After Lover for Pay: ONESHOTS

A Day in the Life of -- London Matthews Pt2

Just about going on 1:00pm now, Marbell was tempted to call his husband to check up on him, but he also didn't want to risk waking the sick man up if he was resting – as he should be. Then again, there was another part of Marbell that figured London wasn't doing such.

Letting the idea go, Marbell pulled up to a shoe store not far from the previous shopping center he'd gone to a little earlier. When he parked, they all got out of the Suburban, and Ozzy was the first to tug at his hand. "Papa," the small boy pulled at his father's fingertips, "I gotta go potty."

"Oh, uh," Marbell hoped there was a public bathroom in the shoe store and he guided them inside. Holding the door open as everyone marched inside, he said, "Does anyone else have to potty?"

Joyce shook her head, but Layla and Naomi nodded to his question.

"Joyce," Marbell looked across the store and spotted a restroom sign against the far wall. "Can you please take the girls to potty?" When she nodded, he then turned to Benjamin behind him, "You don't have to?"

"No," the seven-year-old shook his head.

"Okay, Ben, you go ahead and start looking around, and I'll meet you after taking your brother to the potty."

Without an objection, Benjamin started off in the direction of what shoes he'd prefer. Marbell headed to the back with the other kids, and parted ways with Joyce when she went into the girl's room with the twins. Entering a vacant stall with his son, Marbell made sure Ozzy didn't touch the seat or get anything on him, and then flushed the toilet for him.

"Now I wash my hands!" the little boy said after pulling up shorts pants, and he hurried out of the stall once the door was unlatched for him. "Papa says soap stops the nasty germs."

"And that's very true," Marbell said, helping his son reach the automatic faucet. Since Ozzy was still rather small for his age, he needed a stool to reach just about anything at home. "You should always, always wash your hands after using the bathroom." He then dried the boy's hands with a paper towel, and used the same one to open the restroom door before tossing it in the trash.

Making his way back out into the store, Marbell kept his eyes open for Ben and found him in front of the Vans shelf. "You know what you want?" his father asked.

"Sorta," Benjamin took down a box of tan shoes with no laces. "I think I might get something like these, or the Converse. Either way, I don't want shoes with laces."

"Papa," Ozzy leaned up against Marbell's legs and hugged his arms around them while looking, up "I can have shoes, too, right?"

Marbell smiled down at the four-year-old and touched a hand to his bright blonde curls. Ozzy was just so adorable with his twisty hair and jade green eyes. "What kind do you want?" he asked. Given the young boy hadn't a particular preference when it came to the things he liked, he was sometimes the most difficult to shop for. Or, rather, he took the longest when it came to picking out what he liked.

Ozzy took his father's hand again and pulled him in the direction of the girly shoes. There were My Little Pony, Barbie, Princess, and flowery type shoes all on display, and the small boy felt like he was in a candy shop as he looked around. "Can I try that one, Papa?" he asked, pointing to a white and red pair with sparkles and pink and yellow flowers.

As Marbell searched for a box with a pair that would fit Ozzy's foot, Joyce approached with the twins, and they all looked around for something they wanted as well.

Marbell knelt down in front of Ozzy and took off his old pair of white slip-ons. When he had the new Velcro shoes on and strapped, he stood back and let the boy walk around a little. Ozzy zoomed up and down the aisle, passed his sisters and aunt who were trying on shoes of their own. Once he returned to where his father was, he shook his head, and said, "I don't want these. Can I try the pony ones, Papa?"