Blue Plaid

Unsure

In which Tyson has no idea what he's doing.

//

At first, I thought I was hallucinating. Or maybe dreaming. Or both.

Either way, I figured it couldn't be reality because I woke up to the sound of a baby giggling. And to my knowledge, I hadn't had a baby recently.

Groaning, I rolled over on my side in an attempt to locate my alarm clock, only to find myself tumbling to the floor. Disoriented and utterly confused, I raised my head from the plush carpeting at the sound of adult laughter joining that of the toddler's and furrowed my eyebrows and pouted my lips at the sight.

Stella sat cross legged on the floor in front of me, bouncing Cooper in her lap.

And then it hit me.

The phone call I'd gotten the night before, waiting in a police station as they broke us the news, signing contracts to accept custody of Cooper.

It hit me like a tidal wave and I lay on the floor frozen and staring at the woman and baby before me.

Gone.

Eric and Georgia were gone.

I blinked at Stella as I struggled to wrap my head around the concept, pushing myself up to my knees. "Stel...last night..."

Her smile slowly faded and she gripped Cooper a little closer to her chest. "Yeah. I didn't really believe it when I woke up either."

I let out a long breath, reaching up a hand to tug and flatten my hair into a more presentable style. "So...what now?"

"You're the one with the plans," she retorted.

I rolled my eyes. I'd been awake for less than ten minutes and we were already bickering.

"I guess we should feed him?" I said, sitting back on my heels and tilting my head to the side. "He looks hungry."

"Maybe," she glanced down at the toddler. "Or maybe he just has gas."

Despite the gravity of the situation, I laughed. "What are you, the baby whisperer?"

She shrugged. "Honestly, I have no clue what I'm doing."

"Perfect," I whispered, honestly feeling a bit sorry for Cooper for having to endure the ineptness of mine and Stella's parenting skills.

Plopping down on the floor, I rested my forearms on my bent knees and studied the sight before me. Stella looked as though she was showered and prepared for the day, wearing light jeans, rolled at the ankles and a loose fitting baseball t-shirt, her hair tied up into a ponytail and pulled through the back of a Yankees cap.

Blinking, I pursed my lips. "You're already ready."

She seemed confused for a moment before glancing down at her clothing and nodding. "Yeah, I didn't sleep much, so I've been up for a while."

I instantly felt a knot of guilt twist in my stomach. Stella's response seemed more appropriate for having just experienced something traumatic. I, on the other hand, had slept soundly through the night, as though nothing was different. As though my best friend was still alive and I wasn't the guardian of a one-year-old child.

"Oh," I cleared my throat, tugging at my hair. "How long is awhile?"

"Three or four hours?" she shrugged. "I think I might have actually woken Cooper up."

"We have a lot of things to figure out, don't we?" I said quietly.

She looked momentarily frightened by the words before a small smirk tweaked the edges of her lips. Grabbing Cooper firmly by the hips, she hoisted him into the air and held him out towards me. "Right now, you can figure out how to change his diaper."