Bad boy: Babysitting the little man

Your baby mama calls you with an odd request. Her house girl lost an important relation, and she has traveled.

The baby mama herself is traveling for work for a week. Who will mind the boy?

“You could take him to your mom…”

“Mum is quite sickly and in and out of the hospital, in fact, you should visit…”

“Well, I can ask Caroline if he could stay with us for the week…”

“I doubt if she will accept, I know, it can be complicated, but ask first and let me know if she refuses, then would you mind just coming over and being with him?”

Caroline is less than enthusiastic with both options, the boy coming over or you going to stay with him. So, you make a decision that is good for both women: Go stay with the boy.

Caroline strongly objects, but she offers no solution so... for a week, you will be away with the boy.  

On the day the baby mama leaves for work, she gives you all the instructions about what Ryan eats each day, and what you will eat yourself, but you don’t intend to eat in the house.

Every day, it will be a take-out dinner. One week of indulging will never make an energetic boy obese.

It feels different sleeping on the bed of your ex as you take care of the son, and you are a married man. Caroline knows Ryan is an existential reality, she can’t banish him.

And her uneasiness may be well founded, but relationships these days are complicated.

It helps to be in the best of books with your past lovers, not for anything, but because it is the only decent thing to do.

That is why you didn’t make a scene when she invited Farah’s baby daddy to her birthday. You hate the man with your body, mind and soul. You really wanted to act up, but you had no right.

So, why doesn’t Caroline want to host your boy at your home, and still feels sour when you go to spend with the boy?

“Are you sure she is traveling to the coast, or she…” Carol asks.

“Why would you think like that? Do you think there is some hanky-panky going on?” You ask her viciously.

“Not that, I meant maybe there is no work, she just wants to…”

“Shut up!” You command her…

“Why are you so rude? Because you love her?” She throws her hands up as she leaves.

Incredulous. You will never win with being reasonable. And you will never win with being unreasonable. So, you just do what is right.

It is refreshing spending time with the boy. It is great that you connect the short times you spend together with the son.

And he knows that you are his father. At 5, he is good with conversations and he is deeply curious.

For some strange reason (maybe he’s been coached by his mother?), Ryan insists that there are no men who come to the house. He says you are the only one.

You are not sure why that impresses you. 

You wonder, why she can’t move on. It is not like you will come back.

Hope is a bad drug.

But hope also springs eternal.