Serendipity Strikes

4

"You'll be there?" Mike asked.

"Absolutely."

"I'll get you one of my game jerseys. Text me your seat, and I'll make sure someone brings it to you."

This was so typical of my ex. He was the type to give you the shirt off his back. Literally. Shawn told him his phone number and then Mike texted him back so he'd have his. Once they'd taken care of that, Shawn focused on Jax.

"He's so chill," he remarked. "He doesn't seem to care at all that we're talking."

I leaned over and stroked Jax's head which caused him to wiggle a bit.

"Woah! Don't wake him!" Shawn said. "I won't know what to do."

I laughed. "You basically do what you're doing now, but you get to interact with him, too. It's pretty awesome."

"How do you keep from just holding him and looking at him all day?" he asked. "I don't think I'd ever put him down if he was mine."

"It's our new favorite pastime, and we often have to flip a coin over which one of us holds him," I admitted. "He's just so snuggly."

"I think Emma has a rigged coin because she seems to hold him more. You've got to smell him," Mike added. "I don't understand why he smells so amazing, but he does."

Shawn leaned over and took a sniff. "Wow. That's crazy!"

"It's not so great when he craps his diaper, but I'll give him a pass on that," Mike joked.

"Does he do that often?" he asked as he wrinkled his nose.

"He pooped fairly recently so you're probably safe," I said.

"Want to open your presents?" Shawn asked, nodding towards the gift bags on the floor by his feet.

I handed one bag to Mike so that we'd each have a gift to open. He plunged right into his, pulling out the contents with a disappointed look on his face.

"Pink towels?"

"They're to replace the ones that were in my car. I threw them out because they were kind of gross," Shawn explained.

I couldn't believe he'd found nearly identical towels in the same pale rose color. He certainly wasn't obligated to buy me new ones, but I found it sweet that he had.

"Aw, thanks! That's so considerate. I've been using my old scratchy towels for the last couple weeks," I said as I reached into the bag on my lap. "Did you pick out these bags and put the presents together?"

"Um, no. My mom did that, but I picked out the presents. Oh, and she asked me to check if it was okay to take a picture. She really wanted to see the baby I helped deliver."

"Yes, that's fine," I said.

I unwrapped each item from the light green tissue it was encased in. There were an assortment of NYC baby onesies, a bib, and a really cute alphabet book.

"These are so cute, Shawn!" I said as I held each thing up to admire.

"You got to unwrap the better gift," Mike commented. "Just sayin'"

"I know this is a sore subject, but I wanted to get Jax some New York themed gifts since I told the story of his birth on The Tonight Show."

"I guess we should talk," I said, though I'd almost forgotten that I was mad at him.

Mike hopped up off the hardwood floor. "Look at the time! I've got to get to the rink. We've got a short practice and team meeting."

I knew his practice wasn't for a couple hours. He hated any sort of confrontation, so I wasn't surprised he was choosing to leave.