40. We’ll Figure it Out
forty
We’ll Figure it Out
Dylan
O ne week later.
24 weeks pregnant.
“I have to hand it to you, sis. That’s one cute baby,” I say to Liz as she rocks her new baby girl.
“Cutest baby you’ve ever seen?” She asks, looking up at me.
“Uh, you’re kind of putting me on the spot here, Liz. If I say yes, you’ll go tell Michelle.”
Leah steps in. “Well, Liz, I think little Beth is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen.”
I look at her, and she shrugs and whispers, “I haven’t seen a lot of babies. And ours hasn’t popped out yet.”
“Traitor,” I mumble.
Liz stares daggers through me. “Thank you, Leah. Would you like to hold the baby?”
She stands up so that Leah can sit in the rocking chair. When she hands her Beth, Leah looks down at the cute bundle in her arms .
In just a few short months, she’ll be holding our baby. I can’t fucking wait.
Liz says, “Can you guys handle the baby for a second? I’ve had to pee for like an hour.”
“Sure,” I say. “But why didn’t you get up before now?”
She points at her daughter. “Have you seen her? She’s freaking adorable. I didn’t want to stop looking at her sweet face.”
When we’re alone, I kneel next to Leah as we both stare at Beth’s face.
Leah holds her little hand. “Look how tiny her fingers are.”
I say, “Give it time. Liz and Jack are both giants. Pretty soon, she’ll catch up.”
“Do you think ours will be this cute?”
“Oh, for sure. Don’t tell Beth, but I think ours will be even more adorable.”
She looks at the baby and gets lost in her thoughts for a minute.
“Leah, you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s still just a little surreal to me that you and I are going to have one of these pretty soon. It’s not like we just hold her for a few minutes. We will have her for the rest of our lives.”
“Does that freak you out?”
She looks at me. “A little bit.”
“Can I be honest?”
“Are you ever anything but honest, boy scout?”
“I’m scared too.”
Her eyes get big. “Really?”
“Of course. Having a baby is a really big fucking deal.”
“So, how are you not entirely freaking out? ”
“Because my excitement far outweighs my panic. I know we’ll figure it out.”
“You sure?” She asks. “Because I’m almost positive this is one of the only times I’ve ever even held a baby.”
“Well, looks like you’re doing a great job. I mean, she’s alive.”
“Dylan, it’s been like two minutes. It’s only a matter of time.”
“You’re doing great,” I try to reassure her.
A few moments later, Jack comes in. “I’ve come to get the sweet little princess for a diaper change.”
Leah hands Beth off to him, and Liz comes back. “Jack doing a diaper change?” She asks.
“Yep,” I say. “How many of those have you done so far in the past week?”
“Uhm.” She holds up her fingers like she’s counting. “Zero.”
“Seriously?”
She nods. “Jack and I have a deal. I’m in charge of what goes into the baby, so he handles what comes out the other end.”
I chuckle and run my hand through my hair. “How long do you think that’s going to work?”
“No idea. But I’ll take it while I can. It’s only been a week. I pushed a baby out of me, so I think that earns me a bit of pull.”
Leah’s phone rings. She looks at it and says, “Oh, shit. This is a client that I’ve been playing phone tag with for over a week now. Excuse me. I have to take this.”
She heads out to the front porch, leaving Liz and I alone.
I say, “A tattoo client.”
Liz squints at me. “Duh. I didn’t think she was taking clients as a lady of the night.”
“Shut up,” I quip. “So, how are things really going? ”
“We are exhausted. Babies sleep a lot, but it’s for such short periods that you don’t sleep much at a time. But it’s completely and totally worth it.”
“I’m proud of you.”
She punches me in the shoulder. “Shut up. If you get all weepy on me, I’ll start lactating.”
“Thanks for putting that image in my mind.”
“Anytime.” She grins. “How are things with Leah? Mom said the two of them went shopping the other day.”
“Yeah. I told her that Leah was going through shit with her mom.”
“Ah. And Mom stepped in to try to help?”
“Of course. That’s what she does. But this time, it really helped.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad she didn’t scare her off. Our mother is one tough broad.”
“True,” I agree. “But so is Leah. Speaking of our mom, how’d she take it when you didn’t tell her you were in labor?”
“How do you think? She flipped. But it wasn’t like I was going to let her in the room with us. She would’ve just been sitting in the waiting room. I tried to save her from the boredom.”
I gasp. “And she didn’t appreciate that?”
“Not even a little bit. She did mention Leah’s birthday party.”
“Yeah, we’re finishing up the plans now. Are you guys going to be able to make it?”
“Can I wear sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt? That’s pretty much all I’m wearing right now.”
“I don’t care.”
With a grin, she responds, “Then, I think our schedule is wide open.”