The Pickup (Imperfect Love 1)

“Regardless of what happens, I’m here for you. You’re the father of my grandson. No matter where you end up at the end of this season, or in life, I’m only a phone call away.”

“Thank you, Coach.”

Fifteen

Olivia

Because of Nick being well-known in the area—and the fact that he’s three games away from bringing the team to their first Super Bowl game in well over a decade—the nurse had to rush us back to a room. I didn’t even think about it when I made the appointment as I didn’t plan on him attending.

“If you could please fill out this paperwork, I’ll be back in a few minutes to collect it and then the doctor will be in to check out your son.” The nurse hands me a clipboard of papers and walks out, closing the door behind her. Nick is standing against the counter, holding Reed in his arms, and I can’t help but smile at how adorable they are. Our son looks like a tiny little peanut when he’s laying against his father’s muscular forearms. Nick is wearing a New York Brewers T-shirt that accentuates his muscles in all the right places, and Reed is in a matching onesie. When Nick arrived to pick us up, he handed me a small bag with the onesie inside. Since I hadn’t gotten Reed dressed yet, I put it on him. We both took several pictures, and I sent one to my dad.

I get busy filling out the paperwork while Nick talks to Reed. “…so then I threw the ball to Killian for the touchdown, but the ball slipped out of his fingers like his gloves were lined with butter. He better get it under control…” I glance up, and Reed is staring at his father like he knows what he’s talking about. My heart stutters and then flutters at the beautiful sight in front of me. Without Nick seeing, I pull my phone out and snap a picture of them.

Putting my phone away, I go back to filling out the paperwork, when I hear Nick say, “Whoa there, buddy. What did your mom feed you?” When I glance back up, his face is contorted into a look of disgust.

Setting down the clipboard, I reach into the diaper bag and pull out a diaper and wipes. “I can do it,” Nick offers, taking the items from my hand. I’m about to argue with him but instead hand over the items.

“Thanks,” I say, then go back to filling out the paperwork. A minute or so later, I hear “Holy shit! Dude, what the heck did you do? It’s like a shit bomb blew up in here.” I giggle softly but continue what I’m doing.

“Umm…Liv, can you get me more wipes?” His question comes out muffled, and when I look up, he appears to be paler than a few minutes ago. The bottom half of his face is hidden under the collar of his shirt, and he’s making a gagging sound.

Grabbing the wipes container, I jump up to help him out and about die at the scene in front of me.

“Oh my God!” I crack up laughing. There’s shit everywhere! All over the baby, the table, Nick’s hands. “What happened?” I cackle, and Nick glares.

“What the heck are you feeding this kid, Liv?” He gags again, grabbing the wipes from me.

“It’s just formula.” I shrug. I pull some more wipes out and start wiping up the poop, which is everywhere. I strip down Reed, who doesn’t seem fazed at all by any of this. Nick grabs the diaper and gags again while wrapping it up.

“Bad gag reflex?” I joke.

“Oh, c’mon! That smell should be considered toxic. Did you see the fumes rising from his ass?” Nick says as he washes his hands in the sink. He’s dead serious and that only makes me laugh harder.

We get Reed cleaned up and get a fresh diaper on him, but I don’t bother dressing him, knowing the doctor will just ask to remove his clothes. Instead, I wrap him up in a blanket and hand him back to Nick so I can wash my hands and finish filling out the paperwork.

“Knock, knock.” The pediatrician comes in, closing the door behind her. “My name is Dr. Fox.” She shakes Nick’s hand then mine. I’ve met her a couple times before, but this is her first time meeting Nick. She has Nick lay Reed on his back. “And how is Reed doing?” She begins to examine him, taking his temperature and checking his heartbeat. Nick stands over her the entire time while I answer the questions. We go over how much he’s eating and what percentile he’s in for height and weight—he’s above average for both.

When she’s all done, she says, “Okay, he’s getting three shots today. The nurse will come in and explain what they’re for. Once she’s done, you can check out in the front and make his next appointment.”