-Genny's POV-
I walked down the stairs to find talking Anthony on his phone. I had Ash in my hands, so it was hard to eavesdrop with him squirming around and making random noises. I cupped my hand over his mouth.
"Yeah, Kalel, Ian and I are going to be away for a week," Anthony said. He paused, most likely waiting for a response. "Don't worry about it, babe. I'll be back in no time,” Another pause. “Alright. Bye. Love you." He hung up and turned around to see me on the staircase.
"Hey!" He exclaimed getting up off of the couch and taking Ash out of my hands. "So, did you guys sleep well?" He began to tickle Ash's nose, making him laugh.
"Yeah," I replied as I walked over to the kitchen, "You?”
“I slept pretty well for sleeping on a couch,” He joked.
I smirked, “Do you want something for breakfast?"
"What do you want for breakfast?" He retorted, walking over to me.
"I usually don't eat breakfast,” I replied, “It's my priority to feed Ash first and then, if I have time, I usually eat his left over Cheerios." I poured Ash's usual breakfast. "But I can make you something if you want."
"Nah, I'll just do what you do.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, you could say I'm...shadowing you. Like a person at his or her first job."
I nodded my head in understanding and placed Ash's bowl of Cheerios on the tray. At the same time, Anthony put him in the high chair. I sat down in the seat across from Ash and Anthony rested his arms on the back of it.
I looked up at him and remarked, "You know, that’s probably not the best thing to do.”
“And why is that?” A smile crawled on his face.
“Because each parent has their own characteristics,” I told him quite seriously, “If you’re shadowing me, you might not know what you’re good at what you’re not.”
"Whatever.”
"Didn't you have to take care of your siblings when your mom had trouble doing it alone?" He nodded his head, remembering those bad times. "What were you good at what were you not good at?”
He chuckled and stepped back, “I don’t know.”
“Come on…” I teased.
"I don’t know, Genny. This is all just so...new to me," Anthony ran his fingers through his hair, "How have you been doing it for all these months?"
"It's only been four," I responded, "And it's because I made mistakes and learned from them."
"Like what?" He sat down in the seat across from me.
I smiled, just thinking about the terrible things I’ve done, “You don’t want to know.”
“Of course I do.”
"Fine. One time, when Tiffany and I were shopping for clothes, just for her of course, I used her scarf that she gave me to hold as a diaper for Ash." His eyes opened wide in disbelief. I laughed, "What? I had nothing else! So, I used the headband I was wearing to secure it and...let’s just say, she thinks that I just misplaced it.”
“So what exactly did you learn by that?” He folded his hands on the table.
“To carry a few extra diapers in my bag,” I answered.
"Wow."
"Oh, that's not even the worst thing I’ve done. One day, Tiffany and I took Ash to the park, right? I set him down on the ground because he was having a hissy-fit in my lap. Tiffany pulled me into this conversation and I wasn’t paying attention. So, when it was time to go, I picked up some other kid who looked just like him and almost put him in my car. Luckily, the mom came running after me and we exchanged children. Lesson of the day? Don’t let your kid out of your sight."
"You are a terrible mother.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “How do you sleep at night?" He chuckled.
"I don't,” I pushed some of Ash’s hair out of his face as he played with the Cheerios on his tray. "I'm always worrying about him. He means the world to me."
"You and Tiffany do everything together,” Anthony noted, “Why is that?"
"She's like a sister to me," I looked over at him, "She was there for me during the whole pregnancy. She’s always been there for me and the other way around since I can remember. She's a huge part of Ash's life...as that person who mommy picks up late at night because she's too drunk to drive!" I said, tickling Ash’s stomach. He started laughing.
Anthony grinned, "That’s nice."
"Isn't it just like you and Ian? Don't you two do everything together?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "Ever since we started dating Kalel and Melanie, we haven't spent as much time together. I mean, sure, we still get together for Smosh and Smosh’s Second Channel and all that stuff, but...no. We're not like you and Tiffany. At least not anymore."
He totally put a damper on my mood. "Oh," I got up from the table, "Hey, do you think you could watch Ash while I go take a shower?"
"Sure." I started to walk away when he cleared his throat and asked, "Hey, this is kind of totally random, but did you name him Ash because of the thing I said at the party?"
I glanced over my shoulder at him, "Yeah, and I'm terrible with names anyways, so why not go with one that the father would like? And what girl wouldn't want to date a boy named Ash? I'm just looking out for his future..." A smirk grew on my face.
Anthony smirked too. I walked towards the stairs and was stopped by Anthony again, "Genny!” This time I turned around. “I forgot to tell you, I'm going to be out for a little today to get my stuff. Like clothes and toiletries, just enough for this week."
"Oh, okay,” I nodded my head, "And you know, you don't need to tell me everything about your day."
"I know, but shouldn't the husband and wi-" My eyes widened and my cheeks grew red. He did the same, "I mean, the mother and father of a child be 'in the know' with each other's whereabouts?"
"You're just here for a week, Anthony,” I crossed my arms over my chest, “I don't need to know every detail. We're not dating or married," I smiled and escaped before he or I could make the situation more awkward than it already was.