Making the Worst of a Good Situation

Homecoming

Chapter 24

I woke up with Connor in one arm and his empty bottle in another. Connor was hiccuping. I put him over my shoulder to burp him.

It was about 5am now. Connor finnally burped. I layed him down in his crib and he drifted off to sleep. He makes falling asleep look so easy when I can't.

I went downstairs and started to brew some coffee. While that brewed I went back upstairs and put on my sneakers. Chase was still fast asleep so I decided to go for a run. I'd lost most of the babyweight but running had become a habit for me now.

It was still pretty dark outside but the sun would be rising soon. I ran on the beach for a few miles before I decided to head back. Listening to the sounds of the waves as I ran was the only peace and quiet I got all day since I convinced Chase that he could go to work and leave Connor with me. For the first week all he did was take care of Connor refusing to miss a moment of his life. I guess he felt worse than I thought for missing the birth.

By the time I got home it was 7 and the sun had risen and Chase was awake.

"Sheilah you know I don't like you jogging when it's still dark." he said as I came inside "I worry about you." he looked at me concerned. He was already dressed for work and handed me a cup of coffee.

"I just need to get out of the house sometimes. It's like I'm here all day." I said.

"Don't worry. I'll take tomorrow off and we'll go out." he hugged me and kissed me. "I gotta go to work. I love you."

"I love you too." I said as he closed the door and left.

***

Connor was laying in his bouncer cooing at the toys that dangled above. I sat on the floor reading a storybook to him when my phone rang. It was a number I hadn't seen before.

"Hello?" I answered

"Sheilah my love. How are you?"

"Paige? I haven't heard from you in a while. How are you?" I asked.

"I'm actually outside your place right now. Come open up." she said but I'd already rushed to the front door and hugged Paige tightly.

"That was fast." she said hugging me back.

"It would've been faster if you'd have rang the doorbell." I said letting her go and smiling at her.

"Who rings doorbells anymore? That's what cellphones are for." she rolled her eyes. She was dressed from head to toe in designer clothes. "Are you going to let me in? I wanna see Connor." she said as she let herself in.

I shut the door behind her and followed her inside. She'd already picked up Connor and was cooing over him.

"When's the last time you combed your hair Sheilah? It looks like a crow's nest.." I touched my messy hair.

"And why are you wearing sweatpants this late in the day? Won't Chase be home soon? Shouldn't you get dressed up for him and make him dinner?" she bombarded me with questions.

"Why are you interrogating me?" I asked defensively

"Because Sheilah you have the perfect life. The perfect man. The perfect house. The perfect child. And you're sitting around in sweats like you don't have a purpose. I just don't get it. When's the last time you did something spontaneous or something?" She asked.

"I don't know sometime before I got pregnant I guess." I shrugged. Paige rolled her eyes and dramatically turned around.

"Well what am i supposed to do? This isn't a sitcom where everything is always happy and exciting. Life is tough and being in a relationship with a kid is hard. I can't balence the time." I admitted defeated.