Somebody's Baby (Read 21,719 times)

[André DiMera]

Hope Philip doesn’t get distracted while he’s cutting that bagel.

[heroicmuse]

I'm not sure why a child Parker's age needs his bagel cut up into bite size pieces but it's nice he and Philip still have a bond.

[doolfan4life]

She probably did realize about the shirt
Another tactic for her to keep the truth .......

[melly]

Bagels....do you know how hard it is to get a good bagel in Oklahoma???

I always enjoy interactions between Philip and Parker!

[Kpatch]

Oct 29, 2018 21:56:16 GMT -5 melly said:

Bagels....do you know how hard it is to get a good bagel in Oklahoma???

Same is true in Florida, despite all the New York transplants.

[Kpatch]

Chapter 7b


“Where did you get fresh, hot bagels,” Chloe asked as she came down the stairs.

Philip did a double take. She was wearing one of his longer tee shirts and suspected she didn’t realize that it didn’t leave a lot to the imagination in the light of day. He blew some air between his lips as he looked down and tried to concentrate on slicing another bagel. Clearing his throat, he said, “There’s a shop at the end of the dock. They’re only open for a couple hours every morning so you have to get there early.”

“That was sweet of you.”

“That’s me. Sweet.” He smiled a fake smile.

She walked over to Parker and hugged him from behind. “Parker’s five and he doesn’t really need his bagel cut up. Do you, angel?” She looked at Philip. “But I admit I sometimes baby him. I call it single-parent syndrome. My father calls it 'spoiling the child.' But Philip, don’t feel you have to give in to his every request.” Stepping away from Parker, she looked at her son and said, “Angel, you need to stop taking advantage of Uncle Philip.”

“Sorry,” Parker said, pouting.

“It’s no big deal,” Philip insisted. "I really don't mind." In truth, Philip loved the opportunity to baby Parker. Trying not to stare at Chloe’s chest, he asked, “Did you all sleep okay?”

“On and off,” she said, leaning on the counter. “It was almost too quiet. I’m not used to quiet after living above a noisy city street for the past four months. But I think I could get used to being lulled to sleep by the sound of the ocean.”

Philip could easily get used to Chloe sleeping here too. “Most people say being on the water makes them sleep like a baby.” He placed a plate in front of her and pushed the cream cheese closer. “Speaking of babies, where’s Holly?”

“I changed her and she went back to sleep. I hate to be a pain, but I’m really going to need to get those diapers. I only have two left.”

“We’ll do that right after breakfast. Will that be soon enough?”

She nodded as she bit into a bagel. Placing her hand on top of his, she asked, “What about you? Did you sleep?”

“I slept really well. Six solid hours.” Four, if he was lucky, he thought to himself. “Better than I’ve slept in a long time,” he lied.

Looking around, she observed, “Your house is so nice and bright.”

He looked toward the sliding doors. “That’s because there’s no mountains or trees for shade. But I like it that way.”

Plastering cream cheese on the other half of her bagel, she asked, “Do you like living in Florida?”

“It's not awful. I mean, the house is great. I've lived in worse places. It’s just different.”

“Different is an understatement. This is nothing like Chicago. It’s not even Salem. It seems so low-key here. Don’t you get lonely?”

[heroicmuse]

Well Chloe seems to have suddenly changed her tune. We'll see how long this lasts.

[André DiMera]

This is an interesting line of questions.

[doolfan4life]

She’s just stalling
She asks questions but still hasn’t answered any of his

[mae00]

She sure is asking him a lot of questions. I think she's wanting to distract him from the conversation they are supposed to have.

[melly]

I’m really trying to go for genuinely interested here on Chloe’s behalf....but I kind of think she’s stalling, too.

[Kpatch]

Author's note for clarity: Chloe's not stalling. They're having breakfast and because Parker's there, they would not be discussing the elephant in the room in front of him.

[Kpatch]

Chapter 7c


“Lonely has become a way of life for me, so I hardly even notice it. Sometimes loneliness feels like an old friend. Gives me time and space to think.” He grew quiet for a minute. “Sometimes though, I think too much.” 

“Sounds like you're a little conflicted.” Philip didn't respond, leaving an awkward silence to fill. “Um. Do you have a job here? I’m guessing you weren’t telling the truth when you told me you were in New York on business.”

Smiling, he said, “I toyed with the idea of being a fisherman, but I quickly found out I’m not very good at it. I remember Bo’s father taking us out on his boat when I was a kid and teaching me to fish. I wasn’t any good at it then either.” He laughed lightly. “Besides, I’m more inclined to throw back any fish I catch rather than sell them.”

Chloe looked at Philip with a mixture of pity and admiration. “So how do you spend your days?”

“Well, in my spare time,” he said with a laugh, “which I’ve got plenty of, by the way, I trade stocks online.

“Seriously? Isn’t that risky?”

“It can be. I’ve bought a few dogs, but I’ve had more wins than losses so far, so I’m ahead of the game. I guess the world of business is in my blood even if I’m not putting on a suit and tie every day anymore. I follow the markets and see which sectors are going up and which are going down. Sometimes you can find a bargain when a stock is on its way down. I bought Whole Foods stock the day before Amazon announced they were buying it. I was reading the reports and I had an instinct it was about to be bought. I made $10 a share real fast and I sold it the day after.”

“I’m impressed.”

Philip shrugged. “Keeps me out of trouble.” He looked at her and Parker. “Well, for the most part.”

[André DiMera]

Interesting that Philip is in the stock business.

[heroicmuse]

What trouble did Philip get into that he doesn't want to mention in front of Parker?