"That'll be $1,347.50," the cashier looked at me after she read the total. I got some good glares and stares from some other customers in lines and at the registers. I don't why they were looking at me, like baby stuff didn't cost a fortune. Talia smirked, then went back to tickling Ami.
"Debit," I said as I pulled out my card. The cashier nodded and I punched in my pin.
"Do you think this was a little overboard for 'temporary'," I asked Talia in a hushed tone as I grabbed my debit card from the machine. She shook her head, "temporary doesn't have an exact time line, and it's better to be prepared. I think you're fine."
The cashier ripped the receipt from the printer, stuffed it into one of my bags, then looked at me. "Thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart!" she smiled as I walked off with the cart, Ami and my sister.
"That was such a fake smile..." Talia whispered as we walked away, handing Ami to me. I looked at her and nodded in agreement, "Someone doesn't like her job."
"Probably not," Talia unlocked the car and started putting stuff in the back.
"Can you put the car seat in, too?" I asked after she was done loading. The amount of stuff we bought was just wild. Diapers, bottles, a stroller, car seat, clothes, shoes, food, lotion, baby oil. You name it, we probably bought it.
"Sure thing," she replied as she closed the boot. When she was done assembling the car seat, I put Ami in then got into the driver's seat. Talia looked at me, like I was crazy or something, as she stood next to the driver's door.
"What?" I asked. I was about to put start when she grabbed my hand. "What?!" I asked, irritated as I looked at her.
"You should be in the back with the baby."
I rolled my eyes then got out. I understood what she was saying, but I loved her car!
I wanted to drive it!
"I wasn't going to let you drive," she said as she started the ignition. I looked over at Ami and she was staring up at me. "I wonder who your mommy is..." I whispered as I let her grab my pinkie with her hand.
"Whoever it is, she must be your look alike," Talia said as she broke at a red light. I looked at her and laughed, "What do you mean?"
Now it was her turn to chuckle, "What do you mean 'what do you mean'? Can't you see it? That baby looks just like you."
I looked at Ami again. She smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. It just melted my heart.
"Well, that's just a coincidence," I told my sister. Though, it felt more like I was trying to convince myself. I tried to keep my mind off the fact that it seemed like more than a coincidence.
******
"Alright! The crib is-" my sister made a large gesture toward the crib we bought. Just as she did, it fell apart.
"A complete disaster."
I shook my head, looking at the crib. I was holding busy holding a sleeping Ami in my arms and, at that moment, the only options for her were the car-seat, or my bed. I looked down at her, and she was completely knocked out. She must have been exhausted from the long day. I know I was.
"So, what now?" I asked Talia. She shrugged, "well, you could go the old-fashioned way and sleep in the same bed as her. Mama did it. I did it. You can, too."
I looked at Ami and thought about it. "I don't want to squish her..." I said insecurely.
Talia shook her head and laughed, "You won't. Trust me. I had the exact same fear as you did, and my Lea, Daniel and Isaac are still alive."
"Yeah, but you gave birth to them. I just met Ami. Today!"
She studied the two of us and smiled. "It looks like you carried her through the whole nine months... Anyway, you're going to have to put her in your bed, whether you sleep there tonight, or not. I don't know anyone who can put this thing together tonight. Unless you do?" She asked. I shook my head.
"Well, that settles it. Plus, you have that little bed crib thingy. Put it in the bed, place Ami in it, and you're good to go." She took a few minutes to gather her things and then headed toward the door.
"Wait!" I called out. She turned around, "Hmm?" raising her eyebrows. "You're just going to leave me by myself?" I asked. She nodded like it was obvious. "What about work tomorrow," I asked her.
"What about it? Look, I have kids I need to take care of, and now you have one, too. It's not like you work for 'some guy'. You're the heiress to the company. I know you, Fawn. You'll figure it out. Okay?" She smiled, then gave my shoulders a squeeze.
I nodded, thankful. "Now, you two need to get some sleep. I'll come by tomorrow to check on you. I'll even bring the kids! I'll call you an hour or so before, okay? Love you," she called out, waiting for me to say it back.
"Love you, too," I said. She nodded and closed the door. I locked it and put Ami back in her car seat. Well, attempted to. As soon as she touched it, she started crying.
"You were just sleeping..." I sighed, cradling her again. She immediately stopped crying and I didn't have to do that twice to get what was going on. "I see how it is... Alright, I'll just kick the suitcase to the room," I said, basically talking to myself. I did exactly what I said I would; I kicked the suitcase into the room as quietly as I could.
"There," I sighed, sitting on the bed.
Now, I just needed to figure out how I'd get us ready for bed. I didn't know when the last time she bathed was, so I needed to give her a bath. We might as well bathe at the same time. And then I needed to get us dressed. After that, I had to get her bassinet ready, then pray to let God guide me to keep this child safe, and not squish her.
I laid her down on the bed and opened up the baby bathtub. I undressed the both of us, set up the bath, and then got us both in.
"Alrighty, so, baby soap...and baby shampoo..." I grabbed both of them from the side and put them into the tub. I examined the bottles and looked at her. She just stared at me, looking comfortable enough in the baby tub.
"Can I use this, too?" I asked her, as though she'd actually answer me. She just stared at me. "Okay," I said. I got the towel, wet it, added some soap, and started washing her. She started giggling while I washed her belly. "Ooh! You're ticklish, huh?" I asked. She just kept laughing.
"Well that's just adowable!!" I said, continuing to wash her. When I was done, I got some water so I could rinse her off. When the water touched her, she made this face like it was the most amazing thing that'd ever touched her skin. She started laughing, again, and this time I laughed too.
"You are just too cute!!" I said, picking her up and drying us off. I got us moisturized, dressed and snugly into the queen sized bed, which I was glad I stubbornly bought in resistance to my sister. I said my prayer for our safety, while I held her. I then laid her down beside me and looked at her.
"Well, goodnight, Ami," I whispered, drifting off to sleep.
I woke up the next morning with a hand touching my face. I looked at Ami and realized that I was in the same position I fell asleep in. I slowly got up and checked the time.
11:00 AM
"Well, I'm not needed today, anyway," I said to myself, picking Ami up. I put her in the baby swing that was in the living room and prepared breakfast for the both of us. Her breakfast was just milk, which wasn't very hard to make. I boiled myself an egg, made salad, and got a glass of water.
I put my food on the table and went over to Ami with the baby bottle. I set it down on the ground and picked her up.
"Alright! Here you go," I told her, putting the nipple to her mouth. She looked at the bottle as she drank from it. Babies always do that. She seemed to be full after a while, so I lifted her and started burping her. My phone got a text, so I went into the room and picked it up.
'Where are you?! Someone's here who says he wants to speak with you.' -Alison.
"What the hell?" I whispered.
I got my shoes on as quickly as I could, grabbed the baby bag with my purse in it, my keys and of course the baby and the suitcase. I locked the door behind me and picked up the baby bag again. My hands were basically full, so I was a little ticked.
I got into the office and thought 'whoever wants to see me better have a damn good reason!'. I walked past my assistant and straight into my office. She came in, stunned. "Um, Ms.Bonheur, who's this?" she asked.
"This is Ami," I said, like it was no big deal. She gaped at me, then Ami, and back at me again.
"It's a long story that doesn't have an ending yet. I'll explain later."
Alison, still shocked, nodded as she placed my peppermint tea down on my desk.
"Well, someone is here to see you," she announced, opening the door. I looked away for a few seconds and I could tell she left me alone in the room with this guy.
"Hi," I looked up to see who was addressing me.
"Trent" I replied, my heart beating much faster than it had been just a minute ago.
He looked past me, down at the car seat behind me.
"Who's the baby?"
I laughed nervously, "well..."
*********