxygen.
He could do this.
He looked up into the rearview mirror and got a glimpse of Greer. The boy was staring out the window and clutching a small green stuffed dinosaur that Mrs. Willis had given him. She said it was one he had left behind a couple of weeks ago when he was there for dinner with his parents.
The little boy stuck his thumb in his mouth and hugged that dinosaur like he was holding on for dear life. Because he was. So tiny and vulnerable with zero say in what would become of his life.
The tightness in Isaac’s chest evaporated.
He took a breath and it came with ease, filling his lungs to capacity before exhaling.
He really could do this. That little boy needed him to, and Sidney would be right by his side every step of the way.
What was it she had said the other night about him being her hero and Greer’s hero too? He still didn’t know how he felt about that, but he would try to live up to her perception of him. For Sidney and for Greer.
For the next three hours, they ran errands, stopping first at the tuxedo rental place for his final fitting for Pete’s wedding. Then they went to the nearby bridal shop so that Sidney could do the final fitting for her bridesmaid’s dress.
It was a trip having to get Greer in and out of the car seat at every stop they made. And at the bridal shop, Isaac had to keep the little guy occupied while Sid was trying on her dress. Things were definitely changing fast.
After that, they went to one of those specialty stores where they sold nothing but clothes and accessories for babies and little kids. It was hard for Sidney not to get carried away in there, especially when they needed practically everything — she was right about that. But they couldn’t do everything in one day. They would have to truly make a list and decide on a plan of attack first. Not the least of which would be deciding on a budget for all this stuff.
They were at the cash register paying for Greer’s new wardrobe and other necessities, like a month’s supply of pull-ups and some more of that baby wash he liked, when something suddenly occurred to Isaac.
“Hey, Sid?”
“Hmm?”
“Where exactly are we going to put all these new clothes for him? Are we going to stick to the original plan and turn the guest room into a nursery?”
Sidney seemed to think about that for a moment. “Gosh. I guess so. To be honest, I really hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“Me either. I guess everything’s zooming right along at whiplash speed, huh?”
“It sure is.” She lifted Greer from the cart and carried him out.
When they left there, they stopped at a small cafe and grabbed some lunch. Greer fell asleep sitting in the booster chair since he’d missed his daily nap, and by the time they got home, he was completely out.
Isaac got him from the car while Sidney got the bags from the trunk. On his way to the front door, Isaac happened to glance toward the street. He did a double take when he noticed his brother Adam’s silver Mercedes parked at the curb.
“Isaac? Our door is open.” Sidney sounded slightly panicked.
“Yeah. Adam’s car is parked on the street, so I’m sure it’s only him or Bree.” His brother and sister-in-law did have a spare key to the house after all, as did Sid’s brother, Simon.
“Oh.” She sounded as confused and curious as he was, and he saw her look toward the car.
“Here. You take Greer and I’ll go in first.”
She set the bags down and they made the awkward exchange with the sleeping boy and then Isaac placed a hand at his back, barely touching the gun he had concealed there, and stepped through the open door.
At the end of the short entry hall he heard their voices.
His brother and sister-in-law were discussing the placement of something. Isaac frowned and walked back to Sidney on the front porch, taking the heavy toddler from her arms.
“I don’t know what they’re doing in there, but it’s just Adam and Bree.”
Sidney smiled, picking up the shopping bags. Then she walked in ahead of him.
In the main hallway Sidney stopped and stared, her mouth open. Isaac stepped past her and understood immediately why she was shocked.
Their hallway was littered with stuff.
Adam grabbed a giant brown and blue stuffed Tyrannosaurus from the hallway and carried it into the home office.
Or what used to be the home office.
Isaac stood in the doorway of the room and gaped. The entire room had been transformed.
The sofa bed and computer desk were gone. In their places was a proper toddler’s bed, complete with dinosaur sheets and bedspread, and a kid sized dresser. There was also a small, colorful kid’s table with two little chairs.
And in the hallway he saw other things, like a brand new stroller, a second car seat, a potty chair, and a baby monitor system. There was also something called furniture anchors and a child proofing kit. And those were just the highlights.
Isaac looked at Sidney and knew immediately that she was as overwhelmed with emotion as he was.
“Oh, my God. You guys!” Sidney sounded near tears.
She entered the room and took it all in while Isaac hung back by the door, still holding Greer in his arms.
“What have you done?” Sidney covered her mouth with her hand as she slowly turned in a circle, looking at everything.
Isaac simply stood and stared, finally meeting Adam’s gaze.
“Well? What do you think, Mutant?”
Isaac cleared his throat. “Um… where’s my computer?”
They all laughed at him, and Isaac smiled.
Bree wrapped an arm around Sidney and looked at him. “We put your computer and desk in that empty back corner of the sunroom.” She looked back at Sidney. “We just wanted to preserve your guest room for company. Especially since Simon will be here next week for Pete’s wedding.”
“Oh. Good thinking.”
“Yeah, but we had to put the sofa bed in storage though. Hope that’s okay?”
“Yes. That’s fine.” Sidney shook her head. “I just really can’t believe that you two did this. The money you must’ve spent—”
“Oh, stop it.” Bree waved a dismissive hand and then looked at Isaac. “You know, Ike, the bed is all made if you want to lay him down.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” He walked over and put Greer down on the bed, removing his shoes and covering him up with a blanket. Then he stood upright and turned to his brother.
“I don’t know what to say, Adam. This is… it’s… too much. You guys are too much.”
“First, no it’s not too much because you guys needed everything and we couldn’t exactly throw you a toddler shower. And second, yes, Bree and I probably are a little too much. We can be overbearing sometimes.”
“You two?” Isaac let the sarcasm drip from his voice. “Really?”
“It’s shocking, I know,” Adam said with a smile.
“Well I don’t believe it.” Isaac grinned and stared at him. “Thanks, man. I don’t know why you did this. I don’t even know how you did it. There’s no way the two of you could’ve moved the furniture and brought in all this new stuff by yourselves. Especially when one of you is with child.”
Adam caressed his own belly, and Bree play punched him in the arm.
“We had a little help in this caper,” Adam acknowledged, and then he nodded in the direction of the hall.
Isaac turned to see his parents, Brock and Audrey, standing in the doorway with his sister, Emily. Emily waved at him, and Sidney rushed forward to hug them all.
“Um, why don’t we clear out of here so the little guy can sleep?” Bree said in a loud whisper.
They all left the room and went out to the sunroom where Isaac inspected his new office view.
“This whole area wasn’t being utilized at all,” Bree was saying, “so there was a lot of space for the desk. And we chose this corner because you can lower this shade so there won’t be any glare on your computer. And you’ve got some empty bookshelves here for your schoolbooks and things, all within easy reach.”
Isaac smiled at his sister-in-law. “Thank you, Bree. That was very thoughtful.”
“And your computer is all ready to go,” Emily chimed in. “I just finished setting it back up.”
“Thanks, Em.” Isaac pulled Sidney in close and glanced around at each of them. “Thank you all. Sid and I truly appreciate your generosity and your thoughtfulness. It means a lot.”
“Well we couldn’t let you two stumble blindly into this new foster parenting adventure without being properly equipped, honey,” Audrey said. “And I want you to know right now that Grandma Audrey is available for babysitting duty anytime. I can’t wait to meet that precious little boy when he wakes up. I’ve heard so much about him from Bree and I can’t wait to spoil him.”
They stood around and talked then about Greer, about his parents’ murder and about next steps in their journey with him. They talked about how Pete was recovering and their excitement over the wedding.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Sidney held up an index finger, “next weekend we will need someone to take charge of Greer during the wedding since we’re both in it.”
“Well, we’re not going to the wedding,” Audrey spoke up, volunteering her services again. “Brock and I will be babysitting Isla that day, so we’d be happy to take Greer too. Wouldn’t we, Brock?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Isaac wasn’t sure his father truly meant that, but he appreciated the effort.
“Hey, where is baby Isla anyway?” Sidney asked.
“She’s with my mom,” Bree replied. “We didn’t want her under foot with all the furniture moving. But I have to say, I’m excited to get her and Greer together for a real play date.”
“I’m excited about a lot of things,” Sidney said, looking over at Isaac.
He took her hand and stared into her eyes. He had no freaking clue how they’d gotten here to this point, and he had zero idea where they were heading. But the one thing he knew with complete and total certainty was that wherever it was, they would get there together.