Chapter 6 Find His Daddy

• Grace sank with relief. She had grown attached to the little boy over the past half a day. She gently lifted his upper body and shifted him so that his head lay on her shoulder. She jostled him gently so that he wouldn’t wake up and put his legs around her waist. She rubbed his back soothingly when he made a whining sound in his sleep and felt a smile spread across her lips.
• “We need to get him a car seat and seat belt,” Grace thought out loud.
• “I already placed an order for those online. We can pick it up from the store tomorrow morning.” She paused. “With how exhausted both of us are, I booked a hotel room nearby. Our house is too far from here. Even if she starst driving now, it will take at least an hour to arrive home.”
• Grace nodded and smiled gratefully. She wouldn’t feel comfortable taking Liam in the car without securing him in a car seat. Olivia helped her up and his her hand on the small of Grace’s back to support her. Grace was unused to carrying children, so the added support stopped her from stumbling. As they walked to the back of the station, Grace heard Olivia grumble about being too stubborn to let her carry Liam instead.
• It wasn’t that Grace was being stubborn. She just couldn’t let go of Liam right then. It hurt just to think about the distance. After they settled into their hotel room, Grace finally drifted off to sleep, not waiting for her mother.
• Next Day.
• The next morning, Grace awoke with the feeling of something warm pressing against her side and shoulder. She glanced down to see Liam nestled against her, his small arms clutching onto her clothes, fearing she would leave too. He was wide awake, his dark eyes staring back at her. She gave him a small smile and he tried to smile in return.
• “Good morning, baby,” she yawned, covering her mouth and muffling her words a little.
• “Morn…” He struggled to find something to call her.
• “You can just call me Grace,” she prompted with a laugh.
• Liam smiled at her, but his face twisted and he looked pained. "What's wrong, baby?" she asked, concerned.
• "Hafta potty," he whispered.
• Grace quickly slide out of the bed and reached out for his hand. She glanced around the unfamiliar room, trying to figure out which way to go to get to the bathroom. There were two doors on the opposite walls. She figured at least one of them had to lead to the hallway and the other to the bathroom. She had been too remember which door she had come through. She would just have to learn through trial and error. They walked over to one door and were happy that it was the bathroom. The bathroom was pretty large with a tub, shower and a vanity to keep things alongside the toilet.
• Grace stopped for a moment, wondering if Liam needed help with something. She didn’t know what to do at this point, not having even babysat a child yet. As if reading her mind, Liam walked over to lift the toilet lid and got down to business.
• Grace’s cheeks reddened a little at how innocently Liam had gone about the whole action. She stepped out of the bathroom, keeping the bathroom door open but wanting to give the boy some privacy. When she walked back into the bedroom, she noticed the bag from her shopping trip yesterday. It was seated on top of a chair in the corner of the room. She picked up the larger one and saw a note on top of the items inside.
• [Lily sent the things you bought for Liam yesterday and a bag of necessities. Hold the fort until I come back.]
• Grace smiled at how thoughtful Lily was. Inside the bag, she found a change of her own clothes, a toiletry bag with her hairbrush, deodorant, body wash, shampoo and conditioner. Upon further inspection, she noticed that there was another set of products that were child-friendly. They were tear free and had no chemicals or allergens. The smaller bag contained the outfit for Liam, including socks and underwear. Lily really did think of everything and she was certain Olivia would be pleased with a freshly changed Liam when she returned. The t-shirt even had a mom pun on the front which Olivia would thoroughly enjoy. She always moaned about how creative clothes were not a thing when Grace was an infant.
• "Grace?" she heard Liam call.
• She turned to find him standing by the bathroom door. He ran at her and hugged her legs tightly. Grace squatted down and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. After hugging it out for a moment, she pulled back and looked him in the eye.
• "How about a bath to get the dirt out of your hair, baby?”
• He nodded swiftly. Grace hopped onto her feet and picked up the toilet bag and reached for his hand. Hand in hand, they walked back into the bathroom and started to fill the tub. Grace noticed how Liam was concentrating on the tub.
• “What’s on your mind?” she asked. Liam shook his head, looking upset.
• “Daddy puts lotsa bubbles.”
• Grace felt her heart squeeze. She placed her hand on his shoulder and came down to his eye level. “When we are at my house, I will make loads of bubbles for you. You can play in the tub for as long as you want, okay?”
• Liam nodded and smiled.
• Once the water was ready, Grace checked the temperature of the water before ushering Liam in. Liam stripped down and took Grace’s help to get into the tub. After a good soak and scrub to remove the remaining grime off his body, Grace started to wash his hair. After rinsing out the shampoo twice, she applied a small amount of conditioner. She giggled when he started to hum softly. He must have enjoyed having his scalp scratched by her. He let out a little sigh as she worked in the conditioner.
• "MeMaw does it too!" Grace was surprised when he looked at her with tear-filled eyes.
• "I wanna see Pawpaw and MeMaw.” He sounded so sad. “I miss ‘em. And Daddy. I want Daddy!” He started to wail and sob as tears fell quickly rolled down his cheeks.
• Grace had no idea what to do other than pulling his soaked body into her arms. “Hush,” she whispered into his wet hair. “I will find your daddy, okay? I promise.”