Does this picture inspire a short story for you??
"Tyler? Baby? What are you doing out here?" I ask, exhausted from work and half out of my mind.
Β Β I was expecting to lay eyes on him the second I came home β to see him sitting on the couch like a big ol' overripe watermelon, watching TV and nodding off... like usual.
I was expecting messy-haired Tyler. Un-showered Tyler. Sleepy Tyler. Beautifully disheveled, and a little bit smelly Tyler β but, instead, I unlocked the door and stepped into an empty apartment.
He was missing from the couch⦠and he didn't answer me when I called his name.
It wasnβt until I looked out at our balcony and saw a bloated silhouette leaning against the railing that I realized where he wasβ¦ and, when I stepped outside, I found myself even more surprised.
βWhat are you wearing?β I say, flabbergasted by the sight of him in the brown lingerie set that I bought for him several months ago, before he got pregnant β a set that heβs only now wearing for the first time.
βThe baby and I had a good day.β He answers, beaming. Somehow his crooked smile outshines the sun. βI wanted to look good for you when you came home.β
βWellβ¦ you look stunning.β I tell him.
I usually head straight to the bedroom after work⦠take off my clothes, get showered, and wash the muck off my hands. Now, though, my grimy hands reach directly for his beautiful belly, smearing them with black residue.
βIs this gonna be a daily thing now?β I ask cheekily.
βI donβt know.β Tyler answers. βYou may wanna ask your son. If he keeps behaving in there, like he did today, maybe Iβll keep this up.β
βWellβ¦ if heβs anywhere as energetic as you are, Iβd better enjoy this time while it lasts.β
We laugh like a pair of hyenas out on the patio, looking down at the city together as I hold him in my arms β dirty hands planted on either side of his belly, where they belong, marking him with affection. I guess I really better enjoy thisβ¦ because, the second we go back inside, the lingerie set that heβs wearing is hitting the floor, and weβre getting a head start on baby number two.