Day 5
With the sunlight shining bright against the maroon curtains, he blinked twice, removing the covers from his tiny legs, and bouncing out of bed; his footing light as he peaked around the corner to see his parents with both their faces buried into the pillows. Scanning his surroundings around the small hallway, he reached up and slammed his palm against the light switch on the wall by the refrigerator. The bright light causes the two to grunt and wince against their pillows.
"Up!" He piped, sprinting at full speed to his parent's bed, where he took it upon himself to climb atop of his sleeping father, "Mommy, daddy, up!"
Ricky grunted, squeezing his eyes tighter shut to avoid his early morning wake-up call, "go back to bed, John."
John shook his head, grinning, "Birday!" slapping his hands excitedly against Ricky's ribs, "Up, daddy!"
Ricky grunted again, trying to roll John's small frame off of his side to free his pinned arms without disturbing his tired wife beside him.
Rolling over, Amy squinted against the harsh light and brushed his small arm with her fingers, "You wanna get in bed with mommy?" He nodded, sliding off of his father's ribs and crawling to his mother as he slid the covers up to nestle in next to her.
Shifting his weight to situate himself better against the pillow, Ricky closed his eyes, only for them to be opened a second later at the sound of a loud, beckoning cry. "And will I be getting that, or will you?" He asked her, tightly bunching a small portion of the blanket in his fist.
"Would you?"
"Why not," he hissed, roughly ripping the covers away from his legs to swing them over the side of the bed, "I've only gotten her 6 times last night," before standing and stomping over to the infant, bringing her to his chest.
Ignoring him as he and their daughter went into the bedroom, Amy snuggled in closer to John. "Happy birthday, baby." She whispered, lip tipping up into a tired smile as she peppered his temple with soft kisses.
Lying in bed, John toyed with her rings, pushing them up and down her fingers as he rambled in sleepily whispers. "Tan I mommy? Mommy, tan I?" He looked over, seeing that her eyes were closed, and scooted up further against the pillow, poking her nose with his finger, "mommy…"
Eyes opening at the feeling of being poked, "Mommy's tired, I'm sorry" she leaned up further on her elbow, "It took me and daddy a really long time to put Emma back to sleep. You'll have to ask Daddy your question, okay?"
Walking back into the room, Ricky gave her a quizzical look, "Ask me what?"
Leaping away from the covers, he crawled to the end of the mattress, placing his hands on his knees, "Tan you mak fwench to-ost, daddy?"
Scratching the stubble on his face, he jostled the restless baby lying against his left bicep, giving his son a sympathetic look, "Sorry buddy, maybe another day. We have to get up so I can get ready for work, and we can get you to daycare."
John's response was to fold his arms and pout, "Why?"
But instead of answering the boy with an answer, he'd no doubt just fight him over. He sighed and looked over to his wife when Emma started to fuss, "she's probably hungry."
"She can't be, I just fed her an hour ago!" She huffed, adjusting the bra straps against her shoulders.
Fixating his eyes on the being in his hands, he slid her into her mother's arms, "Yeah well, she spit up again."
"Again? That's like the 10th time in 24 hours." She pulled Ricky's pillow over, propping Emma up and lifting her tender boob from it's confinement; letting the baby's sharp gums take hold of her nipple aggressively.
Watching in awe, John took hold of her small hand, grinning when she gave it a squeeze as he used his other hand to pet her nose with his finger.
-
-----------------------------------------------------
The coffee pot let off a series of small beeps, waking him as he stood at the sink, dozing off - mug nestled tightly in his grasp as he fought the urge to just fall over from exhaustion. Picking up the handle, Ricky shook his head a few times before pouring the hot liquid into the cup and taking a long, much needed sip. With his eyes half open, he could see his little family on the sofa bed before allowing his eyes to close as he took another sip, yawning for what felt like the 100th time that morning.
The front door opened roughly, the occupant pushing on the old wood with force before entering the small living room - stopping his steps abruptly to stare at the sight in front of him, his mouth grew dry.
Not yet registering who was in his home until he caught what the occupant was staring at, Ricky bolted into the living room, whacking his brother in the back of the head with his palm. "Amy!" He barked out to his wife who was passed out on the sofa bed, with their newborn attached to her exposed chest - John playing with some various toys beside her. He yelled her name again, but she didn't move. Clamping his right hand over his foster-brother's curious eyes, he yelled at her again, louder, "Amy!"
"What?" Amy grunted tiredly, not even bothering to open her eyes to look at him.
Removing his hand from the teen's face, "eye's shut, or you're dead," he went over to the bed, finding the nearest blanket and draping it over them, which in turn caused the dozing infant to awaken, detaching from Amy and fussing against the covering in protest.
Eyes still closed, she let out a very frustrated and annoyed breath, "What was that for, she was almost asleep!"
"Ethan is here," he hissed through clenched teeth
Ripping off the blanket and allowing Emma to reattach to her exposed breast, she mumbled under her breath that she didn't care and situated herself further into the mattress.
"I care!" He raised a brow, turning his attention to the shell-shocked teen, "what are you doing here anyway?"
"Margaret dropped me off. I needed a ride to school." Ethan said with a grin on his face, "the door was unlocked."
Ricky's attention turned back to Amy, "you didn't lock the door?" His voice came out louder than he had intended, startling the baby. Her silence as she ignored him only fueled his annoyance, but instead of acting on it and causing a scene in front of their uninvited guest, he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply from his nose, "just... go eat breakfast - cereal is on the counter. You too, John, go eat"
-----------------------------------------------------
Coming back into the room, Ricky mindlessly took the milk from the table and poured it into his son's bowl as the boy held his spoon in his hand eagerly, a big grin on his face
"It my birday, E-tan!" John enthused, scooping up his breakfast into his mouth, "I big boy!"
Taking a seat at the table, the teen grabbed the box of generic cocoa puffs and poured them into a bowl, "Birthdays are so overrated, kid" Ethan spoke with his eyes low to his spoon, not anticipating the hefty slap to the back of his skull, or the piercing look from his foster-brother who stood mere inches from him, chewing angrily, "Ow!" He took another bite, looking at the giddy child, "look, the only good thing about birthdays is the cake. Other than that - they're a complete waste of time."
John scooped up some more chocolate balls onto the spoon, looking to his father, "Am I go-in to hav a cak, daddy?"
Taking another bite, before swallowing and laying his bowl on the counter, Ricky nodded, "Yes, John, mommy and I are going to get you a cake. Now please finish eating so we can get going. "
"I gonna get a cak, mommy!" John's grin grew, slurping up some chocolate milk as his mother and baby sister made their way in from the hallway and stopped at the fridge.
"What are you looking for?" Ricky questioned, leaning against the stove with his arms folded into his chest, watching as she rifled through their small refrigerator for something they obviously didn't have.
"Something for him to bring to daycare for his birthday snack," Amy replied, annoyed, "Is there nothing in this house?", swiping away a few items with her left hand, "Did you get him anything?"
"If there is, how could you find it? You can't even see the floor, " Ethan piped, stuffing breakfast into his mouth obnoxiously, allowing John to imitate.
Shooting his brother the look that told him to shut it, he put his bowl on the counter again, shaking his head "No, I didn't-", and put his arm out noticing how she was carrying their youngest child. "That doesn't look comfortable…"
She's fine!" Amy huffed, adjusting the infant's weight but not moving her out of the position she was in; Emma's head resting in Amy's palm, while her small body rested on her stomach in between Amy's right arm and torso. "I did this sometimes when John was really fussy after he ate - it helped him a lot." She shut the fridge and spun on her heels to face him, cocking a brow, "I thought I asked you to pick something up, yesterday?"
"Yesterday was a million years ago, Amy. And no, you didn't." He sighed, scratching at the stubble on his chin, an uneasy look crossing his face as their daughter squirmed in discomfort, "She looks really uncomfortable like that- "
"Would you just chill out? I know how to hold a baby, alright?" She glared at him, mumbling under her breath "I did it alot by myself the first time."
"Can I say something?" Ethan interrupted, raising his hand in the air like he knew the answer to their squabble
"No!" They shouted in unison, causing Emma to whine. Amy sighed and thrust their daughter at Ricky, "fine - you take her then" before helping John off the chair.
Adjusting Emma against his shoulder properly, "Why are you getting him dressed so early? He's not done yet"
"Because, it'll give you time to go pick something up before you drop him off." She stated, finishing off the last remaining bite of John's breakfast from the bowl, "I'm thinking cupcakes will do just fine."
"I don't think so, I'll stop by the gas station and pick him up a pack of cookies, or donuts, or something. No use running to the store for some overpriced crap"
"Really? You're going to punish him because you didn't remember to pick up something for him yesterday when you went out?"
"That's not fair and you know it!" Ricky spit, moving off the edge of the counter so abruptly it caused Emma to cough at the rough startle, "I'm exhausted - she doesn't sleep like ever - not to mention we've had people constantly over, and I'm running around here like a chicken with my head cut off chasing down John, and trying to ready this place for the baby! Sorry if I forgot a stupid cupcake while I was roaming around looking for the other 100 things you wanted!"
Adjusting her to lay across his chest, she coughed again before depositing her morning feeding all over herself and him. Ethan laughed at the action, nearly choking on his own breakfast. "You wanna wear that cereal?" He remarked, his nostrils flaring as he sopped up the mess with a handful of paper towels and a washcloth by the sink. She was about to say something when he held up his hand angrily, and pointed to the hallway, "Just go get John ready!"
"Trouble in paradise?" Ethan enthused, swiping his hair away from his face so his foster brother could see the amusement in his eyes. But Ricky wasn't laughing, and he proved this by hurling the baby saliva laced pacifier directly at him, his chuckles stopping when the object hit the side of his head, leaving behind a wet spot on his shirt, "Gross... and, ow!"
Ricky's eyes were daggers now, unamused and angry, "Shut up and eat your cocoa puffs!"
-
------------------------------------------------------
Two loud beeps broke her of the zombie-like haze she'd been since everyone had left the apartment that morning. Instead of allowing her head to drop like a stone from her hand against the sink, she blinked and opened the microwave to shut it up, before reaching for the coffee pot.
Craning her neck from her spot, Amy glanced intensely at her daughter, Emma, who was finally sleeping after 3 painfully long hours of screaming, two feedings, two spit ups and a lot of pacing in a circle and rocking. Thankfully with John being at daycare again, she was able to take a breath without having to worry about him waking her up with whatever ridiculous thing he put on top of her, or tried to play with her with.
Taking the mug and the plate into her hands, she discarded the crumpled up napkin clenched in her fist into the trash, and tiptoed through the disarrayed living room. Hoping with closed eyes and clenched teeth that the squeaky toy lying on the floor, that she'd accidentally stepped on, didn't wake the sleeping baby in the bassinet 2 feet away. It didn't, thankfully. Sighing in relief, and continuing to tiptoe to the sofa, she picked up a blue plastic folder from the stack starting to pile up on the other side of the couch, and rifled through the twelve pieces of coursework that was way past due.
During the course of her homebound stay, Ethan or Kathy would drop by daily after school to give her a packet of everything she had missed in class: sometimes the packets would be two or three sheets of paper, maybe a book or two to read, and sometimes they would be large stacks of information that were to be dissected and required a lot of time and thought - neither of which she had much of.
Returning to the spot where the bright blue bookmark was placed, she yawned, taking a bite of the toaster strudel on her plate with one hand before taking a long sip of her coffee, and diving back into the novel.
Midway through page 90 of "Of Mice and Men": where the lines of text detailing Lennie's debacle started to blur into incoherent squiggles of black ink, as she read, and reread the same 3 paragraphs, fighting desperately against her drooping eyelids to stay awake, her phone went off; vibrating loudly against the hard wood of the end table.
Reaching over quickly, and catching a glance at the once sleeping infant as she batted a blue sleeved arm in the air but didn't wake, she held in a deep breath before yanking the phone to her ear.
What?" Amy huffed into the phone, crookedly perched between her shoulder and ear, trying not to pitch her voice any higher.
"Well that was rude, what are you doing?" The person asked, sounding a little too giddy for that time of day.
"What do you think? The same thing I've been doing for the last 5 days - taking care of a screaming baby all day while desperately trying to get some of this stupid homework done." She could hear him chewing through the phone
"Come over."
"You're kidding, right?"
"No, you can bring your school work; get out of that apartment for a while." George paused, popping something into his mouth, "It'll be good for you guys to get out."
"As great as that sounds… I don't think taking a newborn out in the beginning of February is going to do anyone any good." She put the pen she was using down, and started to fiddle with Emma's blanket, "She's used to being here. I don't know how she'll react at your house."
"So wrap her in a blanket, and turn the heat on. She'll be fine" He concluded, making the line staticky as he moved around, "Come over here and I'll make…" she could hear the sound of the fridge opening, "some chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs, and some smiley faced fry things"
"Well, as appetizing as that sounds…" she chuckled lightly, wiping away the excess crumbs from her shirt, "I can't. It took me forever to get her down, and she's alse -" A high pitched cry erupted from the bassinet, causing her to exhale slowly, defeated.
"Your excuses just ran out" George laughed, "See you both in 20!"
Hanging up the phone, Amy sighed before padding over to her red faced daughter. She picked her up gently, laying her small head between her breasts as she cried. "You were barely asleep for 30 minutes, what's wrong?" She tried to comfort, running her nails in small little circles against Emma's back before the tiny baby hiccupped and sent a large portion of her lunch down the front of Amy's shirt, and started to whine.
-
-------------------------------------------------------
"Damnit!" He cursed, jerking his finger away quickly and putting it to his mouth, completely oblivious to the knock at the door until she stood under it, eyes glaring at him." What took you so long? I said 20, it's been over an hour!"
"Well excuse me for not rushing over here with a baby, dad!" She grumbled, putting the car seat on the counter.
He hopped off the chair he was standing on, taking the diaper bag from her hands, and motioned towards his irritable granddaughter screeching and jerking her small arms and legs, "Is she okay?"
Running her left hand through her hair, and nodding at him, "She hates this car seat, and car rides, and basically everything else" Amy unbuckled the straps, and lifted Emma out, securing her against her chest before she noticed all the balloons hanging from the ceiling," What is all of this?"
"This…" George stepped back, expanding his arms out, "is all the stuff for John's birthday party - tonight."
"Dad, I told you Ricky and I just wanted to make a cake at the apartment. We didn't want anything big."
"Yeah well, I wanted to throw him a party… And judging from last night, John should have one."
She knew the look her father was giving her wasn't to make her feel bad. It wasn't her fault that John had strong feelings towards their new family dynamic, but she couldn't help but sigh anyway, because in a way it was her fault. It was her fault that John wasn't adjusting well, and she was partially to blame for that since she didn't exactly shower him in affection lately. Or prepare him more for what it was truly going to be like having a new baby around all the time. Maneuvering around the small space to the other side of the kitchen by the dishwasher, she cradled her daughter, whispering small sounds into her tiny ear while applying very soft, quick, kisses to her temple, not allowing her father to see her eyes begin to water at the thought of her failures.
"I didn't mean to -" George began, but was cut off by the back door flying open, and the person walking through to rest various bags on the counter.
She didn't have to turn to see who it was, the sounds of his footsteps gave it away.
"Oh, hi," He spoke softly, hoping that she'd turn around to look at him, given that they didn't exactly leave things on good terms that morning.
Amy turned around slowly, eyes shifting to the large mass of bags gathered around their child's carrier on the countertop. "You knew about this and didn't tell me?" Her tone was icy.
George caught the way she spoke and was quick to put up his right hand at her, "Stand down. He didn't know either. I called him and told him to pick me up some things, and -"
"And I kinda figured it out from there." Ricky finished his statement, pointing towards the door, "the rest are in my trunk." George needed no other warning, he was out the door within seconds.
Waiting until George was gone, he walked over to them, his gaze locked on hers. "I got John's stuff too…" Taking his phone out of his pocket, he pulled up an image of a grinning John with a cardboard hat on his head that read "hoot hoot hooray, it's my birthday!" on it, before swiping to another image: this one showing John with a cupcake all over his face and smashed in between his chubby fingers. Amy smiled at the images, but didn't react when he looked at her, instead held her gaze on the screen.
"Hey, you" Ricky smiled, brushing the pad of his left thumb against Emma's cheek as she squirmed against his wife. She held her out to him, which he happily accepted, situating her against his leather clad bicep before looking up and sighing at her pursed expression and silence, "I'm sorry about this morning…" he apologized, jostling their baby, "sleep deprivation makes me a little cranky"
Her lip tipped up slightly at his confession, adjusting her shirt and moving her hands to push on her lower back, moving towards the counter, "I know, I'm sorry too - What's in the bags?"
"I swung by the Diary Shack on my way here. I was going to drop it off to you when I got done, before I went to class. Figured you could use the boost - there's a cupcake in there as well, John's doing"
Amy's eyes lit up upon seeing the Styrofoam containers stacked inside the white plastic bag, along with the tall brown sack inside that she knew held a chocolate shake - Ricky's favorite. "Well, thank you" She softened, as she walked back over, and put a hand on his shoulder before pecking his lips with hers.
Ricky accepted her way of apology, reciprocating with a few deeper kisses, before pulling away. "You okay?" He whispered, tipping his lip up when she put her head on his shoulder, toying with their daughter's small hand. Amy nodded against him, allowing his grip on her waist with his free hand to get tighter, drawing her further into his side.
George walked back inside to the site, "Alright break it up you two," he wrinkled his nose mockingly, after placing all the bags in his hands on the floor. They rolled their eyes at him as a response, before Ricky allowed his awaiting father-in-law to gather Emma delicately into his arms. The handoff caused the little girl to elicit incoherent noises. "Yeah, you tell them it's too soon for all of that" George teased, looking from his granddaughter to her parents.
Amy leaned into Ricky again, intentionally gathering his face between her hands and smacking her lips to his. He smiled against her, wrapping his arms around her back, trying his best not to break out into laughter at George's uneasy and extremely uncomfortable expression, or the gagging noises that followed.
George's eyes shifted down, covering where his eyebrows met with his free hand, "Alright, geez, I'm going to lose my breakfast."
Chuckling they broke apart, "bye," Ricky pecked her lips again, before doing the same to Emma's cheek.
"Party starts at 6" George announced as he was walking out the door, before moving further into its frame to shout, "and shave that wimpy thing you call a beard!" Ricky waved his teasing off as he got into his car and drove away.
Coming back inside, he watched as she stood there, staring at the spot where Ricky had just left. George waved his hand in front of her face, getting her attention before motioning toward the table with a tilt of his head, and grabbing the large bag of food from the counter. She lingered in the same spot, contemplating if moving was really necessary.
"I forgot, I'm sorry! Geez, you're just like your mother, you know that?" George chuckled, wincing at his youngest grandchild's fusses when the blanket was too high for her liking, and she voiced her displeasure about it. Amy spun on her heels, giving him a glare and playfully slapped at his arm, before reluctantly taking a seat at the table.
"How are things?" He asked her, using his free hand, to take the burger from the Styrofoam container and take a bite, as the child in his other arm batted her small arms against his chest.
She took a hold of her own lunch, "Things are fine" taking a bite as her father raised his brow at her, "what? They are!" She tried to convince him, but his higher brow rise told her he knew better. She put her burger down, cocking her head with her own raised brow, "okay, what are you getting at? Have you been talking to Ricky?"
He leaned back a little, taken aback by her accusatory tone, "No I haven't, but I know you -" his features softening, "Are you okay? I know how hard things were on you when you had John and -"
"And what? I had another baby that refuses bottles, and hates sleep - who is the exact opposite of John -" The change of pitch in her voice, caused Emma to whine, making her take a slow breath. "It's hard, but… we're managing, alright?" It became silent as she tried to discreetly swipe at the tears breaking out of her eyes, and recoiled when her father tried to touch her hand. "I'm fine. Really. I'm okay. I just wish people would stop treating me like I'm going to break - "
He didn't allow her to finish, taking her hand from across the table. This time she didn't object and let his large palm engulf her shaky one. "It'll get better. It will. It did with John, it will with Emma too." The words came out as whispers, knowing that raised voices and icy tones would help nobody in the situation. She swiped at a stray tear running down her cheek as she nodded slowly, and squeezed his hand tighter. He leaned back against the chair a little more, chuckling and staring at his granddaughter dozing lazily, "Who came up with that name anyway?"
Amy sniffled a few times, going back to her plate of partially uneaten food: pulling at the bread of her burger, "Ricky. We made a bet, and he won so he got to name her."
"She looks like you" George noted, adjusting Emma's pacifier
"Ricky says that too, but I don't see it. She has his nose, and we both have no idea where her green eyes came from. Both of us - and John - have brown, how did she get green?"
"Sugarplum has green eyes…" he paused, taking a French fry into his mouth, "and she also hated blankets-"
"Dad! Don't tell me I gave birth to a mini Ashley!" She shouted unintentionally, mouth agape before bracing her head in her hands, dramatically.
He chuckled, "So she got her eyes. And maybe her temperament… "
She glared at him, pulling at the lettuce on her plate with disgust, "Tell me about it. Ms. Cranky needs to get on a schedule - anything at this point, because staying up all night, and crying all day, just isn't working for anyone, and now John is waking up too-" breaking a French fry with her fingers, she exhaled deeply, staring at the two pieces before tossing them back on to the Styrofoam "We're tapped out and exhausted"
It was silent for a few seconds, Amy picking up, breaking, and then tossing fries one after another, "Speaking of little man, how is he doing with all of this?" George asked, finishing off his lunch
She scoffed, "Do you really have to ask? Wasn't yesterday proof enough?" Eyes everted, she swirled a fry in some discarded sauce dripping from the bun, "He's trying, he really is in his own way. But she's difficult, and he's over it." She exhaled again, "he loves her - we think - but he's done with her constantly screaming over everything." Pursing her lips into a line, and folding her hands in front of her face, "Yesterday proved that when Ricky had to pry a cardboard box out of his hands before bedtime because he was adamant that he was going to put Emma in it so Ricky could take her back to the hospital."
"Just like you did, remember that? How you put Ashley in a box and asked the mailman if he could take her back and bring you a cat -"
"And how he told me that if that were possible he'd have 2 kids instead of 3, yes!" She laughed a bit too loudly, but thankfully didn't disturb her sleeping daughter. "Talk about disappointing"
"See, you got over it. John will too, just give him some time."
"Yeah, I know" She leaned back against the chair, bringing her knees up to her chest, "How is it possible he's 3 today, dad?"
George cracked a small smile, "I know, it feels like he still should be a little baby, but instead he's -"
"Instead... he asks for pancakes in the morning, and likes to tell stories about things like bugs that don't make sense. He's now this defiant, argumentative… sweet and loving and sensitive 3-year-old…" She finished, letting a small tired smile come across her face, "It's like I blinked one day and he changed from a toothless little baby, to this overly energized little person." Removing her hand from under her chin, and toying with her engagement ring, she let out a small sigh, "We've been discussing letting him start school in the fall, but… I don't know if he's ready - I don't know if I'm ready!"
"I think it's a good idea… you gotta let him grow up, Ames" He concluded, taking a fry from her uneaten pile
"I know, it's just hard...he's my baby!" She sighed again, "But…I have to let him be independent, even though I don't want to." He nodded, taking a handful of her uneaten fries into his free hand. She looked at him in mock disgust, before craning her neck to peer down at Emma sleeping peacefully in her father's arm. "She really is cute when she actually sleeps… '' Amy smiled sheepishly, reaching over the table to smooth out a very small stray curl around her daughter's ear, "she sleeps like him - his curls stick out from his neck when he lays on his back too"
"See, she did get Ricky's genes on something."
She gasped at him, eyes going wide, "Don't say his name too loudly, she might hear you and wake up!"
George tossed the shards of beef from his lunch to Moose who eagerly sat at his feet, eyeing his daughter's barely touched plate, "Ever thought of getting John a haircut?" Scooting the plate over to him without hesitation, she cocked her brow at his question, knowing full well he already knew the answer to it. "What, he needs one! You can barely see his eyes!"
"Good luck with that." Shaking her head at him, she took the chocolate treat from the bag, sat back and chuckled to herself.
-
-----------------------------------------------------
"I know, I know, you want your mother! Bare with me a sec, would ya?" George tried to bargain with the screeching infant he placed inside the car seat, trying to connect the buttons on the oversized purple onesie as she squirmed within the confinement.
"Whoa, what happened here?" Amy asked, worry laced in her tone as she heard her daughter's loud cries, and saw the disarray of the kitchen.
"I gave her a bath while you were in the shower" Snapping the buttons shut, he grabbed a dish towel and wiped up the puddle of water dripping from the counter, "did the laundry in your trunk too," pointing his index finger to the table where a clean, folded, and full laundry basket sat. His brow rose at her appearance: the baggy gray sweatpants paired with a faded, purple shirt, "Is that what you're wearing to the party?"
"Dad, I've barely left the house in 5 days, I didn't anticipate coming to a birthday party otherwise I would have put on actual clothes" She huffed, going over to the freshly done basket of clothing, "I'll just wear these," pulling out a pair of black leggings and one of Ricky's short sleeved t-shirts.
Slinging the clothing over her shoulder, she walked back over to the counter, putting her hands out as her father made funny faces at the baby in an attempt to turn her merciless screeches into soft whines, and failing miserably. "Give her here, she's probably hungry again" Obeying he handed his red faced granddaughter to her mother, tipping his lip up slightly at the sight of his eldest cradling her youngest. Catching his gaze, and balancing on her tiptoes, Amy leaned in to give her father a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, daddy, really."
George's features softened, "You're welcome," picking up the backpack lying by the back door, and holding it out to her by the top strap, "now, go get that homework done, young lady!" Puffing out her cheeks, she begrudgingly took the bag, groaning loudly, making him chuckle.
-
------------------------------------------------------
Walking up to the door, John gave it a tug, eliciting a barrage of shouts of surprise and claps within the darkness. The boy grinned wide, seeing all his family members smile at him. Flipping on the lights, George walked over to them, picking up his grandson, and kissed his temple, "happy birthday, little man!"
John looked over at his father who gave him the same wide smile, "you said you liked cake, right?" Ricky teased, poking his eldest child in the stomach with his index finger, making the boy giggle. He noticed though that two people were missing from the crowd - his youngest child, and his wife. Giving his father-in-law a look that asked where she was without actually having to say it, George motioned with his head towards the other end of the house, where sure enough when he walked into the hallway he could hear the wails of his daughter coming from behind the closed door.
Tapping his knuckles against the frame twice, he turned the knob and walked inside. "Hey there you are. You want something to eat? Your dad ordered pizza…" he mindlessly rambled, not looking up while he shut the door. When he did look up, he saw her sitting on her old bed, head in her hands as Emma lay on her blanket beside her, screeching for human attention. The sight causing him to sigh, "what's wrong?"
Sniffling, "she won't stop!" she sobbing into her hands, "I don't know what's wrong with her! She's been fed, changed, held, rocked, and she just won't stop crying for more than 5 freaking minutes!"
Taking a seat next to his wife on the edge of the mattress, Ricky wrapped an arm around her shoulders, placing a gentle kiss on her temple, "I never knew it was humanly possible for a small little baby to cry so much" Exhaling, "But… it's only been 5 days, she'll settle eventually - Hopefully."
She doesn't look at him, just gives a sad little chuckle, "I can handle crying. I can. I'm used to it. But Emma…. She doesn't cry, she screeches - and that volcanic eruption of a wail of hers…" removing her head from her hands, Amy took in a deep breath, fighting back another round of tears, "I'm starting to wonder if she'll ever stop!"
"Where's her pacifier, did you try that?" He asked, scooting off of the bar his right thigh was barely attached to, to get a better look at his daughter.
"She spit it out and then Moose got ahold of it - I had to throw it away" She responded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand
"And you didn't bring one of the spares?"
"I didn't think I'd need to! Geez everyone acts like I wanted to come here!"
Removing himself from the mattress completely, and leaning over the infant, "hey youuu" he smiled, pitching his voice, allowing his right index finger to brush Emma's left cheek; the action causing her to calm for a split second before erupting again. "Maybe she's hungry?"
Amy shook her head, closing her eyes, "I just nursed her 30 minutes ago, and changed her after she spit up all over herself- again!"
Hearing the frustration in her voice, Ricky scooped Emma up: holding her with both hands a few inches away from his chest, "What's wrong, baby girl? Hmm?" She squirmed in his grasp, but began to settle; her loud screeches turning into restless fussy spurts as he very slowly swayed her from side to side in his hands.
"Of course!" She hissed, angry "Of course I can be with her all day - about to lose my freaking mind because she just won't stop crying - only for you to come and pick her up and she stops within seconds!" Her voice was cracking, as she wiped her face again, and stood up, glaring at him, "We would get a broken baby, that only you can fix!"
"Amy…" He sighed, careful not to allow his body muscles to tense. He knew it was the lack of sleep and the hormones talking, and not his wife, but he also couldn't help noticing that she did little in trying to help the situation. Her glares prevented him from saying those things though so he just kept his mouth shut.
Catching sight of his face, she read his mind, "Don't even go there! I tried for hours to get her to sleep. HOURS!" She snapped at him, starting to pace the small patch of carpet under her feet, "And she just wouldn't. After her very short lived nap, she just cried, and cried and cried! Nothing worked!" His brow rise upon her explanation got her fuming, "What?"
He swallows his words, giving her a blank stare, "What do you want me to say?"
"Nothing. Forget it. She likes you and hates me. End of story" She put her hands up, and looked in the small mirror by the door, grunting and swiping her face with her palms in hopes of ridding the dark circles under her eyes
"Amy -" Ricky sighed again, switching Emma to rest on his shoulder, as he reached out for Amy's hand
Amy recoiled, yanking her hand away from his reach, and shook her head, "I'm late for John's party"
-
-----------------------------------------------------
Cake time!" Anne yelled to the crowd, as she made her way over to the small table with the chocolate dessert.
Ricky watched his son's eyes grow wide, frantically shoveling the last bits of his pizza into his small mouth in preparation for the sugar rush he was about to receive. "Hey, slow down, you don't want to choke" he scolded gently, putting his right hand on the boy's shoulder. John nodded in response and began to chew slower, taking large gulps of his juice after each bite.
Anne brought the cake over to the table, sliding it to the center and issuing a stern look to both over-eager boys eyeing it mischievously. It was a simple boxed chocolate cake with a large SpongeBob figurine displayed in the middle along with a smaller, unlit, white and yellow number 3 candle on top of the sprinkled icing.
John's pupils grew large upon seeing it in front of him with a grin to match, "my cak!" He squealed in delight, clasping his palms together to prevent himself from diving into the dessert he so desperately wanted to eat. "Mommy, look! Look, mommy!" John shook her arm to get her attention.
Taking notice of how she was just staring into her plate, Ricky touched her shoulder, startling her, "you okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah I'm just tired" Amy replied, shaking her head slightly to break the trance she was trapped in. She flashed John the biggest grin she could, watching his excitement build as her mother brought over a lighter and started to light the candle. Quickly, Amy grasped her son's hands before he got the chance to try to touch the flame swishing freely around the dark wick.
Nora took the liberty of starting the odd serenade of the happy birthday song, as the voices broke from each other and it became just whispers of the others besides her and George at the end, making everyone chuckle.
"Okay, ready?" Ricky smiled, crouching the best he could by John's side while Emma slept in the bend of his left arm. Beside him, Amy scooted in closer, resting her left palm between John's shoulder blades, using the other hand to keep her head propped up as she watched the dancing flame. "1...2...3!" All together, the three of them managed to blow the bright candle out, plunging the room into total darkness except for the sliver of moonlight starting to peek through the curtains, and a loud chorus of shouts and clapping - startling the sleeping baby awake, eliciting a vicious screech.
-
------------------------------------------------------
She okay?" He asked, stopping against the door frame and resting his head against it
She nodded, snapping the buttons on their daughter's onesie shut before picking her up, "she was just wet, and hungry" and pulling her shirt up without hesitation; wincing with a slight jerk at Emma's sharp and painful gulps.
He nodded, moving into the room and taking a seat beside his wife, holding out a brightly colored plate with a big hunk of chocolate cake on it, "care to share?" She cocked a brow at him, tilting her head down slightly to indicate that she was kinda busy at that moment. Chuckling he stabbed the cake and pulled a fairly large fork full off, tipping his lip up when she opened her mouth for a bite and moaned when the dessert touched her tongue. "Easy there, we all know how much you love cake" He chuckled harder when her eyes went wide and she attempted to playfully slap him, instead missing and slapping the bedsheet beneath. His eyes roamed over her hand, a smirk coming to his face, "you know... the last time we were on this bed -"
"Ricky!" She stopped him, trying her best not to giggle or blush at the memory, "there is a child in here!"
His brow lifted, still smirking, "and as I recall..." he touched the baby's hand, "someone was created here..."
"Stop talking about it!" She squeaked, embarrassed, moving off of the mattress as her cheeks began to blush, "our daughter doesn't need to hear about it!"
"You mean hear how mommy wanted to be crazy with daddy and -"
She shoved her index finger against his lips, "I said shush!"
He laughed against her finger, "it's okay Ames, I never said I didn't like it..." his brow wiggled again
She shoved his face with her hand, "clearly," before putting it to their child's cheek, "daddy's crazy, huh?"
Still laughing mainly to himself, he stood and went over to them, "I'm crazy? Why don't you hand her off to one of my moms -" His voice was a husky whisper now "and you can remind me how crazy you are..." as he stood behind her trying his best not to attack the skin of her neck with his lips as he brushed the bottom of her earlobe, eliciting a moan.
-
-----------------------------------------------------
Shouldn't we open presents by now?" Nora looked at her watch noting at how late it was getting, before turning her attention to her grandson shoveling in the remaining crumbling chocolate dessert on his plate by the forkful; eyes wide and bright in pure sugar bliss. "You want to open your stuff, right?" Gleefully nodding, he shoved more cake into his mouth.
"Presents can wait a few minutes," George interjected, putting his own plate down on the counter, "I have something else for little man first" reaching delicately behind the refrigerator to reveal a medium sized, bright red Spiderman Piñata.
Ever since Robbie had a small gathering for his second birthday months prior that included a small piñata Anne had snagged last minute, John was obsessed with wanting one. He had such a good time banging the heck out of the one Robbie had, that poor Robbie only got about 4 hits in before John took over and destroyed it. The poor monkey shaped creation never stood a chance against a sugar crazed 2 1/2 year-old with the blue plastic bat. And John told the story to everyone he saw that would listen.
Leaping off the chair with his eyes as big as saucers, John bounced on his feet in sheer joy at the sight of the piñata; it's bright red center being outlined by dark black trim, twirling carelessly against the string it was dangling from. "Go find mommy while I hang this up, okay?"
Nodding vigorously, John took off in a sprint towards the hallway, "Mommy, mommy, mommy!" he yelled, catching himself from tripping over his pant leg before shoving the door open to his mother's old bedroom.
They stilled, having heard the wood of the door creak open, and turned to see their son's grinning face staring up at them. He didn't wait for them to ask what he wanted before walking directly over to them and taking his mom's hand, leading her forcibly, "C'mon, mommy!"
Amy pulled back slightly, confused as to what he was so urgent about, "what is it, buddy?" His grip tightened, adding in his other hand to tug her along. Tightening the grasp she had on Emma firmly as she continued nursing against her chest, she followed him to the door frame, stopping abruptly,
"Hang on a sec, bud, Emma is still eating," Ricky gently scolded him, placing his right hand on his shoulder to still him from tugging Amy any further, "you gotta wait until she's done, okay?"
"Noooo," he started to whine, shaking his father's hand off of him, "I need mommy, nowww!" His breath started to come in hyper bursts as his squeaky voice bounced his sentences into jumbled together words, the only coherent ones being "Spiderman", and "mommy".
"Okay buddy, I'll go with you" Ricky offered but was quickly shoved away again as the boy used more force on his mother's hand, jerking her enough that Emma began to whimper.
Taking in a deep sigh, Amy pulled back against John's shoving, giving him a very stern look that told him she was done playing around, and adjusted herself before slinging a cloth over her shoulder, and lying Emma against it.
"I got mommy!" John sing-songed as he sprinted into the kitchen, his tired parents following on his heels
"There you guys are." George smiled down at his grandson, John's wide grin making his dimples pop in his small cheeks. "Hit this -" George instructed, pulling out a large flat blue plastic cooking spoon, and handing it to him, "not me, got it?"
John stared at the object quizzically, mimicking his father's are you serious stare he'd seen him give so many times. "Dis a sp-oon!"
"You think I'm handing you a bat?" He stared at him, chuckling, "You're hopped up on sugar - no way" nodding, he put his hands on his hips, "It's a very large spoon. Go ahead, bang the heck out of it."
Needing no more explanation, John took the spoon in both hands and gave the dangling piñata a hardy slap, barely making it spin. Trying again with the same result, he turned around, "mommy, will you he-elp me?"
All eyes shifted to her as she stood by the doorway, trying to calm her fussy daughter down. Blowing air from her cheeks, Amy handed Emma to Nora who took her with glee, and walked over to her son; his small hands excitedly shoving the spoon at her, "here!" She gave it a weak hit, barely causing it to spin on it's wire, before smacking it again - harder; it's large black frame being punctured as it spun all the way around. With a tighter grip, she hit it again with a grunt, smack, smack, smack, each time more forceful and angry.
Ricky watched in bewilderment as she came unglued on that poor paper mache creation; the intense whacks denting in Spiderman's hands and eyes with each blow, he feared the spoon would snap in half.
Noticing the stares she was getting, Amy gave the spoon back to John, instructing him to give it a try since the poor thing was barely hanging on to it's wire. Two slaps later it crashed to the floor, spilling its contents on the tile with a thud.
-
------------------------------------------------------
Raking off discarded cake with a fork into the trash can, "Why are kids so messy?" Ricky's face contorted with disgust when his finger touched a mound of pre-chewed dessert.
George moved three cups to the other side of the sink, "better get used to that, you've got 2 of them now" he chuckled in amusement at his son-in-law's face, bringing a fork between his fingers.
"Yeah well, I like things clean."
"Kiss that goodbye, it doesn't exist anymore"
"Don't remind me." Closing the lid to the trash, he glanced into the living room; watching Nora make silly faces at his daughter, while John and Robbie played with John's new toys on the floor. His eyes wandered over to the curtains, noting how Amy's arms were crossed over her chest as she stared absentmindedly out the window. Walking over to the sink, he took the soapy cups from his father-in-law, "Can I ask you something?" George didn't answer him, just shrugged and handed him another cup. "Is it just me - or does Amy seem… off to you?"
George ran another utensil under the water, "what do you mean, off? Off how? Are things okay at home between you two?"
"You mean other than the no sleep and the constant crying from one - or both - of the kids… things are fine I guess."
"What do you mean you guess? Are things fine or not?"
"I think so - yeah." He set the cups down, "I don't know, maybe it's because I wasn't around all the time whenever she had John but… she just seems… angry"
"What makes you say that?" Turning around they both glanced at the mangled piñata on the floor, the giant split down the center of Spiderman's head proof of her rage. Brows rising in unison, "you may be right," George turned back to the sink.
Before Ricky could respond, Amy stuck her head into the breezeway, "can we go please? I'll get John's stuff and the laundry in the morning or something - I just need to go home."
"Okay, go get them ready - I'll just put them in your car and come back and get mine in the morning." He responded, knowing full well that he was going to have to gather up John's gifts and put the laundry in her trunk because she wouldn't come back for it. "Let me just finish up here and then we'll go."
-
-------------------------------------------------------
Walking through the door, she dropped her purse and the diaper bag to the floor, before placing Emma's carrier on Ricky's side of the bed, shoving her palms against her face in frustration and exhaustion at her daughter's irritable whines.
Too tired to worry about anything but collapsing against his pillow, Ricky tucked the covers over his son's fully clothed body, the dried icing on his face coating his closed lips as his light little snores caused his chest to rise and fall peacefully. Tipping his lip up he smiled at him, leaning down to kiss his shaggy blonde hair, "happy birthday, buddy, love you."
Removing his shoes and jeans on the floor by the coat rack, he turned to see their sofa bed littered with a variety of textbooks, papers, and discarded baby toys, and his wife passed out around it all, not even bothering to remove their daughter from her carrier on his side of the bed. Chuckling to himself tiredly, he walked over to the bed, ridding it of the mess one piece at a time before reaching in to retrieve the irritable baby kicking her legs, and putting the carrier by the door, "Shhhh," he soothed, ascending gently onto his side of the bed, slouching against his pillow and bringing his knees up by his chest to rest her against them. "Why don't you wanna sleep, huh?" Emma's response was another fussy whine. "Here," Ricky grabbed the purple pacifier from the night stand, holding it steady in between his thumb and forefinger as she began to suck it vigorously. "Is that what you wanted?" The pitch in his voice shifted higher, as he ran the forefinger on his other hand over her incredibly small fist, blinking back sleep.
-
-------------------------------------------------------
I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! There will be a bit of a time jump next chapter though. It's set in March so about a month will have passed since the end of this one.
Please let me know what you guys think of this story so far. Are there scenes you'd like to see? Any predictions as to what you think might be coming up? I'd love to hear feedback from you all! 😁