Kevin and I settled into the waiting area which was really very comfortable. The girl brought over our drinks in disposable paper cups and I realized that she couldn’t have been any older than Kevin. So I asked her, “Where do you go to school?”
“Memorial High School,” she said, “I’m a rising sophomore.”
“Yep,” I thought same age as Kevin, could even be younger.” “How is it you’re working here.”
“It’s my mom’s place, so we can bend the labor laws a bit….How about Kevin where does he go to school?” She asked me.
“He’s new in town and is starting at St. Albert’s once school begins.”
“Wow, Kevin, I’ll bet you’re excited!”
Kevin looked at her and nodded.
“Bit shy? That’s okay. You are a real cutie. You’re going to be fighting the girls off when you’re older. If you were my age…” she got cut off because the barber had just walked over and said, “Lara, is this my 11:00 appointment?”
We all moved over the first snail and I helped Kevin in. The barber smiled at Kevin and said “Hi, Kevin, I’m Dominic. You’re not afraid are you?…No?…Good…What are we looking for in a haircut?” This last question was directed at me.
I looked at Kevin, “You don’t want a crew cut, do you?”
Kevin looked at me and violently shook his head. “So,” I said, “no crew cut.” I pointed at a picture of a little boy with moderately short hair parted on the side. “How about that?” Kevin said “Yes, please.”
I pointed it out to Dominic. “Great, I love doing the classic cuts. Everybody does these trendy things. It’s like they want to make the little guys look like hipster Mini-Me’s. If I see one more toddler wearing a fedora, I’ll puke.” he laughed. “Now you can either stay and watch or you can be sit and be comfortable either way, I’ll need about a half an hour.”
“I think I’ll sit…Will you be okay, buddy” I asked Kevin. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. I kissed him on the forehead and walked back to the sitting area. I heard Dominic saying, “So is she your girlfriend? Does she have an older sister?” And I heard Kevin laughing. Good start I thought.
I wandered over to the girls’ section and was looking at the stuff in the boutique thinking I should probably get some stuff for the nieces and nephews before we head to the Cape tomorrow. Everything was so pink! I picked up some really girly-girl hair decorations and costume jewelry and went over to the register to pay. Lara was manning the register and asked me who these things for. I told her that Kevin and I were going up to Cape Cod and I wanted to bring some stuff for the little nieces and nephews.
“Is Kevin your brother?” she asked.
“Cousin.” I said in reply.
“I thought there was a family resemblance. He really is cute. You’re very pretty too. I wish I had hair like yours.”
“Thanks,” I said. “It’s nice of you to say that.”
“Say, do you want to get your nails done while you’re waiting for Kevin?”
“Err…”
“Don’t worry we’ve got grownup colors, too. I’ll get Maria over to help you out if you’re interested.”
“Sure, thanks.” I said.
So, about 20 minutes later I had one of the nicest nail jobs since my senior prom and Kevin was freshly shorn. I walked over to see him. He looked absolutely adorable and even younger than I was used to seeing him.
“Wow, you look really handsome” I said as I picked him up out of the snail chair and lowered him into the wheel chair. Then to Dominic I said, “Great job! Thanks.”
“Thanks, it was a pleasure. Your cousin is a very nice boy. He told me a lot about you. Good luck at Hopkins next year!”
I went over to the register to settle up and then rolled Kevin out of the shop. “You two had a nice little conversation.” I said.
“It was funny, he was really easy to talk to…Before we do anything else, could you take me to the bathroom?”
I got Kevin to the family restroom and he had no trouble getting to the toilet and taking care of business. “This is promising!” I said to him.
“Yeah! I really want to do pull ups tonight instead of diapers.” Then he chuckled, “I don’t think to many rising freshmen make statements like that.”
“Nope.” I laughed.
Before we left the mall, we stopped in the Lego shop and I picked up a supply of age appropriate toys for my nephews. You can say all you want about gender neutral toys. Little girls like jewelry and little boys like Lego. We made a stop at the supermarket to pick up supplies for dinner and then headed home.
It was already about 3:00 when we pulled in the drive way. I suggested Kevin take a little nap before our guests arrived, he agreed right away. I think the anti-biotics were making him a bit drowsy. After a quick trip to the bathroom where Kevin again was dry and able to use the toilet, I laid him down on his bed for a nap telling him I’d wake him in an hour. This gave me an hour of quiet to get things ready for our little party.
Chapter 40
Just as I closed the door on Kevin’s room, the phone rang. It was Ashley asking if it was alright for her and Heather and Mark to come at 5:00 rather than 6:00. “Mark,” she said, “was having some issues and he needs to be home earlier than we planned.” She told me she’d fill me in once they got there. I told her it wasn’t a problem at all. Then she asked, “Do you like mocha?” I told her I did and she said great.
Getting dinner together was easy, it was going to be a barbecue of burgers, hot dogs, salad, and corn on the cob on the back patio. So, I began by putting away everything that I thought might be embarrassing for Kevin if Ashley, Heather, and Mark were to find them – bottles, pacifiers, bibs, sippy cups, but I left the Legos and the toy cars nearby figuring it might be good for entertaining Mark.
At 4:15, I went into Kevin’s room to wake him. He was lying on top of his covers curled into a ball with his thumb in his mouth. The thumb sucking gets me every time I see it. It is so adorable and seems so natural for him. I made a mental note to ask Terri about his thumb sucking the next time I talk to her. I leaned over a gave Kevin a little nudge on the shoulder. “Time to get up, buddy.” I said.
“Mmmhmm.” he said as his eyes fluttered open. Then he realized that he was sucking his thumb. He looked up at me I could see he was beginning to blush. I winked at him and said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything.”
He grimaced, “I don’t normally do that…Do I?”
“Pretty much ever time I’ve woken you up.” I said.
Now he was really blushing.
“After what we’ve been through together, that’s embarrassing you?” I laughed.
Now he chuckled. “That is kind of silly, I guess.”
“C’mon. Do you need the bathroom?”
“Yes, please.”
I hoisted him on my hip and carried him to the bathroom. When I got his diaper off, it was completely dry. “This is good,” I said, “you haven’t leaked a drop all day. The infection must be passing. Do you want to try wearing a Goodnite and boxers instead of a Pamper while our guests are here?”
“I’d prefer just boxers…but that probably is taking too much of a chance. So, yes, please.” Kevin responded.
“I think that’s a good choice. Be right back,” I said and walked up to Kevin’s room and collected the needed supplies.
Once Kevin was dressed, I gave him a once over and told him, “You can’t even tell that you’ve got the Goodnite on.”
“I really hope you’re right.”
“Oh, nearly forgot, The Dunns are coming over at 5:00, not six.”
“How come?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, Ashley called and asked if it was okay. She said Mark was having ‘issues’ and needed to be home earlier. I told her it wasn’t a problem.”
“Fine.” Kevin shrugged.
“Actually, it’s good because we can take a quick shot over to the mall after dinner now and see about getting you some of the clothes you need for the Cape. I was going to do it in the morning, but this will take some of the pressure off.”
“Sounds good to me.” Kevin said.
We took care of the last few things we needed for dinner. Actually, I took care of them and Kevin sat on one of the stools telling me where everything was. He definitely wanted to help more, but his immobility made that impossible.
As I was chopping up some vegetables for the salad, I said “So, tell me about Ashley and Heather.”
I glanced over at Kevin to see he was blushing. I smiled and said, “Well…?”
“They are just girls from Church.” he stammered.
“Really?” I teased, “Is that all?”
“Well, they are both really pretty. And Ashley is really sweet. Heather is nice too, but she’s kind of silly. Ashley is going to be a senior at St. Albert’s and Heather is a rising sophomore. I met Ashley when they had orientation for new students at St. Albert’s she was in charge of my group.”
“And Mark?” I asked.
Kevin smiled, “He’s their little brother. I didn’t know they were related until I saw them all in Church together. He’s a really nice little guy.”
“How old is he?” I asked.
“I think he’s about 7, but he’s kind of like me and really small for his age.”
“Does he go to St. Albert’s, too?”
No, he’s in special needs program at the public school. He was adopted by the Dunns when he was an infant. His mom drank a lot when she was expecting him and he has…shoot, I forget what it’s called.”
“Fetal alcohol syndrome?” I supplied.
“Yeah, that’s it. Mom said it’s a mild form of it, but he’s never really going to grow up.”
“He does gymnastics though?” I asked.
“Yeah, well, kind of not really. Our coach took a bunch of us to his school for an exhibition. He liked it so much he begged his mom and dad to let him take lessons. Coach is a really good guy and he couldn’t say no, so Mark comes to practices and exhibitions and he suits up like the rest of us and some of the older guys and I help him with some of the tumbling stuff. He likes it and, well, he is a nice little guy.”
“That’s really nice.” I said.
“Oh, just so you’re prepared, Mark’s a hugger.”
We finished everything up and I moved Kevin over to the couch to await our guests.