“That’s for sure.” Raising her arms over her head, she asked, “What time is it?”
“Almost eleven.”
Her blue eyes popped open as a panicked expression came over her face. “Oh my God. Sam!!?”
“He’s fine.”
Relief only flickered in her eyes after she glanced past me to peer at the bassinet. “How’s he done?”
“He just powered down two more ounces of breastmilk, and now he’s back snoozing.”
Her mouth widened. “He took a bottle?”
“Yep. Twice.”
“And you didn’t wake me?” she asked, disappointment resonating in her voice.
“You needed the sleep, babe.”
“I know, but I wanted to give him his first bottle.”
“I’m pretty sure you have a lifetime of firsts to complete with him. Missing out on the first bottle won’t matter in the vast scheme of things.”
After weighing my words, Allison nodded. “You’re right.” With a teasing smile, she mused, “Of course, he’s back asleep now. He’s got his days and nights mixed up.”
I laughed. “Hopefully, it’ll be better when we get home.”
“Do they still think it’ll be tomorrow?”
“That’s what the doctor said at rounds this morning.”
She yawned. “I can’t believe I slept through all that.”
“You took the first half o
f the night when Sam was a livewire,” I acknowledged.
With a laugh, she said, “I suppose that’s true.” After shifting in the bed, she wrinkled her nose. “I would kill for a shower right about now.”
I jerked my chin at the bathroom. “Go on. I’ll man the fort.”
She kissed my cheek. “Thanks.”
After the shower turned on in the bathroom, Sam began stirring again. Since I couldn’t resist snuggling him, I picked him up. I turned on the television, and with A Christmas Story as background noise, I began walking him around the room.
When a knock came at the door, I went over to answer it. After throwing it open, I quite unexpectedly came face to face with Santa Claus.
“Ho, ho, ho!” Santa bellowed.
“Look, Sam, you’re barely twelve hours old, and you’re already meeting Santa,” I mused.
“Hey, I’m the best-looking Santa he’ll ever see,” Santa added.
My brows furrowed as there was something familiar about the Santa’s voice. “Wait a minute. AJ?”
After jerking the powdery-white beard down, AJ grinned back at me. “Surprise!”
With a laugh, I shifted Sam in my arms. “What in the hell are you doing here?”