The Interview • Chris Evans

The Interview, Take Two

In so many ways, your life was surreal. A series of events that were happening to someone else.

Sometimes, late at night, you'd lie awake and pinch yourself, unconvinced that you hadn't hallucinated the whole thing. But then Chris would snore softly, or the dogs would shift on the bed, or your son would coo through the baby monitor, and it all felt so wonderfully real.

Your phone pinged from the counter, pulling you out of your thoughts. Picking up a dish cloth to dry your hands, not needing an excuse to ignore the dishes, you swiped open the message. It was Chris, of course, checking in. Though you knew he was also letting out his pre interview jitters.

Smiling, you put the phone down, debating returning to the dishes but deciding they could wait. Instead, you grabbed the baby monitor before carefully creeping upstairs, the sound of the white noise machine getting louder as you approached the nursery. You pushed open the door just a crack, letting the gentle light from the hallway wash over the room. The sight before you had your heart clenching in your chest. You were admittedly a bit nervous, that Chris would be showing off this part of your lives to the public, but he was just so damn happy to be a dad that you couldn't blame him.

Closing the door again, you padded down to the bedroom, finding a Zeppelin shaped lump under your duvet. Placing the baby monitor on the bedside table, you crawled into bed, snuggling under the covers and chuckling when Zeppelin wiggled closer, seeking out your warmth.

Your eyes sagged, heavy with the exhaustion of being a new parent and having been without Chris for the last week. Before you made the conscious decision to have a nap, you were fast asleep.

-

A noise woke you, putting you on high alert as you sat up abruptly. When you didn't immediately hear the sounds of Theo's wailing you relaxed, slumping back down on the pillows. You felt like you'd been asleep for hours, but that was impossible. If it had been hours, you would have been woken up by a hungry baby already. Reaching for the baby monitor, you waited for Theo's sweet, sleeping face to come into view.

Instead, an empty crib stared back at you.

Throwing the covers off, you scrambled out of bed, barely noticing that Zeppelin hadn't been snuggled up beside you. Heart racing and a fist sized lump in your throat, you ran down the hall, pushing open the nursery door. Empty.

Panic like you'd never felt before pushed at your feet as you barrelled downstairs. You couldn't think straight, didn't even know where you were going. Your foot hit the bottom step when Theo's delighted laugh floated from the kitchen, your legs nearly buckling with relief. Taking a few deep breaths to steady yourself, you rounded the corner, taking in the scene.

The sink full of dishes were drying on the counter, something that smelled fantastic was bubbling on the stove, the dogs were asleep in their dog beds, and Theo was in his highchair, his laugh shrill as Carson made airplane noises while flying a spoon around.