The Baby, Part I
As she walked back and forth in the living room of the
funeral home, her girlfriend’s two month old son crying in her arms, he
couldn't help but smile as he thought of the countless times he had done the
same thing with his own cherished group.
“Hey, come on now. It’s really not that bad.” She cooed at
the baby, attempting to sooth his cried, but it didn't work. The little boy
simple refused to settle down. Turning around to look at him, she sighed, and
he could see the faint look of panic in her tired eyes. “I don’t know what else
to do.” She said, as he smiled at her, understanding where she was coming from.
“I've tried everything, but he keeps trying to latch on to me. ”
She cried, as she sat down on the couch next to him. “He needs to eat, but I
just can’t get him to take the bottle. I think it’s because she breastfeeds
him, and I’m a woman.” She added, as she looked over at him, wanting to ask him
for help, but afraid to. But as the little one continued to cry in her arms,
she knew she had no choice but to ask him. “Would you mind trying to get him to
take his bottle?” she asked hesitantly, as he tried hard not to laugh, since
he’d been waiting for her to ask him for help. Nodding his head, he smiled.
“I’d be happy to.” He replied as she gently passed him the
baby and he cradled him in his arms, as she handed him the bottle and watched
the baby happily latch onto it and began drinking and she found herself sighing
in relief. Leaning back into the couch, she found herself admiring how comfortable
he was with the baby. It had been at least twenty some-odd years since he
himself would have had a baby this small to take care of, and that thought made
her look over at the secretary in the corner of the living room where the lone
picture of him and his beloved late wife stood and she immediately felt
terrible as she tried to ponder what must have been going through his mind
while he fed the baby. Would this bring back memories for him that could cause
him pain?
“He’s almost done with this bottle. You might want to get
another bottle ready if you've got one.” He said, pulling her back to reality
as she turned and looked at him, her eyes scanning his face for any sign that
he was having a hard time mentally with all this.
“Huh? Oh right. I’ll go get it ready.” She muttered as she
walked into the kitchen to warm the next bottle. “You know, they’re going to be
a while yet, and this is the last bottle I have here for him. I’m gonna run to
the house and pick up another bottle, just in case. Will you two be alright?”
she asked a few moments later as she handed him the bottle.
“That’s a good idea. Take the new van and be careful. The
roads appear to be getting pretty bad.” He said in a father-like tone. Pulling
on her coat, she placed a gentle kiss on the baby’s head.
“Are you sure you two will be okay?” she asked again, as he
looked up at her and smiled. “Because I can always just stay here if you don’t
want to be alone. I know he’s been a lot of work tonight.”
“We’ll be okay. Don’t worry. Just be careful.” He said
gently as she nodded her head and walked out, closing the door behind her. With
a smile on his face, he looked down at the baby. “You've got a wonderful aunt
there little guy. She loves you like you were her own.” He said as he adjusted
the baby in his arms. It had been a long time since he had held such a small
baby in his arms for any length of time. “She’ll make a wonderful mother too
some day. You mark my words on that one little man.” He added a moment later as
he looked over at the photograph on the secretary. It was the only one he had
in the room of him and his beautiful wife alone. Letting out a sigh, he
couldn't help but realize just how much he was missing his beloved, and as his
gaze went across the mantel filled with photos of their own group, he couldn't
help but smile as he looked down again at the one in his arms.
~
After a second bottle and almost half of a third one, he
smiled as the baby snuggled up against his cheek and fell asleep in his arms.
It again, had been something else that had been awhile since anyone, wife or
child, had done that and he couldn't help but smile at the thought of it.
Looking over at her, she smiled as she turned away from the program they were
watching.
“Would you like me to take him?” she questioned in a
motherly-wife kind of way, almost like his beloved would have asked all those
years ago. Looking at the clock, he realized just how long he had been the
little tike.
“No that’s okay.” He replied, as he watched her smile and
snuggle back into the couch to continue watching the TV show. After a few
moments, she looked over at him and couldn't help but smile as she realized
that both he and the baby were sound asleep. Reaching over her head, she
grabbed her phone and silenced it before pulling up the camera and snapping the
picture-perfect moment. Setting the phone back down on the table next to her,
she sighed as she admired him. How many times at night when he was a young
father had his wife found him asleep on the couch with one of their children? She
could only figure it must have been hundred’s of times, as she figured he would
have been nothing less than a hands-on father. Glancing back to the program,
she heard his familiar sigh of him waking up, and out of the corner of her eye,
she noticed him shift ever so gently.
“His parents should be here soon.” She said softly, as she
saw him frown ever so slightly. Was he enjoying this? Or was that a frown of
sadness because he realized that the baby in his arms wasn't his and that she
wasn't his wife? Biting her lower lip, she resisted the urge to ask him.
“Okay.” He answered softly, as he yawned and felt the baby
stir in his arms. Running his hand up and down the baby’s back, he felt the
little one slip right back into sleep. It was an old trick that he use to use
on his own and he was glad to see that it still worked all these years later.
But he continued to frown slightly as he heard the slamming of a car door and
the door leading to his private residence opening. “I think your friends are
here.” He said, as she nodded her head.
“Come on in.” she called, as he watched the door open and a
very attractive couple walked into the living room. “Hey. How was the dinner?”
she asked pleasantly as she began to talk with couple.
“It was boring. I was excited to leave. How was he?” her
friend replied, nodding her head towards him and the baby. “I missed him.”
“He was great. I don’t know about him, but I enjoyed it. I
took pictures and video. I’ll put them up on Facebook for you.” She answered,
as he found himself smiling.
“I loved having him. He’s welcomed back anytime.” He quickly
interjected, though not a hundred percent sure that she was referring to him.
Handing the sleeping boy to hid father, he waved goodbye. “Thanks for having
here baby sit.” He added as he silently watched them put him in the car seat
for the ride home.
“I’ll be right up.” She said a moment later, as she followed
her friends out the door. As he listened to the mumbled conversation and the
clicking of the girl’s heels on the steps, he couldn't help but sigh painfully.
He failed at not getting attached to the baby. No, that wasn't right. He was
sighing because he had fallen into a fantasy world that he thought he’d never
have to come back out of.
“Wish you were here.” He muttered to the photo in the
distance as she walked back into the room and closed the door, jarring him from
his thoughts.
“Well that was fun but I don’t have any idea how to even
begin thanking you for tonight.” She said, as she sat down next to him on the
couch and yawned. “I really don’t know how to thank you.” She repeated as he
smiled at her.
“Don’t worry about it. Really. It was my pleasure.” He said
as he transferred the phones to the answering service before he put his cell
phone in his shirt pocket. “Now come on. How about I give you a lift home. Save
your parents from having to come get you.”
“That would be super.” She said, as she pulled back on her
coat and followed him out the door.
~
Coming home about a half hour later, he sighed as he locked
the door and sat down in his lazy boy. He was exhausted and at the same point,
he couldn't help but shake the fact that he had come back into reality. He
adored the couple of hours he had with the baby and was grateful that she had
her friends drop the little one off at the funeral home. But now, he couldn't
help but miss the fact that his beautiful wife wasn't there. Sighing for what
had to be the thousandth time that day, he stretched out in his chair and
listened to the clock chiming as he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
~
“Sweetheart? Can you grab the baby? I have my hands
full.” He heard her call from the kitchen as he darted into the living room to
see his daughter crying in her playpen. Shaking his head, he bent down, picked
the crying child up and cradled her in his arms, rocking back and forth trying
to sooth her.
“Really now baby girl. It’s not that bad.” He cooed at
the baby, as he thumbed away the falling tears from her eyes. “I promise it’s
not that bad.” He added as he held her close against his chest and kissed her
forehead as she settled down. Sighing softly, he walked into the kitchen of
their apartment and smiled as he watched his beautiful wife make dinner.
“Did you grab her?” she asked over her shoulder as she
picked up a pot and began to pour its contents into a strainer in the sink.
Placing a peck on her cheek, he smiled.
“I've got her love. She’s okay. Now, what can I help
with?” he asked, as he shifted the baby in his arms so he could place his free
hand in the small of his wife’s back as she moved the pot back onto the stove
and began to stir in the cheese for the macaroni.
“Nothing, but I’m sorry that this isn't more romantic,
but somebody wouldn't let me get anything done today.” She replied as she
placed a loving kiss on her daughter’s nose before looking up at her husband.
“Who said mac and cheese isn't romantic?” he questioned,
as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in as close as he could
before he leaned down and kissed her softly, their hands meeting on her womb
where their second child was. “Just being here with you is romantic enough, huh
little one?” he asked his daughter, who smiled at her parents.
“Mama!” she squealed, as they both laughed, before she
was showered in quick little kisses from her parents.
“You two are so sweet.” His wife purred at him a moment
later. “But it’s still so hard to imagine that in just a few weeks, we’ll have
a second one to deal with.” She added, as she slipped out of his grasp and
picked up the pot once more to begin dishing out dinner. Setting the baby down
in her high chair, he took the pot out of her hands.
“Scared?” he questioned gently, as he put equal amounts
in both their bowls and then some in the baby’s bowl. Setting the pot back on
the stove, he smiled as he pulled out her chair and helped her to sit, before
he turned away once more to light a handful of candles he had pulled out to
place on the table. As he lit the last one, he put them in front of them,
flipped off the light switch and sat down, his hand going back onto her womb.
“No, because I have you. What on earth are you doing?”
she asked, as she felt him rubbing his hand gently over hers, her wedding band
sliding around on her finger.
“Reminding you of how much I love you and how wonderful
you really are.” He whispered, as he placed his hand on her cheek and she
turned to look at him, both of them forgetting their daughter and her bowl of
mac and cheese. Looking into her eyes, he smiled. “The mother of my children…I
can’t help but confess just how much I’m in love with you my dearest.”
“And neither can I my darling. I love you too.” She
answered, before her eye caught the clock on the wall. Turning to look at him,
glowing from the light of the candles and her pregnancy, she had a look in her
eyes that he knew all too well. “Why don’t we put the baby down for the night
and then finish dinner in front of the fireplace?” she suggested, knowing that
he wasn't about to refuse the offer. Shaking his head, he looked over at their
daughter, her bowl of mac and cheese long since flipped over in the excitement
of watching her parents in love. Laughing, he picked up the squealing child.
“I’ll get her changed if you want to get the bottle
ready.” He spoke, as he headed off towards his office that doubled as the
nursery, while his wife quickly and silently pulled together and warmed the
cereal bottle they would give the baby every night. After five or six minutes,
she walked into the nursery, bottle in hand and stood in the doorway admiring
how quickly he had picked up on being a hands-on father. Laying the baby down,
an agreement he had made right before she was born, that he would be home every
night in time for bed, he covered her up with the fleece blanket his parents
gave them for a baby shower present and kissed her on the forehead. “Good night
little one.” He whispered softly, as he placed the bottle right next to her
before turning off the light and closing the door, the clock on the mantel chiming
out the hour. It was later then he had thought. Turning around to face his
beautiful pregnant wife, he pulled her back into his arms once more and tucked
a piece of hair behind her ear. “I love you so much right now.” He whispered as
he felt the baby kick against the hand that he had placed on her womb. “More
than you’ll ever know.” He added, placing his lips gently on hers and began to
kiss her passionately before she pushed against him.
“The doorbell is ringing.” She whispered into his ear, as
he kissed her neck, leaving soft little marks where he’d been.
“It can wait.” He whispers back, as it chimes
again…though not as far off in the distance as it should be.
~
Bolting up in his chair, he runs his hands down his face as
the doorbell chimes for the third time. Looking at the clock on the mantel, he
sighs. He’s been asleep for just over an hour. But it’s late, and he can’t
figure out who would be ringing the bell at that hour. Standing up, slightly
uneasy and depressed that he’s been ripped from the dream, he yawns as he
unlocks the door.
“Darling?”
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