"Congratulations, Blair." Flo gushed upon hearing the news. She wrapped her arms around the young man and squeezed. "I never doubted you'd get your degree."
"Thanks, Flo," Blair gasped when he could breathe again. "Um, I've got a little favor to ask."
"Anything you need, Honey. Just tell Aunt Flo."
"'Aunt Flo' is it now?" Blair laughed. "Well, you've certainly earned the title. We, uh, the faculty and some of my students from Rainier are throwing me a party tonight. We might get home kind of late. Could we bother you to watch Laurene overnight?"
Flo McGinty chuckled, crossing her arms over her heart. "It's no bother at all, young man. You know I love that sweet baby like she was my own."
Laurene laughed and spit bubbles at her daddies from the swing in Flo's living room. Jim walked in and lifted the hefty seven-month-old into his arms. "She looks happy enough to be here," he chuckled.
"Oh, we'll get along like gang busters," Flo assured him.
"Do you need anything else from our place?" Blair asked. "More diapers, food, juice . . . do you have enough milk to last until morning?"
"Do you have any more bottles in your freezer?" the elderly woman inquired. "I could probably use a couple more feedings. I've got plenty jars of baby food and diapers."
"I'll go check." Blair hurried down the hall to their apartment, disappearing inside.
"He seems all aglow this afternoon," Flo commented.
Jim looked up from the raspberry blowing contest he'd been having with his daughter. "He's waited a long time for today. I think a small part of him never quite believed it would really happen."
"What will he do now?"
"He's going to take a teaching position at Rainier--full-time, at full-pay. He's been offered tenure after three years," Jim added proudly.
"My, that's wonderful news," Flo gushed.
"Yeah. I guess all those years he spent at Rainier paid off. It helps that Chancellor Edwards retired, too," Jim said, with just a hint of emphasis on retired. "The new Chancellor looked over Blair's record and was impressed by his success with his students, despite the time he took off to work with me."
"Will he be able to spend time with you at work?" Flo worried, knowing their close partnership extended to the police department as well.
"Not full-time, but Simon, our boss, hinted that when Blair got his degree, there might be an official, paid position as a consultant open. It would be part-time, on an as-needed basis. The school has even agreed in advance to give him the time off, if the city requests his services."
"It sounds to me like you two have it all figured out," Flo approved.
Just then, Blair bounced back into the picture carrying three bottles of frozen breast milk. "This enough?"
"That should more than suffice, young man. Thank you." Flo patted his cheek. "Well, get along with you two now. I'm sure you have things you need to do before the big celebration. You can come pick up Laurene anytime tomorrow. Sleep in. Don't worry about us."
"Thanks, Flo. You're the greatest," Blair enthused. He held out his arms for the baby. Reluctantly, Jim handed her over. After some nuzzling and good-byes, Blair finally handed her back to her caretaker. "See you in the morning," he assured the child.
With longing, backward glances, the two fathers made their way back to the loft. Flo lifted one baby arm and helped Laurene wave bye-bye.
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