Fifty Shades of Fatherhood

Chapter 20

Christian had made phone calls after breakfast. I am sure working on his work dilemma and prepping Mrs. Jones for our arrival. When we arrived at Escala, Christian and Taylor had only stayed long enough to drop Teddy and me off. They rode up the elevator with us to make sure we entered safely, then Taylor had handed Mrs. Jones our luggage. Christian asked Mrs. Jones to make sure we had everything we needed, then they left. It felt odd being back here, and although everything was identical, it felt oppressive like I had lost a piece of me to Escala. Mrs. Jones gave me curious looks, and I don't think she knew how to address me or what was happening between Christian and I. Truthfully, I was unclear. After an awkward period where we just stared at me other, she finally threw her arms around me, wiping tears from her eyes. "Welcome back, Mrs. Grey." She peeled herself off of me, apologizing for her unprofessionalism. Teddy peeked around my legs, watching Mrs. Jones. I did not have any photos of her to show Teddy, so he did not have any idea who she was. She smiled at him, and he gave her one of his heart, stopping lopsided grins. "He is beautiful," she said as she wiped another tear. Mrs. Jones rarely showed emotion, and I wrapped my arms around her, whispering I had missed her. We held each other for a moment before Teddy started babbling, becoming comfortable with Mrs. Jones.

She reached down, picking him up. "I have a surprise for you." His eyes lit up. Ryan and Zach were always bringing him surprises, and he was keen on the word. I followed as she led us to a kid's room just down from the master suite. Christian did not use this room when I lived here. It was a storage closet, but it was all cleaned out, and a dinosaur mural adorned the wall in vibrant colors. The room smelled of fresh paint, and two gentlemen were assembling a toddler bed and dresser when we arrived. The bed looked like a brontosaurus, and the mattress lies in the belly of the dinosaur. The long neck had a ladder to view through the dinosaur eyes, which had binoculars that distorted everything, then the tail of the dinosaur was a slide. Teddy giggled as he peered at everything through the lenses then sat sliding down the tail. He wailed as the adults just watched in fascination. When I looked at Mrs. Jones, she had just shrugged, "this is the best I could do on short notice." She then pointed to the hallway where several more boxes sat. Not sure what they contained, but my goodness not sure one little boy needed so much. I smiled, thanking her for the room. It looked fantastic. I was taken aback Christian, and I had not discussed what our long term plans were. I was surprised he had put thought on a bedroom for Teddy.

Mrs. Jones left Teddy and me to play in his new room, and I unpacked his clothes and things. I put Teddy to bed early. It had been a long day of travel and excitement for him. Christian was not home, and I was unsure of where to sleep. At my place, he stayed with me, but that initially was because of the lack of options. Escala has plenty of options. Although it was fairly early in Seattle, my body was still on east coast time. Mrs. Jones came by to ask if I needed anything before heading to her end of the apartment when I nodded no, she handed me a baby monitor. "I set this up, not sure how Teddy will react to being in a new place if he wakes up." I nodded and bid her goodnight.

Although I was tired, I was not presumptuous to climb in Christians bed. I grabbed the baby monitor and my suitcase and headed to the top of the stairs and opened the bedroom that had been mine when we were trying the whole sub and dominant relationship. The room was still stark white. However, there were photos of me everywhere. Most of them from our honeymoon and photos Christian had taken with the camera I had bought him. I looked over most of them, trying to determine why they filled the space. Admiring the photos of us was fun, but I, too, was drained. I changed clothes climbing under the covers, falling asleep instantaneously. I woke confused the next morning, a little disoriented. Then I remembered I was back at Escala and remembering the photos of me everywhere. Only they were now gone. I looked down at the blue floral comforter I had picked out right before I left Christian. I was in Christian's room. How did I get here? I listened and heard the shower running, and I peeled the comforter back so I could check on Teddy. Christian emerged just as I was cinching the belt on my robe. "Good morning, where are you headed?" I was going to check on Teddy. "Teddy is adjusting just fine. We had breakfast together, and Mrs. Jones is playing with him."