Another Life

22

"I thought I heard laughter." Jay said, making me turn my head to face him as he came into the room from the kitchen. He watches Macie for a second before looking back to me with a crease in his eyebrows. "What is she doing?"

That was the very question I was asking myself at that moment too.

I chuckle slightly and gently push Macie off of me again, something I had been doing for the past few minutes. I'd push her off, she'd laugh and then come back on. At this point she thought it was a game. Sure enough she does it again and I sigh in defeat, trying not to give Macie the laugh she was looking for because that only encouraged her further and I look back up to Jay with a plead. "Can you keep her off? I can't have her climbing all over me."

Jay nods and moves around the couch, picking Macie up into his arms and spinning around, much to her amusement, before carefully putting her feet back down on the rug. "And what are you doing?" He asks and it takes me a second to realize the question was directed at me.

My gaze lifts to him briefly before I plant it back on to the bump. "They're called kick counts, I told you about them."

"You probably did but it more than likely went straight over my head." He replies honestly as he sits down and all I can do is roll my eyes.

I then explain it to him again, making sure he was paying attention this time because I wasn't going to describe it a third time. "You sit and count how many movements you feel until you reach ten and then keep a record of how long it takes everyday, that way we'll know if he's not moving as much, which could tell us something is wrong. But it's incredibly difficult to do when Macie's using me as a climbing frame because I don't want to do anything to make him kick unless I don't feel anything, I want him to do it on his own, not as a way of saying 'get my sister off of me'." I say, that last bit pointed at Macie, which makes her giggle.

"But isn't that the whole point of having a sibling? Like I swear nothing else good came out of Will in my life just that I was able to annoy the crap outta him." Jay says with a chuckle.

I lean across the couch and playfully hit his arm, making a point to the toddler staring at both of us with a wide grin. "Oi watch your language in front of the child, you know she repeats."

He blows it off with his hand. "She doesn't know what it means, it's fine."

"That's exactly the point, she doesn't know so she'll say it." I add but it doesn't falter either of their grins.

Looking at the two of them smiling like that at me you would easily be able to they were father and daughter, you wouldn't as easily be able to tell otherwise unless you directly knew. Macie was "all me" apparently, from head to toe, from the blue eyes, the blonde wavy hair and height, or lack there of as Adam would say, and we would be told that at every opportunity, from family members and friends to complete random strangers on the street after Macie had greeted them as we passed by - I had once even been asked if Jay was her step-father by someone in the grocery store. The only things that Mae got from Jay was that same wide grin and the subtle freckles that littered her entire frame.

"Fine but if we get called in to the preschool because she's been cursing then you're gonna have to sit down with her teacher and explain what happened." I tell him, forcibly huffing under my breath and looking away from them. If I didn't then I would break out in a smile and I was trying to convince them otherwise.

Jay looks to Macie. "You'd never say it anyway, you're too much of a good girl."

Macie nods, the grin still there. "I am that."

He stands up and leans down, putting a kiss to the top of her head before he runs his hand through her hair. "That you are," he whispers and straightens himself out again. "And you're gonna be a good girl and not climb on mommy anymore, okay? You've gotta be careful because of the baby, remember?" he asks and she nods again, giving him an understanding glint in her eyes. "Good, I'm gonna go finish dinner." He adds and walks out of the room.