Pride

2

"Hi, I'm Dan. We spoke on the phone."
"Hi, nice to meet you. I don't think I said my name on the phone; I'm Phil." He shook my hand.
"Hi," I smiled.
"Please, come in." He opened the door and let me into his flat. I walked in, carried in hand. "Whoa..."
"What?" I asked.
"Did you forget to mention that a baby would be joining you?" he chuckled.
"Oh, yeah... if a baby is a deal breaker I can find another place to stay."
"How old are you?" he asked.
"I turned seventeen yesterday..."
"Wow, you're young..."
"Yeah," I blushed.
"How olds the baby?"
"A week."
"Wow, she's so tiny. Does she have a name?"
"Not yet," I said.
"Well, I think she's just adorable."
"Thanks," I pursed my lips.
"Okay, so I will let you live here on a few conditions."
"Yes! Oh my god, I'll agree to anything; I'm so desperate for a place."
"Here me out," he laughed. "One: you have two months to get a job or I'm kicking you out. You have to be able to pull your weight and that kids."
"Done. What else?"
"Two: I am not going to take care of the baby. I'm here when you need me, but I will not play some babysitter when you get a booty call."
"Okay, sounds reasonable. Anything else?"
"Three: you will not bring any one night stands home while I am here. Got it?"
"Yeah, I got it."
"Those are all the rules I have for you. Do they sound simple enough?"
"Yes... thank you so much."
"Don't mention it. Let me show you your room. Also, I hope you weren't expecting a room for the kid, 'cause this is only a two bedroom flat."
"She can bunk with me; thank you."
"Stop saying thank you; the more you say it, the more it loses its meaning."
"Okay, sorry," I said.
"C'mon."

He showed me the tiny apartment; it wasn't much, but it was something. When he got to my room, the only thing I could think was: where's the crib going to go?

"Hey Phil."
"Yeah?"
"Do you think I could take that desk out?"
"Why?"
"Cause I need room for the baby's crib."
"Oh, yeah! Okay, that makes sense. I'll get it out when you move in. When's that gonna be, by the way?"
"I actually have a lot of my stuff with me already."
"Oh... that's kinda weird, but okay."
"My mum kicked me out so, ha... kinda had to take it."
"I totally get it. If you want, I can stare at the baby and make sure she doesn't die while you unpack your car. Or, we could even take turns so you don't die of exhaustion."
"I like the second option."
"Oh, also, you need to go down to the front desk guy and ask to buy a parking spot so you don't get towed."
"I'll go do that right now."
"Take my key so you can get back in the building."
"Thanks... I like how trusting you are. For all you know, I could be a serial killer," I teased.
"If you are one, then you must be a softy."
"Why do you say that?" I laughed.
"Cause you're carrying around this adorable little baby and a bunch of her pink stuff. You're not exactly macho," he giggled. "Also, you really need to name her."
"Yeah, I probably should do that. I'm gonna start getting the stuff in my car."
"I'll be here. Wanna give me the kid?" he smirked.
"Oh yeah, sorry."

I set down the nappy bag and handed him the carrier. He set the carrier down on the breakfast bar and left the nappy sack on the floor. While I was nervous leaving a complete stranger with the kid, I didn't stress too much; if PJ says he's cool it must be true.

After unloading everything I brought and shoving it in Phil's lounge, I found him playing with the baby's feet. She was blankly staring at him as he did a silly voice and played with her feet.

"Who's a cutie? You are! Yes you are, little miss!"
"She likes you," I observed.
"All kids like me," he shrugged.
"That's a little egotistical, don't you think?" I teased.
"Well, I'm a student teacher at a primary school. I have yet to meet a kid that doesn't like me."
"Hm," I hummed. "Are there any names of your students that you think would fit her?"
"Oh gosh," be sighed. "Eleanor?"
"No."
"Emily?"
"No."
"Cassidy?"
"No, no, no!"
"Why not Cassidy?" he laughed.
"Cause that's the baby's mum. I fucking hate her."
"Watch your mouth around the kid," he said.
"Oh yeah... anymore suggestions?"
"How 'bout Charlotte?"
"Huh... I like that..." I stared at the sleepy girl. "Charlotte... do you like that name? Cause daddy likes that name."
"Phil likes it too," he chuckled.
"Charlotte it is," I whispered. "How about a middle name?"
"What about Hope?"
"Charlotte Hope Howell... I like that a lot."
"The flow is really nice," Phil grinned. "She's absolutely gorgeous, Dan."
"I'd say thanks, but I don't know how much I contributed to her yet," I joked.
"You're kinda funny, y'know that?"
"Thanks," I blushed.
"So where do you go to school?"
"It's a few towns over."
"What grade are you in?"
"I'm going to be in my thirteenth year when school starts up again."
"Oh wow, so you're graduating? That's cool."
"Yep..."
"Have you looked at any university's yet?"
"No. Which one do you go to?"
"Manchester; hence why I live in Manchester."
"Ah, that makes sense," I said. "Would you recommend it?"
"Yeah, it's a good school. There's a lot of good internship programs."
"Cool, I'll look into it."
"Awesome; do you wanna start unpacking?"
"Sure," I said. "A lot of it's baby stuff... my mum gave me everything that was in the attic and sent me off. So I just stuffed what I could in the car and drove off. Actually, I think only one of these boxes has my stuff in it."
"Just by that one statement I can tell you're gonna be a good dad."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you're putting your daughter before yourself, just like a good dad should do."
"Never looked at it that way..."
"I can put the furniture together, if you want. You can unpack the clothes and sort out the shelves you need for bottles and formula and such."
"Okay, cool, thanks. I'll get right in it."
"Cool," he beamed. "So how do you plan on getting the rest of your belongings?"
"I'll probably just stop by my house, say why I'm there, grab my stuff, and go."
"Sounds like a solid plan."
"I know, right?"