“Milo!” I shouted across the apartment, packing a couple of snacks into Milo’s knapsack. I shook my head when I don’t get a response back.
It’s a noticeably hot, summer day today; the forecast says it’s going to be at least 95 degrees by the time it hits noon. I fan myself with an envelope left on the kitchen table, hoping to finally get this air conditioner to start working before then.
“Milo!”
“I’m coming!” I hear his voice shout from his room. I walked over to the closed door, opening it to see what was taking him so long. Milo turns around when he hears the door open.
“Dad!” Milo said, shocked. I couldn’t help but sigh seeing the state of his bedroom.
“Milo,” I began to say. “Didn’t I tell you that your room needed to be cleaned before you went to Mollie’s?”
“I couldn’t find my swimming shorts.”
“Bud, they are always in the same place every single year.”
“Not those shorts,” Milo emphasized. I couldn’t help but laugh; Milo has expressed the fact that the swim shorts his grandmother bought him one year were not meant for boys. Of course, Mollie was the one that made the revelation and brought it to Milo’s attention.
“Okay, that’s understandable,” I said before walking into his room as he gathered his things. “I expect this room to be cleaned as soon as I bring you back home.” Milo sighed as he grabbed his book bag from his bed, dragging it towards the exit of the room. It’s not easy being a single father to a nine-year old that tends to act like he’s nineteen.
…
I was grateful for Lydia still letting Milo around Mollie, her youngest daughter. Her and Milo were born just a month apart from each other, and since then they’ve been inseparable. After Pep and I’s falling out last year, I was glad that it didn’t affect Milo’s friendship with Mollie. Oh, to be a kid again when all you fought about with your best friend was who ate the last cookie in the bag at recess.
Leaving Milo with Mollie also gave me time to finish up any assignments for grad school, on top of grading papers for the vocal class I teach at Waverly. It’s a bit surreal to be working at the place where it all started, ten years ago as a freshman. It’s crazy how fast time flies as soon as you graduate from high school.
As I continued to work on some assignments for school, my phone rings. I sigh, knowing exactly who it is. “Hey, man.”
“Milo?” Danny said. “How’d you know it was me?”
“It was either going to be Nicki or you, and knowing just how pregnant your wife is, I doubt she wants to be bothered.” Nicki and Danny got engaged as soon as they graduated college in 2014. With the help of Nicki’s very successful and rich sister, they were able to plan the wedding and ceremony all in a year and a half. They got married last year in April, and it look like they waited no time to get pregnant with their first child.
“Dude,” Danny starts to say. “How’d the hell did you survive a pregnant woman at 15?! Doing it at 25 is seeming impossible!” I couldn’t help but laugh. Danny and I have always been like brothers, even if in the beginning of our friendship it wasn’t like that. It seems like these last couple of months I’ve become more of a OBGYN for him, telling him my experience being around a woman with child.
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” I replied, trying hard to remember what life was like before Milo was born. “How are you guys doing up in Valley Stream anyway?”
“Dude,” Danny begins his sentences with ‘dude’ when he’s going through it. “Between the soccer mom vans and the long drive thru lines through McDonald’s—”
“Wait, what does one have to do with the other?”
“You try having a hangry Nicki sitting in the passenger seat, craving a Big Mac with two fish patties instead of the beef patty and having the drive-thru worker look at her like she’s an alien or some shit.”
“It sounds like you have a lot on your hands,” I said, leaning back in my seat. “Meanwhile, I’m sitting here in my apartment kid-free for the whole day. Cherish these times, Danny.” He deadpans over the phone as I get up from my seat, walking to the balcony door and opening it.
“Yeah, yeah,” Danny dismissed. “You’re still coming to the baby shower next weekend, right?”
“Of course,” I answered, leaning on the railing of the balcony and looking out towards the neighborhood. “What kind of godfather would I be not showing up?”
“You’re still on this godfather thing,” Danny stated unenthusiastically stated instead of asking. “What’s text? You’re going to talk with an Italian accent and smoke a fat cigar?”
“I don’t know who you’re going to have to break the news to, but I’ve called dibs on godfather as soon as you guys told me you were expecting. Being ‘Uncle Milo’ isn’t enough!” Before Danny said anything else, I could Nicki shout from the back; possibly about her phone being used for this phone call. A little tussling was heard before I heard the phone go still. “Danny?”
“Please take Danny out of the house,” Nicki began to say. “I’m trying to organize all this shit in the nursery and he’s literally up my ass like—”
“Hi, Nic,” I finally said before she go too detailed.
“Hi, Milo,” she sighed as she answered. I smiled; I can only imagine how uncomfortable she’s been. Gwen was a lot to handle towards the end of her pregnancy with Milo, and a lot of that was just being uncomfortable all the time. “Can you please take Danny out for the day?”
“I sent my kid to his friend’s house already,” I teased, knowing what to expect as an answer.
“Just fucking take him, Milo!” She yelled. “For fuck’s sake, I’m just trying to get everything in order before this fucking baby shower and everything is hurting and I’m stressed and—” I hear her voice crack. Ah, yes; the hormones.
“Okay, okay; I’m sorry,” I quickly said before Nicki started to cry. “Tell your man to meet me at my place; we’ll go and do guy things while you get your mommy things done.”
“Thank you,” she simply said before shouting away from the phone. “Danny I will be fine! Go, before I divorce you for being too fucking annoying!” The phone hangs up and I can’t help but shake my head and laugh.
…
“Four hours?!” I repeated to the technician, who’s knee deep in the AC unit in my apartment. “You’re telling me this is going to take four hours to fix?”
“We have to turn off this circuit to access the mechanic causing the system to jam,” the technician said, grunting as he got up from the ground. “I would suggest finding a cooler spot to hang out in while we fix this.” As if this was some sort of 90’s sitcom, Danny arrives at my open front door, giving it a courtesy knock before looking into the apartment.
“Dude, it’s hot as fuck in here,” Danny pointed out. I held the bridge of my nose, letting out a deep sigh. I looked at the technician before speaking.
“Please call me when the AC is fixed; I’ll find some place to go in the meantime,” I said before gathering everything I needed in order to kill time. Danny follows me throughout the apartment before we both finally head on out on this hot, August day.
Letters From Liz. 