I petted Charlie while Henry thought about my words. Then his hands flew, signing like mad. It taxed my concentration, trying to catch everything he was telling me.
“Can you stay for a while? Wait, can we cuddle and watch a movie? Oh, then can I sit on your lap and have a bottle?”
Oh, my sweet, adorable, needy Boy. “Yes, to all of that.”
Initially, we were going to talk about our weekend, but we could do that later. Henry needed me, and right now, that was more important.
“I would offer to make the bottle for you, but…” I pointed at his cat, which had Henry up on his feet, scampering away.
What is it with Littles running when they aren’t supposed to? Sighing, I scratched Charlie behind his ear. “Guess I’ll have to have a talk with your Daddy about running in the apartment. We don’t want him to hurt himself, do we?”
“Meow.”
“Yeah, I thought that you would agree with me, buddy.”
“Meow.” It looked like I was doubly blessed. Not only had I found myself a Little but also a furry friend.
Twenty minutes later, I held Henry close to my chest while he enjoyed his bottle. Charlie was fast asleep on his lap. Henry had offered to turn up the volume of the movie, but living with my sister made me comfortable with subtitles. Peter Pan was familiar enough. There was not much chance of missing much. But so far, I spent more time looking at Henry than the screen. It felt good to hold him and to hold his bottle for him while he petted Charlie.
When Henry finished his milk, I put the empty bottle on the sofa beside me. It was silly, but I didn’t want to disturb Charlie by sitting up to put it on the table. Henry beamed at me as if I had done the most important thing ever. Then he grabbed my face with his hands.
“You’re such a good Daddy to Charlie,” he whispered.
It amazed me to hear Henry’s voice. Henry was fourteen when he lost his hearing, so he learned to speak as a kid. Addy was born deaf. She was dependent on sign language and had never even tried to talk. My mom had told me once that she would love to hear Addy say Mom just once. Until now, I’d never understood why it would be a big deal. But now, as I heard Henry quietly say my name, I understood my mom’s wish.
“C-Caden?”
“Yes, Little Boy?”
“You were far away.”
“I was thinking about my sister and my mom.” Henry turned a little so he could read my lips better, and he started to sign again.
“You said that she’s deaf. Is it rude to ask if she was born deaf?”
“First of all, we’re getting to know each other. It’s ok to ask questions, and second, it’s not rude.”
“You always say that.” Henry giggled, and Charlie narrowed his eyes at us. Upset that we had woken him. After a moment, Charlie seemed satisfied that he had reprimanded us enough. He turned himself around until he lay on his back and went back to sleep. Because Henry was signing, it was up to me to scratch Charlie’s belly. I almost laughed when his purring got even louder. But instead, I concentrated on Henry again. It wasn’t fair to laugh about something Henry couldn’t hear.
“What do you mean?”
Henry giggled. “When you have to say something important, you always start with first and then second.”
I raised my eyebrows and thought about it for a moment. Then I laughed. “I guess you’re right. I’m a lawyer. I need to make my points.”
“And it’s such a Daddy thing, too.”
“You mean like first, don’t run in the apartment. And second, you’re such a good Boy, drinking all your milk?” Henry moaned and wiggled a little on my lap, but then he stilled again and looked at me.
“You don’t mind me asking questions?”
“Not at all, no. So, about my sister.” I searched for the remote and paused Peter Pan. “Her name is Addison or Addy. Addy is six years younger than me, and yes, she was born deaf. They found out when she was about eight months old.”
“So, she never knew the difference.”
“No. But you do, right?” Henry swallowed before he slowly nodded. “What happened?”
“Can we go back to the movie now?”
“I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
“I don’t talk about it. Ever.”
“It’s ok. You don’t have to.” There was something in his eyes that had me wondering what had happened to him. The brief flash of pain and fear. Nothing I wanted to see in my Boy’s eyes. Ever. “So, back to Neverland?” Henry just looked at me for a moment, but then he nodded. “Are you good like this? Do you want another bottle?”
“There’s a binky on the side table. Can you reach it for me, please?”
“Sure.” Reaching over to the table without dropping Henry or waking the cat wasn’t easy, but I was able to get it. Gently stroking Henry’s cheek, I nudged his lips with the binky, and he opened and began to suckle on it. “That’s a good sweet Boy. Now just relax and let Daddy hold you.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome, my sweet. Now let’s see what Peter Pan is up to.” I smiled at him, and Henry leaned into me. It took him a while to finally relax. Sighing, I closed my arms around him and just held him through the rest of the movie. At one point, Charlie hopped off Henry’s lap but came back moments later. Not on Henry but beside me, cuddled into my side and presenting me his belly. I caught Henry watching our interaction, but when I started to give belly rubs, he turned back to the TV
