Done Adulting Vol. 1 Ch. 131

Jamie stood in the hall just beyond the foyer. Amanda stood behind him off to the side. Jamie didn’t know what to do with his hands. Becky opened the door and knelt down.

“Hello! It’s so good to finally meet you in person,” she said.

“And you! My god, how long has it been since that interview?”

“Seems like a lifetime.” Jamie watched the pleasantries with Becky blocking his view. Cheryl’s voice sounded different than it had in his head after all those months. He had only to press his bear’s palm to hear it again, but he never dared to, the memory of their parting and the first time he’d heard her voice through that toy, that terrible and wonderful first night in his new home, painful for him still.

“Let me take your things,” Becky said. She stood up and stepped out of the way, and Cheryl didn’t see him right away as she took off her coat and set her backpack by the door. At the sight of her, Jamie felt what he’d least expected, calm. He took a deep breath, taking in the sight of her like a revenant.

“Hi, Cheryl,” was all he said as she turned around and saw him for the first time in so long. She looked him up and down, seeming so much younger than he’d left, his cheeks smooth, his hair longer, his body more firm; he even seemed taller, as though relieved of a great burden. Exactly how she hoped to find him. Her heart swelled with relief. She closed the distance in two bounds, and they fell into each other’s arms in perfect sync, holding the embrace oblivious to the pairs of eyes watching them.

They parted just enough to look at one another. Her hand was on his cheek. “You look so good,” she said with a teary sniffle, “Like a whole other person.”

“And you look just like you always did.” He let out a single laugh and shook his head. “It’s so good to see you. This doesn’t seem real.”

“Let me look at you.” Their fingers traced their way down each other’s arms as they stepped back until they were holding hands. They looked each other up and down again, and Cheryl concentrated on his face with an inscrutable expression on her own.

“What,” he said with a grin.

“I’ve never seen you so …” She closed her eyes and shook her head in a tight motion as if waving away a thought. “It’s nice to meet you, Jamie.” Jamie’s grin turned into a smile that matched hers. “God, I missed you so much,” she said as she fell against him again and squeezed hard before letting go. They stood awkwardly but happily in one another’s company.

“Hi,” Amanda said as she pushed herself off the wall and interrupted the silence when it seemed right.

“Amanda,” Cheryl said craning her head up. “You seem so much bigger in person.” The laughter cut the weightiness of the reunion.

“You seem shorter,” Amanda quipped. “Can we offer you anything?”

“Do you have any of those little cookies?”

“We do,” Becky said, “and I don’t think it’s too early for one.” Jamie led Cheryl over to the couch and gave her a boost to help her climb up, then scrambled up himself. Amanda sat down at the other end. Becky left and came back with a tray of cookies and milk. “These ones are the little ones,” Becky showed her.

“Thanks,” Cheryl said with a mouthful of cookie, “It’s gonna take me a month before I stop jonesing for these.” Searching for a topic, Cheryl pointed toward the Christmas tree as she reached for a second cookie. “How was your Christmas?”

“It was great,” Jamie answered. “We had a great holiday.”

“What’d you guys get him?”

“O, what did you get,” Becky mused, “A remote controlled car, some blocks, and a lot of clothes.”

“A football for when Spring comes,” Amanda added.

“Did you get them anything, Jamie?”

Amanda rolled up her sweater to show her “My little thinks I’m awesome” t-shirt.

“That’s too cute,” Cheryl said. Becky stood up and pulled the framed picture he’d drawn from behind the tree. She meant to hang it up later.

“Jamie drew this for me,” Becky said proudly as she set it on Cheryl’s lap.

“Wow,” Cheryl replied as she looked over the drawing, “I didn’t know you could draw like this.”

“I couldn’t. A friend’s been teaching me. And I have a lot of time to practice new hobbies,” Jamie said bashfully. They sat silently again.

“Jamie,” Becky said, “Why don’t you show Cheryl your room?”

“Actually,” Amanda interjected, “I got an idea. Why don’t we go for a walk on the beach?”

“In this weather,” Becky asked.

“It’s just cold. Why not? You ever been to our beach,” Amanda asked Cheryl.

“No. Never been to this end of Itali.”

“I think some of Jamie’s things will fit you. Might be a little baggy.” Cheryl had come prepared for winter. One more layer would be enough. “You guys game,” Amanda asked.

“I am,” Jamie said. He hadn’t been to the beach since the weather had turned too cold to swim. “It probably looks pretty with the snow.”

“Mom?”

“Sure.”

“C’mon,” Amanda said, and Jamie and Cheryl followed her to his nursery. When they got there, Amanda said, “Be right back,” to Cheryl and slipped into the room with Jamie, emerging a minute later with a set of long underwear. “These should fit, if you wanna change in the bathroom.” She offered the clothes to Cheryl and pointed her across the hall.

“Thanks.”

Jamie was spacing out as Amanda gently shut the door behind her. She caught the look on his face, and knelt down in front of him. He put his hand on her shoulder to steady himself, and she helped him step out of his jeans. “Alright, Mr. Potty Pants, let’s get you dry,” she said, reaching out to feel just how wet his diaper was. “O,” she said when she found him already dry, “I thought that was your potty face.”

“I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Everything is going well, like you said it would.”

“See? Big sisters know things,” she said as she got a warm outfit out for him and helped him dress. She tied the laces on his boots.

Cheryl was waiting in the living room when they returned. Everyone put on their coats and went out to the car.

“Shoot,” Amanda said, realizing she needed to move the car seat from her car into her mom’s so both littles could sit safely.

“I know,” Cheryl said, “Even in this dimension they can’t seem to invent a car seat that’s easy to get in and out of the car.” Amanda wrestled the thing out of her backseat and got it strapped into Becky’s.

“Mind if I help you,” Becky asked Cheryl as Amanda got Jamie into his seat.

“I think you’ll need to,” Cheryl answered, and Becky helped her into the seat. They drove to the beach with Amanda narrating the things they drove past even though neither Jamie nor Cheryl had a view of much of any of it; they were focused on each other anyway, their arms stretched across the space between their car seats to hold hands. They went to their usual beach and found the parking lot empty, their tires crunching over the bit of snow that had fallen the night before.

“Looks like we’re the only ones here,” Jamie said when Amanda set him on his feet.

“Yep,” Amanda replied, “Got the place to ourselves.” The snow wasn’t deep, just an inch of fresh powder, but it made the parking lot and boardwalk slippery. Becky had to resist the urge to pick them both up so neither would fall. When they got to the bottom of the boardwalk, Amanda whispered to her mom, “Let’s give them some space.” Becky nodded assent. “Why don’t the two of you walk on ahead,” Amanda suggested, “We’ll wait here for you.”

“Okay,” Jamie said, offering his hand to Cheryl. She took it, and the two of them turned right from the boardwalk and up the beach.

“That’s a little more space than I intended,” Becky said when they were out of earshot.

“They’ll be fine.”

“She is so stinkin’ cute. And the two of them together? That was so sweet to watch.”

“They love each other,” Amanda pointed out.

“Obviously.”

“Doesn’t bother you?”

“Why would it,” Becky asked curiously. It hadn’t occurred to her to be bothered by it.

“She’s his caseworker. She probably shouldn’t have let herself get so close to him.”

“Yeah, but they are littles, after all. A lapse in judgment is all, kind of a major one, but something even amazons do.” They watched as the two of them got farther and farther away.