Conklin's Corruption (#3) (Conklin's Trilogy) (9 page)

How the hell does this thing open?

“You have to turn that top part,” Josie said in her tiny voice.  I looked at her as though I was waiting for further explanation to come from the three year old.  As Josie and I were having our stare down, Becca came over holding Emmett and reached for the stroller handle, quickly spinning it and popping it open, almost knocking me backward.

“Sorry, I should have told you how to work this thing,” she apologized as she strapped Emmett in the front part of the stroller.  Josie plopped herself in the back.  Turns out she could either sit or stand.  Good thing because I was predicting Josie wanting me to carry her the entire time.

Becca grabbed the diaper bag as I threw the luggage that fell out back into the Bentley.

“Ready?” she asked after handing both kids water bottles.

I nodded silently, straightening my Chicago Cubs hat.

“Uncle Tyler, will you push us?” Josie asked sweetly. 

A small smile escaped my mouth at her innocent voice.  She really was cute. 

Becca looked at Josie adoringly as well and then moved her baby blues towards me.  God, that look.  She had the look of pure happiness and contentment on her face whenever those kids were around.  Especially when she held Emmett.

I was in trouble.

We strolled through the little zoo at the pace of molasses.  Josie had to get out at every exhibit and find each and every detail.  Becca was right by her side, helping to point out where the animals were hidden.  Every now and then Josie would tug on my hand, wanting me to look with her.  I’d lift her so she could see better in some exhibits. I found myself mesmerized at how Josie saw her surroundings.  She studied everything with wide eyes and a huge smile.  The aquarium was her favorite, especially the penguins.  I must have held her for 30 minutes straight.

“I’m going to change Emmett’s diaper and get his bottle ready,” Becca said as she started to unstrap Emmett.  “Can you handle Josie?”

I nodded my head and took a seat on the bench.  Josie was checking out a penguin statue.  “Don’t lose her.  Heather will kill both of us.”

“I won’t lose her,” I said, offended.

Becca gave me another sharp look as she took Emmett to the restroom.

“Uncle Tyler, can we get ice cream?” Josie asked as she spun around the statue.

“That is a wonderful idea Josie.  Let’s go.”  I stood from the bench as she skipped to me, reaching for my hand as we made our way to the concession. 

Becca never ate sweets, even when that time of the month came around.  I didn’t bug her about it.  It was one of those sore spots she had that I learned to leave be.  She wasn’t hurting herself by being picky about what she ate, and as long as she was eating, I wouldn’t give her a hard time. I loved her for her.  Her obsession with food was a shield to protect herself from her family’s harsh comments about her appearance.  I just hope one day Becs realizes she doesn’t need to wear her armor around me.  Her body was perfect in my eyes and always would be.

Just as Josie and I were sitting down with our ice cream cones, Becca came walking over with Emmett cradled in her arms drinking his bottle.  She scooted next to me on the bench.

“Auntie B!  Look what Uncle Tyler got me!” Josie jumped from the bench and squealed holding her ice cream for Becca to see.

Becca gave Josie a huge grin.  “You’re a lucky girl, Josie.”

I slipped my arm around Becca’s shoulders on the back of the bench.  “We can share mine if you want,” I flirted.

She shyly shook her head no.

“Auntie B, it’s really good!” Josie garbled through a mouthful of ice cream.  She was down to the cone.  She had devoured it in the matter of minutes.  You’d think we didn’t feed the kid.

“Josie, slow down sweetie.  You don’t want to get a stomach ache,” Becca said gently.  Josie just giggled and started to spin around the penguin statue, ice cream cone in one hand while the other rubbed against the penguin.

“Yeah, come on Auntie B, have a little lick,” I said seductively, leaning closer so I was a mere inch from her ear.  “You know you want to,” I whispered.  Just as I was about to kiss her, I a warm liquid splattered all over the front of my shirt.

I jumped from the bench throwing my hands to the side, dropping the ice cream cone on the cement.  Josie’s big brown eyes found mine as her lip started to pout.  She just threw up ice cream all over me.

Becca leapt to the side with Emmett then ushered a teary eyed Josie to take her place on the bench.

I leaned over, trying to get the fabric on my shirt to unstick from my stomach.  Looking down was a mistake as the stench of regurgitated ice cream filled my nostrils.  I gagged and almost lost my stomach as well.

“My tummy hurts!” Josie wailed, hugging her stomach.  Before Becca or I could say anything, another burst of liquid shot out of her mouth.  I dodged it before it made contact with my shoes.  I gagged again, but this time I got a look from Becca.

“This is disgusting,” I choked out, pulling my shirt from my skin.

“Would you go get some napkins!”  Becca scolded. 

Napkins for what?  My drenched shirt?  Josie didn’t have a drop of puke on her.  It all came projecting out of her tiny body onto me. 

I gagged again as I looked down at my shirt when I leaned to get the diaper bag to hand to Becca.  “I’m going to get a shirt from the gift shop.”

Becca held Emmett with one hand and patted Josie’s back with the other.  She was crying inconsolably now.

“Hurry, please!” she said through clenched teeth.  Emmett was starting to fuss from all the commotion.

I rolled my eyes as I made my way to the gift shop, the entire concession looking at me with scrunched faces as they tried to eat their food.

Yeah, ice cream was a dumb idea.

Holding my shirt from my skin with one hand, I browsed the gift shop t-shirts.  I didn’t care what was on it; I just needed one in my size.  “Don’t you have any in size large?” I grumbled.

The lonely worker in the tiny shop covered her mouth as she looked me over.  “The only size large we have are in hot pink or lavender,” she said through her covered mouth.

I stared at her.  I knew this shop was tiny, but really?  They didn’t have any larges in other colors?

“What about extra larges?”

She shook her head no, avoiding looking at me.  Only if we could switch places.  It’s a lot easier to look at puke than have it touching you.

I grumbled and grabbed the hot pink shirt and tossed it on the counter while pulling out my wallet.  As she swiped my card, I pulled off the puke soaked shirt and tossed it in the garbage can, quickly pulling on the gaudy shirt.  Thank God she didn’t get any on my cargos.

The gift shop worker made a disgusted sound and looked in the trash can.  What did she expect?  I was going to take it home? 

I left without my receipt and walked back outside to Becca.  Now everyone was going to be blinded by my hot pink shirt instead of losing their stomachs because of the puke.

Thankfully, Becca and the kids had moved to a different location away from the splattered vomit on the ground.  Emmett was fussing harder now, and Josie was still teary eyed.  Becca stood the second I walked next to them, practically throwing Emmett at me.

I had never held a baby in my life.  I didn’t put my hands up to take him, but just looked at her with a blank stare.  “Tyler!  Hold him so I can take care of Josie!”  Becca shouted.  I winced and reluctantly put my hands out to take the crying baby.  I held him at arm's length.  He stopped crying as he took me in, studying who was holding him.  I think he could tell the only thing I held with care that was around the same size as him was a baseball glove.

I raised my brows at his scrutinizing stare then his lip started to pout again.  Emmett’s little body squirmed as huge alligator tears fell down his face.

“Tyler!  Hold him closer to you!” 

I awkwardly tried to bring him to my chest, but he just squirmed more.

“Becca, he doesn’t want me!” I said as I tried to comfort the little guy.   He was flailing his arms and causing a scene.

“I can’t hold him right now.  Try bouncing him.  I need to change Josie’s shirt.”

Change her shirt?
“Did she even get any puke on it?  I think she mainly got me!”

Becca groaned as she maneuvered a t-shirt from the diaper bag over Josie’s pigtails.  “Just try bouncing him!” 

I pulled him as close to my chest as he would let me, awkwardly attempting to bounce up and down with him.  We must have been fun to watch.  A crying three-year-old stubbornly changing her shirt and a screaming baby thrashing its little arms and legs while Becca and I argued.  I bet we looked like parents of the year. 
Not.

Just as I was getting into somewhat of a rhythm a rumble came from Emmett’s stomach, followed by a squirting noise along with a warm, thick liquid covering my forearms.  Emmett stopped squirming and his head drooped down on my shoulder.  I attempted to maneuver him enough to see the explosion that went through his diaper and clothing all over my arms and hot pink shirt.

You have got to be fucking kidding.

Chapter 5

Becca

Tyler was quiet and stoned face as we left the zoo and got into the car.  He was sporting a very feminine lavender t-shirt from the gift shop.  I liked the hot pink one better, but after Emmett’s blow out, he silently handed him to me and stalked back to the gift shop.  Today went well until the end.  An unsettled feeling took over as I feared Tyler would never want kids.

Emmett was in a great mood the ride home, jabbering away, while Josie sang quietly.  It seemed her vomiting wasn’t going to bring her down.

“So today wasn’t too bad,” I murmured.

Tyler kept his eyes on the road, his lip twitching in annoyance.  He had his aviators on with his baseball cap.

“Okay… So it was a little rough towards the end.”

“A little?” he huffed.  I bit down on my tongue.  “I think it’s safe to say it was awful,” he sneered.

I rolled my eyes.  He was being a little too dramatic.  How could we have kids if he couldn’t deal with a little puke?

He shook his head in annoyance.  “What time is your mom coming home?”

“Not until later.”

“How late?”

“Tyler!  I’m not making my mom move them from their beds while they’re asleep!  Look, if you don’t want to stay with us, that’s fine.  Just drop us off at my place then you can stay at Union Square,” I grumbled, irritated by his poor attitude.

He let out a loud groan.  “I’m not going to stay at Union Square.  We’ll go to your old condo.  Is Jamie there?” 

“No, she’s in Miami this weekend.”

“Does she still have liquor stashed in the condo?”

“Glad little kids drive you to drink,” I mumbled.

“Who said it was for me?  How do you know I wasn’t going to slip it in their drinks?” he muttered while pointing his thumb back at Emmett and Josie. 

I noticed a small smile appear from the corner of his mouth.  It was a poor attempt at changing the subject, but thank God his mood was shifting.

“By the way, I like your shirt,” I snickered.

A full-blown smile crept across his face.  “Remind me to donate to that little zoo.  They need a bigger gift shop.”

***

We ordered pizza from Vitale’s for dinner.  Tyler booked it to the shower the second we got home and was leery to stand anywhere near Josie after she ate.  She changed into her jammies and fell asleep in the middle of the first Disney movie.  It was just after 9:30 p.m. and Emmett was snuggled to my chest after his nightly bottle, warm in his baseball themed jammies with heavy eyes.  Tyler was sitting on the couch with a passed out Josie on his lap.

“Want to bring her to bed?” I asked quietly as I rubbed Emmett’s back.

Tyler cautiously lifted Josie from his lap and stood to take her to the office.  Josie wrapped her arms around his neck, causing Tyler to let out a slight smile.  Maybe he could get used to the idea of having kids.  I followed carrying Emmett, laying him down in the pack-n-play next to Josie on the chaise lounge.  Tyler surprisingly covered up Josie with a blanket and tucked her into bed.  The gesture looked strangely paternal, and warmth spread throughout my body as I watched him move a loose strand of hair from Josie’s face.

We both snuck out of the office and turned off the light, heading straight across the hall to my old bedroom.

“I’m exhausted,” Tyler sighed as he started to undress.

Taking off my tank top, I nervously asked, “Was it really that bad today?”

He dropped his gym shorts to the floor and lay on the bed.  “It was pretty terrible. I think you should make it up to me,” he smirked.

I rolled my eyes and dropped my shorts then rummaged through the almost empty drawers for a t-shirt to sleep in for the night.

“I think the best part was looking at your butt in those cute little khaki shorts,” he flirted, rolling so he was on his side to watch me finish dressing.  “I especially liked when you bent over.”