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“I’m surprised I’m not sick.”

“Careful. You’re gonna jinx yourself.”

“I don’t have time to be sick.”

No one ever did. Especially single moms. But experience told me that it was coming. Her immune system just had more fight in it than her baby’s did.

“She already seems to be more alert,” Zoe said a few minutes later as I heard Ama’s heels on the floor in the hall.

“Yeah,” I agreed, reaching out to touch her head. She was still sweaty, but didn’t feel quite as hot.

“What happened to you?” she asked, glancing up at me.

“Some dick at a bar.”

“He just… hit you?”

“I may have been goading him on.”

“Why?”

“Why not?” I asked, shrugging.

“Gee. I don’t know. Because someone hit you in the face.”

A little chuckle escaped me at that.

“I was itching for it.”

“To get hit in the face?”

“Yeah.”

“Why? Are you a masochist?”

“Helps me think straight sometimes.”

“Hmm,” she said, lips pursing.

“What?”

“I kind of get that. I mean, like, ballet is hard on the body. My feet used to bleed some days. But when I was dancing, it was the most clear-headed I ever felt.”

“You saying I should take up ballet?” I asked, getting a snorting laugh out of her. “Think I’d rock a tutu?”

“Male dancers wear full-body leotards.”

I glanced down at myself, making her gaze do the same. Then we both shared a smile.

“Ooh,” Lainey hooted.

“Hey! That’s my girl,” she said, beaming down at the baby. “You feeling a little better, huh?”

“She’s cooler for sure,” I said.

“How’s everything going in here?” Ama asked, coming in with a small medicine bag.

“She seems a little better.”

“Let’s see,” Ama said, grabbing the thermometer and putting it under Lainey’s arm once again. “You’ve got the prettiest eyes, don’t you?” she cooed at the baby.

“Okay, mama. The medicine can be given every four to six hours. As needed. So if she doesn’t seem warm or is eating and drinking normally, you can skip a dose. You can also give her lukewarm baths. Not cold. And don’t wipe her down with alcohol. That’s an old wives’ tale.

“Oh, good. We’re down to ninety-nine already. So just keep an eye on that. She might develop some cold or flu-like symptoms. If you’re worried about when she does get sick, you can always bring her back here. I specialize in telling scared mamas that their babies are going to be just fine.”

“Thank you,” Zoe said, giving her a grateful smile. “Really.”

“Don’t mention it. You can get going whenever you’re ready,” she said as I lifted Lainey from her arms and put her back on the table to slip her onesie back on.

“Don’t you need my information? We never even checked in. You know, for billing.”

“Don’t worry about that. We can get you on the books if or when you come in again.”

“But the money—”

“That’s all been handled.”

“But—”

“Alright. Well, we should get Lil’ Bit outta here and get some fluids in her while she’s up and happy.”

“Wait, I need—” she tried as I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her toward the door.

“Thanks for the help, Ama. For both of us. Get home to your man before he loads your spawn up with sugar.”

“Wait, Coast, I need to—”

“Get Lainey home. Yes, yes you do. Want me to drive?”

“What about your car? Or… bike?”

“I walked.”

“From the clubhouse?”

“From a bar in town. Ish. My bike is parked near the building of a friend. I can get back from your place.”

“Oh, okay. Yeah, if you don’t mind driving. I don’t want to take my eyes off her.”

We climbed into her car, and I got general directions to follow.

“Wait, what are you doing?” she asked when I parked outside a twenty-four-hour pharmacy.

“I just want to make sure you have enough meds and such. I’ll be ten minutes.”

I rushed into the pharmacy, grabbing one of their mini carts and making my way up and down the aisles, dropping a ton of shit in: infant acetaminophen, formula, diapers.

And then everything Zoe might need when she got sick: medicine, cough drops, tea, vitamin C, electrolytes, a thermometer, and those shower fizzy things to clear sinuses.

Then, just because, I grabbed a soft blanket for Zoe and a rattle plush for Lainey before making my way to the counter.

“Did you need stuff too?” Zoe asked when I climbed back into the cool car.

“Something like that,” I agreed. “Alright. Next set of directions.”

I guess I’d been expecting her to lead me toward one of the crummy apartment buildings like Seeley, Levee, and Cato grew up in.

But she had me pulling into the lot of a motel building. The kind where it was cheap for the week, so it catered to a lot of divorcees or guys kicked out for cheating. And, of course, anyone going through a rough patch.

Zoe’s words came back to me from before.

She’d said she’d asked for help from the woman a few doors down . If it was an apartment building, she likely would have said something along the lines of ‘in the building’ or ‘a few apartments down.’

“You want me to grab her? Those things get heavy.” I gestured toward the pumpkin seat.

“No, I’ve got her.”

I didn’t give her a chance to insist she could handle the bags too, just grabbed them and followed her toward the steps.

“Oh, good,” a redhead said, rushing out of her room as Zoe fished for her room key. “You finally decided to step up, huh?” she asked, looking at me. “About time. She’s running herself ragged, you know. You should be ashamed of yourself. How’s the little angel?”

“This isn’t Lainey’s dad,” Zoe said. “He’s—”

“A friend,” I supplied. “Coast.”

“Brooke. Sorry for yelling at you.”

“Lainey is alright. She has some medicine in her, so she’s cooler. Just need to get some formula in her now.”

“Good. Good. A nice lukewarm bath might help too. I can’t stay. Got my three sleeping,” she said.

“Everything alright?” another woman called up from somewhere below.

“Hey, Tasha! Yeah! Baby is feeling better,” Brooke called down, leaning over the railing.

“Does Zoe need any help?”

“She’s got a friend with her.”

“Okay. Well, tell her I hope the baby gets better soon.”

“Will do! Night-night. You heard her,” Brooke said, giving Zoe a small smile. “You need anything, though, you know where to find us.”

“Thanks, Brooke. Really.”

Brooke waved that off. “You take care of the girls,” she said, looking at me.

I gave her a nod before she headed out.

I closed and locked the door as Zoe pulled Lainey out of the car seat.

“Thanks for staying with us,” Zoe said. “I was…”

“Freaked the fuck out?” I filled in for her. “Yeah, I noticed. It’s nothing.”

“Wait, what is all of that?” she asked as I started to pull everything out of the bags and line it up on the nightstand.

“Supplies.”

“I didn’t say I needed diapers. Or formula.”

“From what I know, you always need diapers and formula at this age. And I got you some shit. I got a feeling that you might come down with something too. So just in case. And I got this for you,” I said, pulling the tag of the rattle plush and shaking it in front of Lainey’s face.

“That’s too much,” Zoe said, looking up at me as Lainey grabbed for the rattle.

“Nah. It’s nothing.”

“That’s, what, a month’s worth of formula. That’s a couple hundred alone .”

“Yeah. Like I said… nothing.”

“Coast…”

“I’ll make a bottle.”

“You don’t have—”

“Still gonna do it.”

So I did.

Then took turns trying to get Lainey to finish the whole thing so she didn’t get dehydrated.

It was while I was burping Lainey that Zoe started nodding off on the other bed.

Until, eventually, she was out cold.

“Looks like it’s me and you, kid,” I told Lainey as she stared up at me. “I think your mama needs a rest after the scare you gave her, don’t you?”

“Ooh,” Lainey said.

“Proud of yourself, huh?” I asked, reaching for the rattle and shaking it at her. “I have to admit, you had pretty good timing, Lil’ Bit.”

As I laid Lainey down on the mattress to play with her feet and wiggle around, I realized it was gone.

All that anger, that frustration, and that restlessness I’d been dealing with all week.

It had evaporated.

“Ain’t that some shit,” I said.

“Ooh,” Lainey agreed.