Page 17 of Manny Included

“Go get Daddy?”Eric begged Bay.“Please?”

Bay crouched down to Eric’s level.“I’m sorry, Eric.I can’t do that—he’s gone.”

“I wanna go too!”

“Eric, please,” Pete begged.“Come downstairs.”

Don’t wake the others up.

Bay shook his head.“No, you have a long wonderful life ahead of you.Let’s go downstairs, yeah?We can talk about it some more.”

“I wanna go see Daddy!Call him, Petey!Call him and tell him for me!”

Pete’s heart couldn’t break any more.

Bay met his eyes and shrugged, clearly unsure what to do, how to fix this.

“You want a snack, Eric?”Bay suggested as they went down the stairs, clearly hoping to distract.

The little boy shook his head, and Pete went to the recliner, opened his arms.“Want to rock a minute?”

“I want Daddy,” Eric said, sniffling, his thumb sneaking up into his mouth.

“Well, I’m here.”

Eric climbed up in his lap, and he sighed and started rocking, completely heartbroken.

“Jesus,” Bay muttered under his breath.“If Tony wasn’t already gone, I’d kill him myself for this.”

“Too soon.”He managed to wink at Bay.

“Those kids deserve better than me,” Bay muttered.

Pete glanced up at him.“That doesn’t matter.We’re who they have, so we’re going to do our best.”

“That was not a slam against you at all.The fact that they have you is a saving grace.”

“I know.This is hard.”And he was scared to death.

Bay nodded, sighed, and settled at one end of the couch.“Would hot milk or something help?Is that actually a thing?”

“Believe it or not, all the kids love it.All of them.I would rather have cocoa.”

“Should I get some for him?”Bay asked, nodding at Eric.

He glanced down, but Eric was nearly asleep again, sucking his thumb.They’d managed to get him to stop doing that two years ago, and it broke his heart to see him going back to it.

He just shook his head.

“Okay.I guess I’ll go back to bed?”

“I…” He nodded, but he really, really wanted company.He wanted to know he wasn’t alone here.

“I don’t have to…” Bay hadn’t gotten up yet.

“I could use a little company, if you’re not desperate to get back to bed.”He could use a friend.

“I’m awake.I can stay up with you.”Bay shrugged.“I’m just not used to feeling so… useless?I know it’s not me the kids want or will turn to when they’re upset.Or for anything, really.”