Forever Too Far

didn’t even get to do any yoga and mommy’s bottom needs some yoga.”
         His little head tried to burrow in my chest. It wasn’t time for him to eat but when he woke up he wanted in my shirt. Just like his dad. Grinning I walked him over to the changing table and put a fresh diaper on him while he fussed. He hated having his diaper changed.
          I picked him up and kissed his puckered up lips. The tears stopped and he opened his mouth trying to get something to eat again.  “Not now mister. You just ate an hour ago,” I told him before heading out the door.
         I didn’t want to take him downstairs. I was afraid of what Nan would say about him. I didn’t think I could deal with it if she was mean to my baby.  The front door chimed and I let out a sigh of relief. Rush was home.
         “Daddy’s home,” I whispered.
         I carried Nate downstairs and listened for Rush and Nan’s voices. It wasn’t hard. She was already raising her voice. Rush must have come in correcting her for making me feel uncomfortable. I decided against taking Nate into the kitchen to hear his dad yelling at Nan. We went out the front door. Nate loved going outside and watching the waves. The sea breeze would drown out all Nan’s angry words.
         We walked under the house and out toward the beach.
         “Blaire, could you bring Nate up here?” Rush asked me looking down at me from the porch. Apparently, he wanted Nate around Nan. I understood him wanting his sister to meet his kid but she hated the momma so this might not be wise. I paused and looked down at Nate.
         The mommy in me wanted to take him and run back upstairs and lock ourselves safely inside his room. But he was Rush’s child too. I pressed a kiss to his temple. “Daddy’s sister Nan isn’t very nice. You’re going to have to learn to overlook her,” I whispered in his ear, more for my sake than his since he had no idea what I was saying.
     
         When I reached the top step Rush was waiting on me. “If you want me to take him and you not go in there I will. But if you want to go in there I swear to you that she will behave or I’ll throw her out of this house.”
         I wasn’t about to send my baby to see the big bad wolf and not go with him. If he had to face Nan so did I. I held him tighter to me and shook my head. “I want to be with him.”
        Rush nodded. I could see by the look on his face that he understood. He opened the door for us and stepped back so I could walk inside with Nate.
         Nan was sitting on a bar stool with a pissed off snarl on her face. She spun around and her eyes went to Nate. I could see the moment she realized that each small feature was Rush’s. He didn’t even have my eyes. He was all Rush.
         “Guess he is yours after all,” she said. I stopped and took a step back bumping into Rush’s chest. His arm came around me and he held me there.
         “You wanted to see him. Be careful what you say to his mother. Apologize for that last stupid ass remark or I’m going to walk you to the door.”
         Nan’s eyes flared with fury and I had a feeling Rush had just started something we really didn’t need in our home. But she took a deep breath and lifted her hate filled eyes to me. “I’m sorry,” she snapped. She didn’t mean it but the fact Rush had made her say it was worth it.
         “Can I hold him?” Nan asked , lifting her gaze to Rush’s.
         I went stiff as a board. If he told her yes I was making a run for it with Nate. There was only so much he could ask of me.
         “Probably not a good idea. With you glaring at his momma like that I don’t think she’s gonna feel safe handing him over.”
         Nan scowled. “He’s your kid too.”
         “He is. But Blaire is his mother. I don’t let anything happen that she isn’t comfortable with.”
         “God, Rush where did your balls go?”
     “That’s strike two, sis.”
         Nan rolled her eyes and stood up from the stool. She looked back at Nate and her eyes softened a little. He was hard not to love. He was as beautiful as his father. “Mom would love to meet him,” Nan said , pulling her purse strap up on her arm. “You should at least send her a photo.”
         “Mom didn’t give a shit about her own babies, Nan. You know that. Why would she care about mine?”
         Nan didn’t flinch. She only shrugged.