VI
Perched beside Eberts on the couch in his and Darien's living room, Bobby rocked his little girl slowly back and forth in his arms, watching her face move from shadow back into the soft yellow morning light that streamed through the front windows of the ground floor apartment. She, in turn, stared intently up at him, almost as if she wished she could communicate with him as easily as she did with her mother.
"You don't have to, Eberts. We can take her with us like we've been doin'. Claire said she'd be happy to look after her."
"Really, I want to take care of her. My new..... arrangement with Charles has provided me the freedom to create my own schedule. If I choose to spend the day with your beautiful, charming daughter, noone can say me nay. Except you of course. I mean, if you'd rather..."
"Oh, no. No way. You are her godfather after all. 'Course you can spend some time with her. She loves it when you come to see her. A whole day, she'll be ecstatic when we come home."
"All I can hope for is that she'll still be intact and relatively clean when you return." Eberts joked as the infant was laid carefully in his arms.
"Ah, c'mon, Ebes. You're great with her. You took to diaperin' an' feedin' like a champ, just the way I knew you would." Bobby praised his friend. "You'll make an awesome dad yourself someday."
"Me? Oh, dear no. I really think not."
"An' why not? You got all the skills down pat."
"Well.... firstly there would, of necessity, have to be a woman involved. I've... never really had a great deal of luck in that area of life.... or in the area of social endeavors in general...."
"Woman.... right. Otherwise you'd need Fawkes and another case of beer an' lemme tell you, for a lotta reasons.... that's *never* happenin' again. As far as the social skills department goes, we can fix that, buddy. Shouldn't be hard. All you need is a few lessons, a little practice an' some tips on where to look."
"Where to look? I've always been told one looks in bars and at large gatherings when seeking companionship..." Eberts responded, curious despite a memorized laundry list of past failures and disappointments.
"There's your first mistake, my friend. Noone who meets your qualifications is ever gonna walk into a bar. Gatherings... that's a possibility, if we pick the right kinds."
For a moment, Eberts' face lit up with hope. He had spent much of his life lonely and much of his career at the Agency watching men like Bobby Hobbes and Darien Fawkes have to turn women aside for simple lack of enough hours in the day. For a moment, Bobby's words made sense to him, they made him want to believe. Then his logic kicked in and his mildly joyful expression turned into a rueful smile.
"No. Thank you for your kindness, Robert, but.... no."
"No? What's that supposed to mean? You have just as much chance as anybody to find love, Eberts. We just gotta jump-start your self-esteem an' show you a few tricks of the trade...."
"Love. That's the operative word, Robert. I believe love is possible for all of us. Observing you and Darien has shown me that much at least. The sticking point is that... my observation has also raised my expectations and my standards. I'm no longer willing to settle for a here today, gone tonight relationship that won't last any longer than the bubbles in the champagne we order with dinner. That's not love and.... I know now that I can have love. I deserve love such as you and Darien have. I'll wait."
"You can't wait for it to come to you, man. You have to go out and find it, ya know?"
"Did you go looking for it, Robert?"
"No... but..."
"Case closed. When *it* finds *me* I'll know. Until then... I'll wait. Now then, considering that her tastes seem to change every five minutes lately, what would her current favorite be, vis-à-vis baby food?"
"She's big into veggies an' fruit at the moment. Anything with meat in it ends up on the wall or the floor or on me an' her mom. The fridge an' the cabinets are all stocked up, so you shouldn't have a problem findin' somethin' she'll eat."
"Quite a wise course of action, young lady. I myself am working towards becoming a vegetarian. Not an easy row to hoe, I must tell you. Would that I had possessed your presence of mind at such a young age."
Bobby grimaced at the mere thought of living without burgers and Philly cheese-steak sandwiches.
"Hey. I said you could take care of my kid, not brainwash her."
"It sounds to me as if she's made her own choices, Robert. I just happen to agree with her. We smart eaters have to band together, don't we Roberta Claire?"
"Oh, jeez... " Bobby groaned as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the apartment door.
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Perched beside Eberts on the couch in his and Darien's living room, Bobby rocked his little girl slowly back and forth in his arms, watching her face move from shadow back into the soft yellow morning light that streamed through the front windows of the ground floor apartment. She, in turn, stared intently up at him, almost as if she wished she could communicate with him as easily as she did with her mother.
"You don't have to, Eberts. We can take her with us like we've been doin'. Claire said she'd be happy to look after her."
"Really, I want to take care of her. My new..... arrangement with Charles has provided me the freedom to create my own schedule. If I choose to spend the day with your beautiful, charming daughter, noone can say me nay. Except you of course. I mean, if you'd rather..."
"Oh, no. No way. You are her godfather after all. 'Course you can spend some time with her. She loves it when you come to see her. A whole day, she'll be ecstatic when we come home."
"All I can hope for is that she'll still be intact and relatively clean when you return." Eberts joked as the infant was laid carefully in his arms.
"Ah, c'mon, Ebes. You're great with her. You took to diaperin' an' feedin' like a champ, just the way I knew you would." Bobby praised his friend. "You'll make an awesome dad yourself someday."
"Me? Oh, dear no. I really think not."
"An' why not? You got all the skills down pat."
"Well.... firstly there would, of necessity, have to be a woman involved. I've... never really had a great deal of luck in that area of life.... or in the area of social endeavors in general...."
"Woman.... right. Otherwise you'd need Fawkes and another case of beer an' lemme tell you, for a lotta reasons.... that's *never* happenin' again. As far as the social skills department goes, we can fix that, buddy. Shouldn't be hard. All you need is a few lessons, a little practice an' some tips on where to look."
"Where to look? I've always been told one looks in bars and at large gatherings when seeking companionship..." Eberts responded, curious despite a memorized laundry list of past failures and disappointments.
"There's your first mistake, my friend. Noone who meets your qualifications is ever gonna walk into a bar. Gatherings... that's a possibility, if we pick the right kinds."
For a moment, Eberts' face lit up with hope. He had spent much of his life lonely and much of his career at the Agency watching men like Bobby Hobbes and Darien Fawkes have to turn women aside for simple lack of enough hours in the day. For a moment, Bobby's words made sense to him, they made him want to believe. Then his logic kicked in and his mildly joyful expression turned into a rueful smile.
"No. Thank you for your kindness, Robert, but.... no."
"No? What's that supposed to mean? You have just as much chance as anybody to find love, Eberts. We just gotta jump-start your self-esteem an' show you a few tricks of the trade...."
"Love. That's the operative word, Robert. I believe love is possible for all of us. Observing you and Darien has shown me that much at least. The sticking point is that... my observation has also raised my expectations and my standards. I'm no longer willing to settle for a here today, gone tonight relationship that won't last any longer than the bubbles in the champagne we order with dinner. That's not love and.... I know now that I can have love. I deserve love such as you and Darien have. I'll wait."
"You can't wait for it to come to you, man. You have to go out and find it, ya know?"
"Did you go looking for it, Robert?"
"No... but..."
"Case closed. When *it* finds *me* I'll know. Until then... I'll wait. Now then, considering that her tastes seem to change every five minutes lately, what would her current favorite be, vis-à-vis baby food?"
"She's big into veggies an' fruit at the moment. Anything with meat in it ends up on the wall or the floor or on me an' her mom. The fridge an' the cabinets are all stocked up, so you shouldn't have a problem findin' somethin' she'll eat."
"Quite a wise course of action, young lady. I myself am working towards becoming a vegetarian. Not an easy row to hoe, I must tell you. Would that I had possessed your presence of mind at such a young age."
Bobby grimaced at the mere thought of living without burgers and Philly cheese-steak sandwiches.
"Hey. I said you could take care of my kid, not brainwash her."
"It sounds to me as if she's made her own choices, Robert. I just happen to agree with her. We smart eaters have to band together, don't we Roberta Claire?"
"Oh, jeez... " Bobby groaned as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the apartment door.
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