Growing up too fast

Chapter 26

The next day, a Saturday, I wake up at 6 in the morning and it's still fairly dark out. The sun is just coming up, and even though every part of me wants to roll over and go back to sleep, I know it's not gonna happen.
I was up all night, worrying about today. What I'd say to him, what he'd say to me, thinking up hypothetical conversations. I didn't fall asleep until 4, which means I got a whole 2 hours of rest.
I quietly tip-toe into the hallway and crack open the door of the nursery, and Isaac's eyes seem to glow in the dim light when they meet mine. He's rolling around in his crib and playing with some little toy that my mom must've left for him and kicking his feet, obviously more energized than me.
"Look who's up!" I say, lifting him from his crib onto my hip. I make my way downstairs, trying not to wake anybody up, but Ellis is already watching TV on the couch, and Maggie is beside her drinking coffee and tapping away on her laptop.
"Hi guys." I say, plopping Isaac into his swing and going into the kitchen to warm up a bottle. Ellis climbs off the couch and rushed beside Isaac, tickling his tummy and giggling with him. Ell absolutely loves playing with the baby, since she's always been the little one.
Andrew and my mom both took the day off, so they're still asleep.
"Morning Zozo! I heard a certain someone is coming over today." aunt Maggie says, casually.
"Is it uncle Alex?" Ellis squeals.
"...Not quite." I say.
Over the next hour or so, I feed and change Isaac and get him dressed. By this point, I've gotten pretty good about getting his clothes on quickly, because he squirms around and tries to yank them off. I put on a plain white onesie first, then a pair of sweatpants and a matching shirt.
I get myself dressed too, and spend the rest of the morning downstairs playing with Issac. By 10, everyone is awake and hanging out downstairs. Amelia left to check on a patient a bit ago, but I'm not totally convinced she didn't just say that as an excuse to go to work on her day off. She's a little obsessed. But then again, so is... literally everyone from the hospital.
When the doorbell rings at noon, I'm not surprised, but shocked unprepared nonetheless. The baby is bouncing on my lap, playing with some kind of rattle toy that he keeps hitting me in the head with.
Everyone looks to me, waiting for me to do something.
"I'll get it." I say in a reluctant tone, carrying baby Issac with me.
I open the door and Micheal stands on the other side of the glass, hands in his pockets. He's looking at the ground, but when he looks up and sees me his face lights up and he pulls me into a hug.
At first, I'm not really sure how I feel about it, and I awkwardly stand there, one arms at my side and the other holding Isaac,waiting for him to let go. But I give in and warp my free arm around him, too.
"I missed you." He says.
"Um... do you want to come in?" I ask, doing my best to avoid admitting I missed him too.
He comes inside, and I notice a black SUV parked on the side of the road in front of our house.
"Is that your dad? You can invite him in, if you want."
"Uh... sure." He says, waving at the man in the car and motioning for him to come inside. The door of the car opens and a tall, bald man gets out. He doesn't look much like Isaac at all; his skin is darker, his frame is wider, and he wears thin wire-framed glasses.
He smiles at me in the doorway, and it's only then, in his wide, cocky grin, that I see the resemblance.
I invite them both inside, and suddenly I feel like a guest in my own home, awkward and unsure of what to do with myself.
"Uh, th...this is Isaac. He's a little over 6 months, but he's a little small for his age because he was born prematurely." I say to his father.
Micheal reaches out to take Isaac, and I gladly let him. Regardless of any feelings of resentment or forgiveness I have towards Micheal, the goal was always to have Isaac's father in his life.
My parents get up and shake hands with Micheal's father, and he introduces himself as Oliver. I'm a little nervous about him being here, since the last time Isaac met one of his grandparents started a custody suit. But I can tell behind the hard worry lines on his face that he's kind.
The adults in the room get to talking, and Micheal and I sit in the corner of the room where the baby's toys are strewn across the floor.
Neither of us say much for a little while, but Isaac's babbles and the conversation in the background keeps us from awkward silence. Eventually, I can't take the sense of unfamiliarity lingering between us; I want everything to be the way it was before, where we could talk. About anything at all, really.
"How have you been?" I say in attempt to start up some sort of conversation.
"Fine. My dad owns a car shop further down south, I've been helping him there."
"So...you're going back."
"I don't really have a choice. We'll be in town for a few days, but then it's back home. My dad lives a few towns away, and I live with my dad-"
"Stay." I interject. I feel almost as surprised at my own comment as he looks. "I mean, here, with us. You can just  come back to school here, and Isaac will keep going to daycare at the hospital. Then Issac can have both of his parents, and, you know... we can go back to the way it was before."
"Really? Do you think your family would be okay with it?"
"They'll...adjust?" I say, laughing. "I'll talk to her later tonight." I say.
A few hours later, everything is winding down, and our guests are getting ready to leave. Isaac fell asleep in his play pen, and Micheal and I got to talking.
My mom walks Oliver out to his car, saying goodbye and what not. Everyone else is asleep, and we start to walk towards the door as he gets ready to leave.
"I'll talk to my mom tonight. And I'll call later, let you know how it goes." I say. He nods and goes quiet.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye." I say sadly, looking at the ground.
"Yeah. I guess so." I say, and he turns to leave. "Zola?"
"Yeah?"
Without saying another word, he leans in, puts his hands on my waist, and gives me a kiss. It only lasts a few seconds as to avoid our parents seeing, but I feel all over long after he pulls away.
"Night." He says, walking out the door.