Chapter 3 - The Woman in the Cream Blazer
I laid Grace on the changing table and got to work.
"I know, buddy," I whispered, kissing her forehead. "I'm hurrying."
She screamed like I'd insulted her personally.
"That's fair," I told her. "Wet clothes are rude."
Then the door swung open behind me.
Heels on tile. Fast, sharp, furious.
"Absolutely not."
I turned. A woman in a cream blazer stood by the sinks, a lanyard around her neck. The badge said Diane.
"You need to leave. Right now," she said.
"I'm sorry. One more minute, I swear. My daughter—"
"I don't care. This is a women's restroom."
"I understand that. There was no changing table in the men's room. I checked."
"Then take it up with the mall."
"I will. But my baby is half-changed on the table right now."
She took a step closer, heels snapping. "Men like you always have an excuse ready."
I looked down. Grace was in a clean diaper now, at least.
"Ma'am, I announced myself before I came in. I asked a security guard first. I'm not sneaking around."
"Then leave."
"I can't leave the other one sitting in a wet diaper."
Ellie cried harder from the stroller, and Grace picked it right back up.
Diane's eyes went from one baby to the other. Not softening. Just annoyed.
"You can't even keep them quiet," she said. "This is exactly why babies need their mothers. Not clueless men playing house."
Everything in my head went quiet.
I heard Rachel saying, "You're going to be such a good dad."
Then I heard the doctor in the hallway. "We're so sorry. We did everything we could."
My hands stopped on Grace's zipper.
Then her little fingers closed around one of mine.
That brought me back.
I looked straight at Diane. "Their mother died giving birth to them. Three weeks ago. Please don't stand there and use that against my daughters."
Something moved across her face. It should have been shame. It wasn't enough of it.
"That doesn't give you the right to walk into a women's space."
"I'm not walking into anything. I'm changing two diapers."
"You're leaving."
"No."
My own voice startled me.
Diane blinked. "Excuse me?"
I zipped Grace into a clean sleeper and lifted her onto my shoulder. "I'm not leaving my other daughter wet because you're uncomfortable watching a father do his job."
"That's not your call to make."
"It is when she's mine."
I laid Ellie on the pad and reached for a fresh diaper.
Diane lifted her phone and held it up like a weapon. "Then I'm calling security."
"Go ahead," I said. "But back up. You're standing over a changing table with a newborn on it."
She didn't move. "Yes," she said into the phone, loud, aiming it at the hallway. "I need security at the women's restroom by the baby store. There's a man in here who won't leave."
I taped Ellie's diaper and got her legs into the sleeper.
"There is a MAN in the women's restroom!" Diane shouted through the open door.
Ellie shrieked.
"Almost done, baby," I whispered.
May you like
"Pack your things up before they drag you out of here," Diane said, stepping in closer.
I shifted Grace higher on my shoulder. "Please step back. I am holding one baby and changing the other. That's all that's happening here."
