She noticed Orlando smirking strangely, but she didn’t comment. Instead, she went on because, even if he thought this was amusing, it wasn’t a good way to start by breaking some of the cardinal rules. She went over the kinds of foods he should be introducing first, as she prepared his cereal, among other feeding do’s and don’ts.
“You wanna try and feed him in the same place as much as possible. Get him used to it so he knows when he’s sitting in the highchair, say in the dining room, it’s mealtime. Versus when you sit him in it like you said you did yesterday to just snack while you tidied up. And you want to do it around the same time every time for each meal. It just builds a routine, and routines are important for babies. Makes it easier to get them used to naps and bedtime.”
She started to pick up the highchair to move it to the dining room, but Orlando took it from her and carried it into the other room for her. They sat down across from each other at the dining room table with the baby at the head of the table. “This is a good place for him to get used to eating. This way, once he’s out of the highchair, you can put a booster on one of these chairs and keep the routine going right here.”
Orlando smiled that odd way he had earlier, and this time Danica waited for him to say something. He shook his head. “No, that just reminded me of something. When I lived with Nine and Beast in a house we rented, only thing we ever used the table in the dining room for was to work on car parts or play cards. Never to eat a meal.”
That made Danica smile. Of course, three bachelors wouldn’t be having formal meals in the dining room. She wondered if he and Felicia used this one but didn’t ask. She continued with her baby lessons, speaking occasionally in a coddling voice when the baby would turn and reach out for her. The whole time Orlando spoon-fed Oreo, they discussed all things baby-related until the baby was done and got a little more demanding when reaching out for her to pick him up out of the highchair. Danica cleaned his face and hands to keep him from reaching out to her so anxiously, then picked him up before the flaying arms could start up again. Afraid Orlando might start up again on how incredible it was that Oreo was so drawn to her so quickly, Danica used one of the conversation changers she’d since mentally lined up. “So, what was the unexpected errand you had to run this morning, if you don’t mind me asking? Everything okay?”
Orlando seemed fixated on the sight before him, making Danica gulp with anxiety. His son was now latched onto her hip and leaning his head on her shoulder, sighing blissfully, completely unaware of the unease his obvious contentment gave her. Orlando’s eyes went slowly from Oreo to Danica. His somewhat still awestruck expression morphed into a bit of a frown as if her question suddenly sunk in. “My other partner, Beast, you may’ve heard of him.” Danica nodded, stopping short of saying, ‘of course I know of Beast!’ The man was famous and scheduled to fight against the current heavyweight champ in a the next year. She’d keep to herself all the extensive research she’d since done on the shop and their owners before deciding if giving the baby up to his father was the best way to go. Not that she’d heard anything bad about Orlando, she just hadn’t heard enough.
“His younger brother Byron,” Orlando went on explaining. “He got in a little trouble last night.”
They moved into the front room where they sat on the carpet with the baby and a few of his toys. Orlando began telling her about the call he got that morning from Byron. Danica listened intently as they both took turns handing the baby different color balls for him to place into his ball drop toy.
They’d both stop occasionally to engage with the baby, but Orlando went on with his story. “He’s a good kid. But he’s going through some shit right now with his mom and her boyfriend. Long story short, he’s been trying to spare Beast the details, says he has enough to deal with already with the baby and another one on the way. But he and his mom’s boyfriend got into it again, and they both ended up in jail overnight. Kid’s got a temper to boot. According to Beast, his mom said, ever since his first love was killed in a car accident at only fifteen, he ain’t never been right.”
“Ouch.” Danica winced, gulping back the emotion, but kept to herself that she and Byron had three big things in common. She knew all too well about flaring tempers and arguing with stepparents. But sadly, she also knew the horridness of losing someone you cared for so suddenly and tragically. He explained how his girlfriend’s untimely death had affected Byron. Orlando always thought the kid a bit of a player all this time. He was always talking about chicks and hot dates, but as far as he knew he’d never taken any of them seriously.
“Beast’s relationship with his mom and brother is a little complicated. I’ll have to tell you about that another time, but he wasn’t around when all that went down with Byron’s first girl. Beast didn’t even know about that until a few months ago.” Danica listened, trying not to look as flabbergasted as she felt sitting there casually admiring every one of Orlando’s masculine features. While he was definitely rugged and not afraid to get his hands dirty, he was always so well kept. Now that she was able to stare at him for a little longer than usual, she wondered if maybe he got his eyebrows cleaned up because they were perfectly shaped. Not plucked or anything feminine like that. Far from it. From the moment she’d laid eyes on him the first time she staked him out, Orlando was the epitome of a man’s man. A very attractive and sexy as hell man’s man.
With his tattooed covered arms, if it weren’t for the fact that she was sitting here in his equally well-kept home, and seen how lovingly he interacted with his boy, she might think him a bad boy. She had wondered about the name of the shop and what the story behind that was. So, given the tats and the foul language that bounced around the shop all day long, she figured there was or maybe had been a little bad in Orlando at some point. Trying not to be too obvious about taking him in so extensively, Danica went back to concentrating on his explanation of what happened with Byron that morning. “Pretty sure Beast doesn’t know the extent of it, but according to Byron, his mom’s been relying a little too much on her pain meds lately, and Byron blames her boyfriend for it. Says he’s the one who got her popping them in the first place. He talked about the possibility of getting his own place today and getting away from them altogether.” Orlando lifted and dropped his big shoulder with a frown. “Probably for the best. The guy’s temper is as bad as his brother’s. He just started college, and he swears, if he was on his own, he’d just concentrate on that instead. I asked him about the last girl I’d heard he was seeing. Maybe he could use that as a distraction from his mom’s issues, but he said he was done with her too.” Orlando laughed. “He’s swearing off youngins. Says they’re cheaters and full of shit. Like age has anything to do with that. Being a liar or a cheat comes at any age.” The baby giggled when the Orlando bounced a ball in front of him. Orlando looked up at Danica, wide-eyed, then bounced the ball again. Once again, the baby giggled heartedly. It was such a sweet and contagious laugh. Danica was momentarily relieved from the unease she’d begun to feel over Orlando’s last comment. “I’ve never heard him laugh like this,” Orlando said, bouncing the ball again.
This time the baby laughed so long and hard he nearly lost his breath. Both Orlando and Danica were laughing now too. It just couldn’t be helped, despite the heaviness that had begun to mount in her belly. It went on for a while as Orlando continued to bounce the ball and Danica reached for her phone and started filming. It was absolutely adorable, and the most beautiful sound Danica had ever heard. She’d seen the laughing-baby videos on YouTube many times. But it was so much different when the baby was one you adored. Unintentionally, the baby had turned her mood around completely. Her insides were all aflutter now, and she couldn’t get enough of that sweet laugh. And then it happened. When it was all over and the baby’s amusement with the bouncing ball began to wane, Danica swooped him up into her arms. She’d been dying to the whole time but didn’t want to interrupt that beautiful laughter. She kissed his chubby face all over as he giggled again,
only this time not as heartedly. Still, his little hands cupped her cheeks as he squealed in delight. “My God—” she caught herself as she happened to glance up and saw the way Orlando was staring at her. The words I love you so much nearly slipped out, but she pressed her lips together just in time. “He’s so cute,” she said instead, still holding him to her but forcing her enamored heart to calm the hell down. How stupid could she be? Both Orlando and Felicia had already made note of the instant and incredible connection the baby had to her. There’s no way Orlando hadn’t noticed that, as excited as he’d been about being witness to this milestone in his baby’s life, she’d been there just as equally thrilled about it as he’d been. Clearing her throat, Danica held the baby against her now pounding chest. “I’ve seen videos of babies laughing like him, but it’s different when . . . you witness it firsthand.” She glanced down and kissed the baby’s head because she couldn’t take the way Orlando’s piercing eyes bore into hers.
“Yeah, it’s different when he’s yours,” Orlando said.
Squeezing her eyes shut before looking up at Orlando, she prayed she hadn’t blown it and scrambled to come up with a proper response to that. “I’ll bet.” She smiled. “He’s just so adorable that it’s hard not to wanna squeeze him.”
“Especially given the way he’s responded to you. Do all babies respond to you like this?”
With a gulp, Danica thanked the heavens she’d prepared for this. With the anticipation of the baby possibly remembering her and the probability that this very question might be asked, she was ready for this. At least she hoped this came out as she’d practiced, and she didn’t blow it like all the other lies she’d planned and had gone by the wayside when she’d blurted out the truth instead. “I don’t work with babies that often.” And there it was. First sentence blurted out was the absolute truth, but she quickly explained why. “Since most of the kids me and my sister work with aren’t usually diagnosed with any behavioral issues until they’re a little older.” She explained that typically the babies she worked with were the ones who had disabilities they were diagnosed with at birth, like those with Down Syndrome, the hearing impaired, and even preemies whose parents were worried they were too far behind in normal development. Swallowing hard, she prepared for the all-out lie, until she was caught in those piercing eyes that seemed glued to her every word. “But, yeah, I don’t recall any other time when a baby bonded with me this quickly.” What was wrong with her? She cleared her throat, looking down at the baby because she couldn’t even look at Orlando as the wrong words continued to spew out. “Of course, all babies are different. I tend to get attached really fast. My sister says, and studies do show, that babies, even infants, pick up on things like that and they react accordingly.”
She left it at that because she was beginning to talk too fast, something she did only when she was really nervous or being insincere. She only hoped the explanation was enough. Babies really did demonstrate and reciprocate strong feelings of affection from very early on. Though none she’d ever watched had come even close to Oreo’s response to her. In fact, the few times she had watched a baby, it took hours to get them to warm up to her since they were dealing with separation anxiety from their parents. Crinkling her nose before Orlando even had a chance to respond to that, she’d never thought she’d be so grateful for the sudden need of a diaper change. One peek into the back of Oreo’s little pants and sure enough. “Time for a new diaper.”
She laughed at the face Orlando made. Her opening the back of the baby’s diaper had released what she’d been smelling. “That’s one thing I don’t think I’ll ever get used to.” Orlando got up when she did, apparently ready to follow her to the changing table, though he’d just admitted to not being used to changing stinky diapers.
“You’ll get a pass when I’m around. I’ve changed enough diapers it doesn’t faze me anymore.” His exhaling a bit too relieved, made her giggle. “Besides, I’m a stickler for keeping tabs on rashes, and as gross as it may sound pee and even poop color and texture. I need to know Oreo—” She cleared her throat, catching herself—yet again. “Any baby in my care is not constipated or showing signs of coming down with any kind of stomach bug and whatnot.”
“Why do you call him Oreo?”
Glancing up at him as she placed the baby on the changer, she bit her tongue before nearly blurting out that she’d been calling him that since he was born. But there was something else she could respond with that was also true. “I thought referring to you both as Orlando might get confusing. Wasn’t sure how else to shorten Orlando, and I thought it was sweet and cute like him.”
Smiling, Orlando nodded. “Since everyone calls me O, most call him Baby O, but Oreo’s cool, too.”
To Danica’s relief, they didn’t go back to discussing Oreo’s instant attachment to her. Danica had planned something else as well. They hadn’t set a time for how long she’d be here today. Initially, when Orlando had suggested she come by to give him a few tips, he’d said for a few hours. After changing the baby, Orlando said he was ready for lunch, and the baby was showing signs of needing a bottle, but Danica had other plans. Giving him a bottle now would likely make him sleepy again. She needed him to hold out a little longer, at least until after they’d had lunch. She was hoping to spend a little more time with him, but given his response to her, she needed to time her exit today just so. Orlando ran out to pick up some cheeseburgers for their lunch, giving Danica some time to properly fawn over her little guy without the fear of any more comments about their incredible connection. When Orlando got back, they all sat in the dining room, having lunch as Oreo suckled his biscuit and made a good mess of himself. Their conversation stayed mostly baby-related until she checked her phone a few times and responded to a couple of texts. When she glanced up after putting her phone down, Orlando was wiping the baby’s face. “So, I hear congrats are in order.”
Danica peered at him just as she bit into her burger, not sure what he meant.
He finished wiping the baby’s face before turning to her and clarified, “You’re engaged. Is that just recently?”
Chapter 13
Orlando
Asking about her engagement was a risk. Orlando knew this. But given how much older the guy he’d seen her with that first time seemed, he’d sort of begun to hope she couldn’t be that serious about him. It’s what he’d been telling himself every time he was around her and began to feel that inexplicable draw to her. He’d been respectful of the fact that she was in a relationship from the beginning, especially now that he knew just how serious her relationship was. He was just curious now. Never mind that the longer he was around her, with every new thing she said and did to impress the hell out of him, the more that curiosity mounted. He’d talked himself out of asking anything about her boyfriend, several times both days she’d been at the shop. But now that he knew he wasn’t just a boyfriend anymore, he had to get himself in check, especially since keeping his eyes from zooming onto those lips was becoming a real struggle now. It’d happened at the shop as well, but at no time had he had this much alone time with her there. So, the more he knew about her engagement, the bigger the reminder that he should not be getting any ideas and ruin the perfect set up he now had. Orlando had known she’d be awesome with the baby, but so far, she’d exceeded even his wildest expectations. Only it wasn’t just how good she was with the baby that had him so enthralled, and Orlando knew it. Every one of her smiles, laughs, and hell, just listening to her talk had mounted the curiosity level about her relationship through the roof. Hearing her gush about her wedding and honeymoon would be galling to say the least, but it’d do the trick. Still he braced himself. Of course, he’d caught Dani mid-chew, and now he had to wait for her to finish chewing and take a sip of her soda.
“Not officially.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin as their eyes met; then she glanced away, quickly smiling at the baby. “Felicia asked if we had any marriage plans, and I told her we’ve discussed it, but we’re
not actually engaged yet.”
Just like that, Orlando had a million more questions he suddenly needed answers to. He jumped right into the first. “So, I take it you two have been together long.”
Again, she paused as she finished chewing the fry she’d slipped in her mouth. Just like the previous question, Orlando braced himself for the answer to this too. Since the day he heard back from her and she’d left him awestruck over the phone with her baby skills, Orlando’s head had started up the rationalizing. As long as she and this boyfriend of hers weren’t childhood or even high school sweethearts, and they couldn’t be given their obvious age difference, maybe she hadn’t been with him too long. Given the guy’s age, he had to have his own home, right? At the very least his own place. Even if his other reasoning, that because she’d since made it clear she lived at home with her sister and brother, her not living with him yet meant it wasn’t too serious. But this changed things—big time.
“Not really.” She wiped her mouth then cleared her throat, glancing away from Orlando to wipe the baby’s mouth. “Just under a year. But he’s a meticulous planner. So even if we likely won’t get married for at least a few years from now, you know once I finish school and he’s comfortable in the position he’s anticipating being promoted to, he wanted to start planning.” She lifted her noticeably ring-less finger, the one Orlando had been eyeing ever since he’d gotten past the scare of not being able to get ahold of her. “Even the ring. He’s been saying we should start at least shopping around so he can see what I like.”
Orlando: Boyle Heights #4 Page 13