Murder was the Case they Gave Me

Chapter 23

I was just getting back into bed after using the bathroom when Mike walked in. I smiled, giving him a hug.

            "Hey, Mike," I said.

            "Hey, I may have brought another little gift," he said.

            I took the box and opened it. Inside was a small rattle. It was definitely older; the paint was chipped at some parts. It had little blue sailboats on them.

            "This was Eli's favorite toy from when he was a baby," Mike said. "He would shake that damn thing until we lost our minds and would scream if we took it away. He loved that thing so much."

            I looked up and saw his eyes filled with tears. It was at that moment that I realized today was Eli's birthday.

            "She's over there in her crib," I said, feeling a lump in my throat. "Clover Beth Thompson."

            Mike went over to pick her up. "Hey there, sweetheart, I'm your grandpa. You can call me G-Dawg."

            I laughed, tears in my eyes.

            "She is so beautiful," he said. "I can still remember the day Eli was born. It feels like it happened yesterday. We were just getting ready for a party and your mom came in dressed like a zombie in full bloody makeup. Her labor was really fast, too. We barely had time to get the makeup off, nurses thought she was in here because of the fake blood that they thought was real. Man, that was the best day of my life."

            "The best day for me was when Clover was born, which was just yesterday but it was still so amazing," I said.

            "She can be the flower girl at your wedding now," he said. "She's got a pretty good name to match. Clover, it's like a flower. Are clovers flowers?"

            "They are," I said. "She is my beautiful little flower."

            I smiled as he rocked her gently.

            "Is anyone else here with you?" He asked as he looked around the empty room.

            "Adrianna is," I said. "She went to go find a vending machine."

            Mike nodded, looking down at his granddaughter again.

            "Today's your dad's birthday," he said to her. "I bet he wishes he were here too. I know he would give anything to be here."

            My eyes stung with tears as he cooed at her. Clover started crying, and he smelled her.

            "It looks like someone needs a diaper change," he said. I started to get up, but he stopped me. "This was my job as a dad, guess it's my job as a grandpa too. You just need to focus on healing."

            He set her down and began changing her diaper.

            "How could a little baby poop so much?" I asked.

            "You should've seen Eli," he said. "He shit like it was a job."

            I giggled as he picked him up.

            "There we go, all better now," he said, kissing her cheek. "No need to cry, sweetheart, it's all going to be okay."

            He held her in his arms, fixing her hat back in place. She was wearing a plain pink onesie that Adrianna had bought her. She couldn't look any more adorable in it.