Mistakes We Made (Wattys2016)

Chapter Seven

Emma's POV

"Ma me have?" John held up a picture of a dog that was in a magazine I had gotten in the mail a few days before.

"You want a dog?" I raised an eyebrow at him. He nodded his head vigorously.

"Peas?"

"We'll see." I told him. I swung him up onto my hip. He was walking around in just a diaper. It was unusually hot that day, I had put John in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, but he had taken them off in a matter of minutes. "Let's go play out side."

After I put plenty of sun screen on him, I placed his bare feet on the ground and he took off toward his toys. I took a seat in one of the chairs and watched him. I was thinking about John's question. A dog wasn't a bad idea, but I didn't want one inside my house. I already had to clean up after a baby, I didn't need to have to worry about cleaning up after a puppy. I figured that I could get one that could stay outside if I got a dog house for it.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't even notice that a truck had pulled up into my yard. The driver was already stepping out when I finally snapped back to life. It took me a second, before I recognized the person as Kade McCauley. It had been a few days since I had last seen him.

"I was hoping that you'd be here." He said as he walked over to me.

"If I'm not at work I'm almost always here." I informed him as he took the seat next to me.

"Ma! Look!" John called out. Kade and I turned our attention to him. Kade began to laugh and I tried not to smile.

"John Michael Alexander where is your diaper!" I exclaimed. He was standing on the side of his sandbox, completely naked with a big grin on his face. He held his diaper up in the air for me to see. "Come here."

He grinned even wider and began to run across the yard. I jumped up out of my chair and began to chase him. John let out a laugh, this was fun to him. I swooped down and grabbed him up.

"You silly boy, you can't run around naked. You have to wear a diaper." I told him.

"No diaper." He scrunched up his nose.

"Kade, I'm gonna have to rinse him off in the tub, he's got dirt all over him." I turned back to my guest. "Why don't you come inside, it'll only take a few minutes."

"Sure." He smiled and followed me in.

"Kay." John pointed to Kade.

"That's right. I'm Kade." He smiled at my son, clearly impressed that John remembered him.

"John." My son pointed to himself. Kade laughed.

"And you're John." The toddler gave him a nod.

"He's a smart kid." Kade complimented him.

"I think so." I smiled at him. "Make your self at home. There is lemonade, tea and juice in the fridge if you're thirsty."

"Thank you." He sat down on the couch. I tossed him the remote for the television, then took John down the hall and stuck him the bathtub so I could clean all the sand off of him.

After John was clean and dressed, with strict orders to not take his clothes back off, we went back into the living room. Kade looked out of place in my living room in his Khakis and button down. He must've came straight to my house after he had gotten off of work.

"Sorry about that." I told him as I sat down on my couch. John was digging around in his toy box.

"You don't have to apologize, he's your kid." Kade looked over at my little boy and smiled.