by Bryna Butler
Chapter 11: Little Mr. Hayes
Colby burst into his house. He was so glad to finally be home. He kicked off his shoes, loosened his tie, and tried to shake the day’s stress from his body. He plopped on the couch beside his dad and grabbed the remote control.
“Colby, is that you?” rang a voice from the kitchen.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m finally home.”
“Come here, you have a visitor,” his mom sang.
Colby’s heart skipped a beat. He had been drug down from the strain of the day with Brooke’s parents, but this lifted his spirits. He would finally meet Keira’s charge, his nephew. He jumped to his feet, hopped over the back of the couch, and run into the kitchen. As he rounded the pantry, he did not see his brother Jamie or the baby. Instead, there stood Keira, licking the icing buttons from a gingerbread man.
“Glad to see me?” asked Keira with a broad smile. She knew very well that she was not the visitor he was expecting. Colby’s shoulders fell. Without a word, he took a deep sigh and turned his back to her to open the fridge.
Lila always made a big to-do about Jamie’s visits. Colby’s dad, Curt, married young and was widowed before he even turned thirty. Jamie’s mother died in a farming accident right after his first birthday, so the only mother he ever really knew was his step-mother, Lila. She never thought of Jamie as a stepchild, but cherished him as her own. Colby remembered times when Jamie would come home from college for just an overnight stay. Even then, she would meticulously clean every square inch of the house for a solid two weeks in advance. Of course, there was always a big family dinner involved and Colby’s least favorite, home movies and scrapbooks.
“Keira has been a big help this afternoon. She helped me decorate all these Christmas cookies. Now everything’s ready. And look Colby, she brought this adorable bib for the baby,” Colby’s mom said as she presented a shocking blue bib with the words “King of the World” imprinted on it.
Colby turned from the refrigerator, looked at the bib, then looked at Keira. She grinned mischievously and shrugged her shoulders.
“So let me get this straight. You let Keira help bake?”
“Of course not,” his mother laughed. It was a well known fact that Keira was not the domestic type.
“I served as the icing design specialist and taste consultant on the project,” Keira quipped.
Colby rolled his eyes and turned back to the refrigerator to grab a soda. As he moved to shut the refrigerator door, the doorbell rang. Colby slammed the door shut and took off running. Keira quickly followed. He strode through the living room and hopped over the coffee table as if it were a track hurdle. The short race briefly reminded him of the impromptu race to The Landing on that last day of summer. He felt Keira grabbing his shirt from behind to slow him down. However, Colby prevailed this time. He grabbed the brass latch and pulled open the large oak door. Mary Sue was standing outside. Little Mr. Hayes snuggled in her arms, bundled up tight.
“Come in. Come in,” Colby shouted as he tried to catch his breath.
“What’s wrong with you?” his older brother questioned. “I could hear you running to the door from all the way upstairs. You’re not five anymore, geez, settle down.” He pushed Colby aside and ushered his new family inside.
“Jerk, I’m just excited to see my nephew.”
He reached for the baby and Mary Sue obliged. Colby sat on the bench in the entryway and worked to undo the puzzling myriad of snaps, straps, and belts on the baby’s outerwear. By the time he had it all figured out, Colby’s mother was standing over him, wanting desperately to hold her only grandchild. Colby passed Drew to her and everyone retired to the kitchen table to enjoy some Christmas cookies.
Colby could not help but stare at the baby. However, he noticed that everyone else seemed to have the same problem, though not for the same reason. He was a plump, alert thing with a few flyaway strands of platinum blond hair. His blue eyes darted around the room. Hard to believe that such a small, helpless child could one day change the world. Colby could see that Keira was captivated by the infant. He could also see that every time the baby caught Keira staring, he giggled and reached for her. Was she communicating with the baby in some unspoken way? Did the baby recognize her? Of course not, that is just silly, Colby thought to himself.
Then, Keira touched Colby’s hand, looked him in the eyes and took a deep breath. No one noticed, except for Colby. It was time. As everyone else was busy chatting and making faces at the baby, she spoke up. “Can I hold him?”
Colby wondered if this was a monumental moment in guardian history. Had a guardian ever held their charge before…outside of the vox ritual? Had a guardian ever personally known their charge? He could see that Keira’s eyes were tearing up, proof that this was indeed something special.
Lila handed the baby to Keira. “Remember to keep his head supported,” she insisted, even though it was obvious that Drew was of age that he had no trouble lifting his head on his own.
Keira nodded and delicately took hold of the infant. He smelled of dried milk and baby lotion. His skin was soft and warm. When she smiled at him, he opened his mouth wide and giggled excitedly.
“Oh Jamie, he has his first tooth,” Colby’s mother boasted.
Colby asked Jamie, “When he gets older are you going to do the whole Tooth Fairy thing?”
His disguised taunt was not lost on Keira, who spoke up quickly. “Yes, I believe the plan is to have you visit in a pink tutu, wings, and a wand.”
“That, I would pay to see,” Jamie agreed.
“How much?” Colby laughed.
“Cut it out, boys” Lila insisted. With that, Drew let out a big yawn and rubbed his eyes.
“Keira, you are certainly a natural. Why, Drew’s almost asleep. Go ahead and lay him down in the playpen that I’ve setup in the living room.”
As she did this, she whispered, “I’ll protect you with my life, kid.”
Even though he was fast asleep, little Mr. Hayes let out a big, pleased sigh.
