Battered

Chapter 37

Balancing Cody on my hip, I manage to get my keys out of my pockets and open the front door. Stepping inside, I put his bags down on the floor before closing the door behind us and calling out to Cheryl, "Babe, I'm home."

"Finally" I hear her say as I walk down the hallway, "I wondered what was keeping you."

The sound of Cheryl's voice grows closer and seconds later she emerges from the kitchen, her mouth falling open in surprise when she sees Cody in my arms, "Kimba, what's going on?" she asks, confused.

Presented with a face that he doesn't recognise, Cody lets out a quiet whimper and snuggles into me for comfort, "It's ok Cody," I say reassuringly, "it's only Cheryl. She doesn't bite."

Cheryl lifts an eyebrow and I laugh, "Well sometimes she does, but she won't bite you."

Cody lifts his head and gazes at Cheryl, who steps forward and offers her hand to him, "Hi there" she says softly, "Cody?" Cheryl looks up at me, checking if she heard his name correctly.

I nod my head and watch as Cody reaches out to take hold of Cheryl's finger, squeezing tightly.

"That's quite a grip you've got there handsome." Cheryl smiles, "So, where did you get this gorgeous little thing from?" she asks, glancing up at me.

"It was Cody's mum who had the accident at the shelter." I explain, "Social services haven't got anywhere to place him while she is in hospital so he's going to stay with us for a couple of days, until his mum is back on her feet again. Is that ok?"

"Of course it's ok" Cheryl says excitedly, "I love kids, especially babies." cautiously, she holds out her arms to Cody and smiles when he leans towards her, allowing her to take him in her arms, "Let's go and find you something to eat, little man" she coos, walking off towards the kitchen with him.

I take Cody's bags upstairs and unpack his things into a cupboard in the spare bedroom. When everything is put away, I grab a handful of Cody's toys and a couple of bottles and head back down to the kitchen.

Cheryl is sat at the table with Cody on her lap and is feeding him a bowl of mashed vegetables, although he appears to be wearing more of it than he is actually eating. Crossing the room, I boil the kettle to mix up Cody's baby formula and cool the bottles under the cold tap before putting them into the fridge and joining the two of them at the table.

"There's a good boy" Cheryl coos, spooning some of the green mush into Cody's waiting mouth before looking over and smiling at me.

"I think someone is going to need a bath later" I say, studying Cody's very green, food covered face.

While Cheryl continues to feed Cody, I heat up our dinner from earlier and bring the plates over to the table. I offer to sit Cody in his pushchair while Cheryl eats but she insists on keeping him on her lap and somehow manages to eat one-handed.

After dinner, I load up the dishwasher while Cheryl plays with Cody on the living room floor, pushing his toy cars up and down the room. Peeking around the doorway, I watch the two of them play peek-a-boo, Cheryl covering her face with her hands before reappearing again and pulling silly faces that have Cody shrieking with delight. The sound of their laughter brings a smile to my face; Cody has clearly taken a liking to Cheryl and vice versa.

I finish tidying up in the kitchen and then head into the living room where Cheryl and Cody are crawling and chasing each other around the room, "It's bath time" I say, putting a stop to their game.

"Aww, can't we have five more minutes?" Cheryl whines.

My hands come to rest on my hips and I roll my eyes, "I can see who is going to be the strict parent and who is going to be the fun one. Bath time." I repeat firmly.