Changed challenge response - chapter 3
Okay, here's a short chapter for you. We have several to go yet.
"Happy half of a birthday, Katie!" Greg kissed the tiny, drool-covered cheek and swept her into a wild dance. "You're six months old, yes you are. My girl is six months old, and she's so excited she pooped in her pants. Luckily for you, I am a problem-solving genius." He waved a diaper in the air and danced her over to the crib. "Ooooo, that smell... can't you smell that smell..."
"All deceased members of Lynyrd Skynyrd are now spinning wildly in their graves thanks to you."
"Sara, I may be off-key, but I have as much right to sing as anyone else. Besides, SHE likes it." He taped the clean diaper and kissed one tiny foot. "She WANTS me to sing to her."
"That's because she's a baby. She doesn't know the difference between music and noise. Of course, you're thirty and still haven't figured that out yourself, so maybe it's genetic."
"You see how she treats me. I know, it's awful, isn't it." He lifted the baby into his arms and turned to Sara. "She is appalled by your abject cruelty toward her uncle Daddy."
"No she's not. She KNOWS her aunt Sara simply wants to spare her needless emotional trauma, not to mention early hearing loss." She moved over to take the smiling infant from his arms. "And now you need to stop being a baby hog and hand her over."
"I share her with you. Every day you come over, and every day you get to hold her and feed her to your heart's content."
She smiled and kissed Katie's forehead. "That's true. You have been very generous."
He grinned. "Oh, I can be even more generous. You don't have to go home at all, you know. You can just stay here with us forever ..."
"Greg, you'd have a stroke if I took you up on that." Slowly she looked him over. "You have to be careful making offers like that. Someone might think you're serious and then where would you be?"
"Take me up on it and find out." His tone was challenging. "I double dog dare you."
Sara looked at Katie, then at Greg. "You're - you're serious, aren't you?" Her heart was pounding. "Where would I sleep?"
Greg glanced toward his bedroom and then grinned at her. "Look, our relationship has changed - you know it and so do I. You know how I feel about you. I'm not sure how you feel about me, but you adore Katie. I love you and you love her. Look around you. Most long-term relationships are built on a lot less than that. The bottom line is this: Katie needs you, and you're committed to being there for her. Am I right so far?" Sara's mouth was hanging open, but she nodded. "Now, you know I'm in love with you."
"I - I didn't until just now."
"Well, you know now. I think you care about me somewhat - I AM your best friend."
"Of course I care about you WAY more than somewhat, Greg. You know that."
"Are you... are you attracted to me at all?"
She looked straight into his eyes. "Yeah. I'm attracted to you. More than anyone I know at this point, actually."
"Do you think it's possible that you could fall in love with me in time?"
"I, um, yeah. I, um, I feel pretty sure that would happen if we, if we... Greg this is crazy! You're a parent; we can't just go shack up together. What kind of example would that be for Katie?" She stroked the baby's head thoughtfully. "That wouldn't be right."
"I agree. We should get married."