The rest of the morning was pretty mellow. Kevin was kind of subdued and so was I. I think Kevin saw that he had been acting like a bit of a brat and I knew that I had been kind of snippy with him. I tidied up the kitchen while Kevin watched TV. I looked out at him a couple of times and saw that he was sucking on his thumb again and looking thoughtful. He was so cute. It’s funny, I’d much rather see a happy little kid, but there is something adorable about a sad little boy. I figured we ought to make peace.
I went back and got a pacifier and bottle that had been delivered that morning. I gave both of them a good rinse and then filled the bottle with some milk and popped it in the fridge and dropped the binky into the pocket of the apron I had on. I walked over the Kevin and dropped down on the couch next to him and draped my arm over his shoulder.
“Hi, buddy.” I said.
“Hi.” he said back as he snuggled into me. “I’m sorry about before.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“I’m not sure I want to play baby anymore. It’s fun, but I think it’s making me selfish and bratty.”
“I don’t think so. I think you’re a sweetheart. I was kind of grumpy this morning. It shouldn’t have happened the way it did. Besides, I am having fun, too.”
“So, what do you want to do now?”
“Well, I told your mom I’d take care of cleaning things up this week, so I’ve got some work to do.”
“What about the service?” Kevin asked.
“Your mom got a call that the service was short handed this week and couldn’t send anyone. So I said I’d take care of it. It’s just a little vacuuming and dusting.” I actually like cleaning, in moderation. I enjoy the quiet and the time it gives me to be alone with my thoughts.
“I’d help if I could.” Kevin said.
“I know. You’ve got one of the cleanest rooms I’ve ever seen, at least for a teenage boy.”
“I don’t like things messy.”
“Really?” I smirked. “How about your pants?”
“Funny.” Kevin responded. “I’ve got to go, now that you mention it. Could you help me out?”
“Your wish is my command.” I said as I picked him up.
I brought him to the bathroom and we went through our usual routine of my taking of his diaper for him and settling him on the throne. I went out of the bathroom while he was taking care of things and looked around to see if there was any other laundry that needed doing. While I was down the hall, I heard Kevin shout, “Carrie, could you bring some more toilet paper. We’re out.”
“Sure.” I yelled back and stopped in the linen closet where Terri kept the bathroom supplies. Then I had a thought and grabbed the package of wipes I had in my diaper bag. When I came into the bathroom, Kevin was waiting for the toilet paper and he looked a little impatient.
“Thanks,” he said as he reached for the roll of paper.
“Not so fast.” I said. “You haven’t been doing a really good job keeping clean lately.”
“I know,” he kind of whined, “it’s not my fault. I can’t get the hang of doing it lefty.”
“I figured as much. So, I’ll take care of you.”