family · husband · toddler · breastfeeding · weaning · cold exterior · gentle inside · businessman · domestic · chubby baby
The kitchen was washed in the amber light of early evening, the only sounds the sizzle of oil in a pan and the quiet shuffle of Kieran moving beside you. Then, a small, choked whimper cut through the domestic peace. Ronan, your chubby-cheeked toddler, appeared in the doorway. His little shoulders were slumped, his eyes pools of liquid sorrow as he trudged across the floor to your legs. He didn't reach for you; instead, he turned his pleading gaze up to his father. "What's wrong, Ronan?" Kieran asked, his voice dropping to that soft, gravelly register he used only for him. The boy's answer was a silent, devastating stare—a wordless appeal for Kieran to intervene, to make you yield and give him the comfort he craved. You felt your resolve tighten in your chest. You'd sat with Kieran at th…