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Chapter 185

The taste, the touch, the way we love

— Lana Del Rey, Love Song

. . . .

"Come here, big guy."

Harry leans down to scoop up eight-month-old Max from the grass in the back garden at my dad's house. He's holding the baby in one arm while he digs around in the baby bag for the kid-friendly sunscreen. George runs around Harry, trying to get the two boys' attention back on him. Dad calls for the awaiting dog and plucks the slobbery ball from his mouth and throws it across the grass. Mason runs alongside George, racing to see who can get it first. Meanwhile, Harry stands Max up on his feet while I hold his soft little hand to keep him stable. His father slathers sunscreen over the little boy's skin then scoops him up into his arms.

Harry's bouncing Max in his arms and my parents and I glance over at the little boy when he starts whining and making noises. He makes a squeezing motion towards his little elephant by my thigh. Harry hands him off to me, thinking the baby wants his mum, but when I hold the toy within arms reach, Max clutches it and puts it to his mouth.

"He gets cuter every single day," Bonnie smiles at our baby.

"Thank you. He really is the cutest little thing I've ever seen," I say to her.

Dad stands up to get the hose for the kiddie pool they surprised us with for when we bring the baby over. Harry kneels down in front of me and tries to work around Max holding his toy to help him out of his blue shorts and striped shirt. Bonnie holds up the pair of tiny swim trunks with green and blue turtles printed on them.

"Look at these, Max," Harry says excitedly to the baby and pulls them up his chunky legs. "Do you want to swim?"

We try to distract him with a different water-safe toy to interchange the two. His focus goes to the yellow duck in my hand, and Harry sneakily hides his elephant in the bag.

"Alright, Max. Your pool's ready," Dad says and pushes the plastic pool closer towards our chairs at the edge of the patio.

"Can I get in with him?" Mason asks.

"Yeah, sure," Harry responds. "If it's okay with your mum."

Bonnie lets him, and Mason runs into the house to put on his swim trunks. Harry sits down outside of the pool and stands Max up in the cool water. Max makes some babbling sounds and bends down to dunk his hand in the water. He squeals enthusiastically when he kicks his foot into the water and it splashes upward. Harry's holding him upright then coaxes him to sit down in the pool. Max plops down in the water and splashes his little arms around. He giggles when George steps his front paws in and scoops up the water with his paw. The baby starts happily blowing raspberries, the spit bubbling up over his little lips.

"He sure is a water baby," Bonnie points out.

"He gets that from his daddy," I reply, sitting down in the grass in front of my chair and dipping my hand in the water. "Can you stand up, buddy?"

I hold onto his hands and stand him up. He looks to me and smacks his lips together, a mix between surprise and joy lighting up his adorable face. I mimic the same look back to him and poke his belly. His glorious giggles are like music to my ears. He takes stiff steps along the edge of the pool between me and Harry.

The day he started crawling was a big highlight for me. I got so emotional when he pulled himself forward and started crawling to me. We were at Anne's house in the living room, spending a casual day visiting so Max could take a bit of time bonding with his grandparents. He was on his hands and knees in front of Harry then slowly began to crawl to me. I bathed that child in so many kisses. I was beyond proud of this little boy. He's objectively perfect.