Marrying a Boxer | H.S.

Chapter 38

The next morning my phone rings as I exit the gym and walk to my car. My sister's name flashes on the screen and I glide my thumb across it to answer. "Hey, Moni," I say as I get in the car and close the door.

"Hi, Muffin! What are you doing later today?" she asks.

I think about it and reply, "I think I'm going out for lunch with Harry when he gets home. Why?"

"Would you guys mind taking care of Lauren for a couple of hours?"

"We wouldn't mind one bit. You know how much Harry loves Lauren, and of course how much I love her. Just bring us over everything we might need," I tell her.

"Thank you so much! I will bring her over at around 11:30," she informs.

"Sounds good! See you then, Moni." We hang up and drive home.

Once I get home I shower and get ready for lunch with Harry. At exactly 11:30 Moni sends me a text saying she's outside and I hurry out to help her bring Lauren inside along with all the things she brought.

"Muffin, can you take Lauren inside?" Monique says, opening the trunk and taking out the diaper bag and the stroller. I nod and take the car seat out. I see Lauren peacefully sleeping and smile as I bring her inside.

"Okay, here's the stroller, the rocking seat to put her to sleep, the diaper bag, and the car seat holder. Inside the diaper bag, I placed a couple bottles, I brought you the formula and also the water she drinks. There's enough diapers for a whole day, a blanket and a few outfits in case you need them. There's one baby bottle with breast milk, give her that one if she starts crying when she wakes up. She usually eats every two to three hours. Burp her after she finishes the milk." She starts throwing all this information at me, and I'm trying to keep up with everything.

"Okay, Moni. I think I got this," I say.

"Thank you for doing this for me, Muffin! I've got to go now, but I will have my phone with me at all times so if you have any questions don't hesitate to call me or Marcus. I love you, sister!" she calls, walking through the front door and closing it behind her.

A few minutes later, I hear the front door open and Harry's voice sounds through our house. "Sweetheart, I'm home!"

"I'm in the living room!" I say. He walks in and looks around, taking in all the baby stuff.

"What's all this?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, but Moni asked if we could take care of Lauren for the day. I told her we could, and she brought everything we might need." I explain. He walks over to me and gives me a sweet kiss. 

"Do we get to have her all day?" he asks, kneeling in front of the car seat and looking at the sleeping baby.

"I think so," I nod.

"Yay!" he raises his arms above his head in excitement, making me laugh. "Shh, you'll wake her up." I cover my mouth with my hands. "Let me go change my clothes really quick and then we can go get lunch, alright, love?" I nod and he hurries upstairs.

After our lunch, we decide to walk around the city. Lauren surprisingly slept all through our time in the restaurant. Harry is pushing the stroller as we walk around, and Lauren holds her bottle, happily drinking her milk.

"I'd enjoy walking around the city more if paps didn't follow us around everywhere we go," Harry mutters. I look around and spot a man pointing a camera at us.

"How much do you want to bet this will be all over the internet in minutes?" I say, we walk in another direction and I take a deep breath. It has been so long since I've been out of the house.

"They'll think Lauren is ours," he chuckles. I giggle and nod.

We continue walking for a while more until Lauren starts fussing and we head back to the car to go home. 

***

"Why won't she stop crying?" Harry groans, running both hands through his hair.

I turn Lauren to face away from me and lightly bounce her up and down, hoping she will stop crying, but she cries even harder. "I have no idea," I say.

"Give her the bottle." I roll my eyes at Harry.

"I already tried and she didn't want it."

"Maybe she has a dirty diaper?" I shake my head.

"I changed her already as well. I don't know why she won't stop crying, she's been fed, she slept, she's changed..." I shrug. Harry walks towards me and the baby and takes Lauren from me. He holds her head with his left hand and rocks her from side to side, singing a lullaby softly.

After a couple of minutes, Lauren's cries come to a stop. I stand behind Harry and notice that she's close to falling asleep. "She's almost asleep," I whisper.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings, startling Lauren and making her cry again. Harry and I groan in unison and try to calm her down again. Maura opens the door, letting Moni and Marcus in.

"Has she been crying long?" Moni asks.

"She was just falling asleep until you woke her up by ringing the doorbell," Harry says, rolling his eyes.

"She's not really a great sleeper," Marcus says as Moni takes the crying baby from Harry's arms.

"I can tell," Harry groans. I pack Lauren's things and Marcus grabs the diaper bag and the stroller, walking out of the house to place it inside the car. Harry follows him out, carrying the rocking seat. I stay inside with Moni as she tries to strap Laure into the car seat.

"How do you sleep at night?" I ask, watching as my sister struggles to secure her child.

"We don't," she huffs. "She wakes up frequently during the night, so Marcus and I take turns on who gets up."

Marcus and Harry walked back into the house. I ask my sister and her husband if they would like to eat something before they go, but they refuse. Marcus picks up the car seat, we say our goodbyes, and they leave.

Harry locks the door and rests his back against it, letting out a long sigh. Our eyes meet, he opens his arms and I walk towards him, wrapping my arms around his waist. A couple minutes of silence go by and then we make our way up to the bedroom. We crawl into our bed, too exhausted to change out of our clothes.

"You were right. We're not ready to have kids." Harry mumbles. I turn to look at him and see his eyes closed. I hum in agreement and close my eyes, falling into a deep slumber.