Know You Better Now

A New Found Grace

Lucia Barba smiled widely. "Rafi, hola. How is my boy today? Good, I hope. You still owe me dinner. You can't weasel out of it," she chided playfully as she walked along the sidewalk to the corner bodega for coffee.

"Dinner soon. I promise, Mami." He rolled his eyes and made a face at Noah. "I just need to know something. What did I eat back when I was say about twenty months old?"

It wasn't long before he explained exactly what sort of predicament he had gotten himself into. He could hear the amusement in her voice as she rattled off what she had fed him around that age. He somehow managed to hold the phone between his shoulder and ear as he set about searching cupboards for anything she mentioned. To his amusement, he found a stock of wholesome snack foods. He dumped a few of the veggie sticks onto Noah's tray, hoping he'd at least eat some of it while he found something more meal-like for the child to eat.

Opening the next cabinet, he found canned vegetables and held one up. "Sweet peas?" he questioned his mother. "And I have found some packets of pasta sides. That'll work?"

"Yes, mijo. Chances are he loves the stuff. Are you sure you don't need me to drop by? I can. It's not a problem..." Truth was she wanted to know more about his relationship with the police sergeant. She'd heard enough about her; had even met her that once. "Rafi..."

"No, Mami. Liv's sick. Last thing she needs is more people in her home. Por favor?" He searched for the proper pots and pans while keeping an eye on Noah.

"Okay. Okay. I know when I'm not wanted," she teased with a mock sigh. "Call me soon for dinner, mijo. I mean it. Yeah?"

"Yes, Mami. Te amo." With that, he hung up and set the phone aside. "Mothers, huh?"

Noah smiled at him and waved his fist of veggie sticks in his direction. He made a few indistinguishable noises and laughed softly while doing so.

"Exactly," Rafael said in reply.

- -

Rafael looked at the baby as he finished attempting to spoon some of the mashed up peas into his mouth. He chuckled softly as he shook his head. "I wonder if we got more into your little tummy than we got on me." He wrinkled his nose as Noah turned his head away, seeming to signal that he wanted no more of the food that he had to offer. "Alright. Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"

Noah babbled and chattered about this and that and nothing in particular as Barba went about cleaning up the mess he'd made in the kitchen. He answered the toddler as best as he could, keeping up a running stream of chatter as he managed to load the dishwasher and turn it on. The kitchen was now in better shape than when he'd arrived.

He then turned to the child once more. "Alright. Now what do I do with you?" He glanced around the kitchen. He couldn't put the baby in the dishwasher, but he'd need a bath as they'd gotten food in Noah's hair. So he pulled off the still dirty tray and scooped up the boy. "I guess its bath time. Keep in mind, Niño, that I've never done this before so no judgment." His own clothes were rumpled. His tie had been discarded hours earlier with the top three buttons of his shirt undone, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

He managed to strip the baby down to nothing but his diaper before he started the bath water. Noah must have known what was about to happen as he stood at the edge of the bathtub and talked excitedly. His little hands reached into the tub for the few toys that were starting to float along the bottom of the tub as it started to fill. He stripped off the baby's diaper and eased him into the tub in a seated position.

Half an hour later, Rafael was half drenched, but he'd managed to wash the child from head to toe and now had him wrapped in a fluffy blue towel. He dried him quickly before placing him on his back in his crib so that he could then diaper him and put on a pair of clean pajamas.

He wrinkled his nose at the boy before he tickled his belly by blowing on it. "Alright. Now what, Noah? Hmm? TV?" He shook his head. Olivia would probably have his head if he allowed him to watch television; especially whatever would be on at this hour. Nothing educational would be on this late, so he quickly forgot that idea. He looked around, seeing a bookshelf filled with children's books. "Even better. We read." He scooped up the baby, throwing the towel over his shoulder as he grabbed a couple books from the shelf and moved them back toward the living room.

After discarding the towel in the bathroom, they moved to get comfortable on the couch. He slipped off his own shoes as Noah lay against his chest. His little eyes were already heavy from sleep. He realized then that Noah had probably needed a nap that afternoon at some point, but he hadn't gotten one. He hoped that wouldn't mess up his sleep schedule. He stroked the boy's back gently as he managed to hold the book with one hand as well as turn the pages.

They ended up reading three books before Noah's eyes fell closed and stayed that way. He slipped the last book onto the coffee table with the others and shifted slightly. It didn't take long before he was snoring softly along with the baby. He kept a protective arm around his back as he held him to his chest. He fell into a deep sleep; both of them slept soundly through the night.

- -

Olivia woke the early the next morning. Everything was a blur except for the memory of Rafael Barba showing up at her door. She groaned as she pushed herself out of bed. Her body was sore, but the fever seemed to have broken in the night. Her head no longer pounded. She moved toward the hall and instinctively turned toward Noah's room.

Stepping up to his crib, she felt her heart start to pound in her chest. She moved from his room in search of her son. She started to call out for Barba when she stepped up to the couch and spotted them both sound asleep curled up with one another. She noted his hand was protectively on Noah's back as he held him to his chest. He shifted slightly, and she held her breath. She didn't want to wake them.