Chapter 7 Jayne
Everyone knew babies threw up. I just didn’t know how much. Nobody really talks about that when you’re pregnant. They should. They should prepare you better for how often you’re going to have to change yourself and your child.
At least this time, JJ hadn’t gotten any on himself. Just me.
I tipped my head under the hot water and exhaled. Crazy as it sounded, I felt a little guilty for handing JJ off to Sin. There was no reason to feel that way. He was Sin’s son as much as he was mine. I was not the only one responsible for him.
Was that what it meant to be a mother? To constantly think about your child? To worry that they were all right, getting the best care, making good decisions?
Okay, JJ didn’t really need to worry about decision-making at this point in his life. But someday …
I sighed. He was fine. Sin was taking great care of him. Right now, I needed to focus on myself.
I shampooed, conditioned, lathered up, and rinsed. As good as the hot water felt, I didn’t want to linger. Yes, I was thinking about JJ again and how he might need me.
I grabbed a towel from the warmer, wrapping up my hair before grabbing a second one for my body. I stepped out of the shower. The bathroom was steamed up, the mirror completely fogged, but I didn’t need to see myself, so it was no big deal.
Dinner tonight wouldn’t be super dressy, but it wasn’t going to be a jeans and T-shirt kind of occasion either.
Sadly, that meant I would probably still be in maternity clothes. That was all right, wasn’t it? I was just going to be with family. They wouldn’t say anything. They wouldn’t even know. How could they? So why did it bother me?
Was this some postpartum thing?
I rolled my shoulders. I needed to snap out of whatever I was feeling.
Snowballs! I was a princess, for crying out loud.
I lived in a palace, at least at the moment.
I had magical powers, a family that loved me, a husband who adored me, two incredible talking cats, and a life most people would die for.
Not to mention, my newborn son had been born healthy and perfect. There was literally nothing else I could want.
I had no reason to feel like this.
But I did. Maybe what I needed was some sugar. Who cared what I wore? I would still look nice.
In my towel ensemble, I walked out through the bedroom to the kitchen. Sin was sitting on the couch with JJ, and there was a kids’ show on the television. JJ was too young to actually pay attention, but Sin was pointing out all the funny characters and giving JJ a play-by-play of the action.
It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
I burst into tears.
Sin turned around, concern in his eyes. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
I sniffed. “I have no idea.”
He got up and came over, using his free arm to pull me into a hug. “You want me to call everyone and tell them dinner is off?”
I sniffed some more, knowing I’d probably gotten tears on his shirt. “No, dinner will be fine. I’m just not feeling myself.”
“What can I do?”
“Nothing.” I sighed and straightened. “I think I need sugar.”
“The pantry is pretty stocked. What do you want? Cake? Cookies? Ice cream? Candy? Chocolate? Fudge?”
I looked toward the pantry. “Some of that Dr Pepper licorice would be good.”
“Coming up.”
Before he could move, I grabbed his arm. “You’ve got JJ. Go sit. I can get my own licorice. I need to put a robe on anyway.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.” I smiled. I was already feeling better. His just being there for me was a huge help, but I didn’t know how to tell him that without the waterworks starting up again.
“Okay. You come join us then.”
“Will do.” I went into the bedroom, dropped my towel off in the bathroom, got my robe on, and went back to the pantry.
I grabbed a package of the licorice, the tin of my aunt’s eggnog fudge, and a box of the iced sugar cookies that were a staple in the North Pole.
I added a cold Dr Pepper to my bounty and went into the living room.
Sin eyed my armful but said nothing. In fact, he nodded in approval. JJ was asleep on his lap.
I took my seat and put my goodies down on the coffee table, except for the licorice. I tore the bag open and pulled a strand out, taking a bite right away.
Sin reached for my Dr Pepper, twisted the cap enough to loosen it, then set it down again.
“Thanks,” I said through a mouthful of licorice.
“You’re welcome. He’s asleep, by the way.” Sin picked up the remote. “You want to watch something? I could put The Twilight Zone back on. Unless you’re really into Womper & Pals Happy Fun Time Show.”
I laughed. “I’d pick Twilight Zone before that. We probably have a lot of Womper ahead of us, so I can wait.”
“Good point.” Sin put the marathon back on and settled in next to me.
I went for the box of cookies next. Iced sugar cookies were as common in the North Pole as …
well, snowflakes, I guess. The bakers churned them out with such regularity that the supply never ran low.
But that was with good reason. The cookies were soft, buttery, and full of vanilla, while the icing provided a little snap and an extra shot of sugar. What wasn’t to like?
I started with a snowman, the sprinkles on his scarf crunching under my teeth. I finished him off and went for a penguin next. We didn’t have penguins in the North Pole, except at the aquarium.
“Hey? Would your family like to go to the aquarium? That’s something JJ might enjoy. I mean, he likes watching animals on TV. Or at least he seems to. Winter elf babies do advance faster than human ones.”
“I bet he’d love it. I didn’t know there was an aquarium.”
“Yep. It’s a few minutes out of town, but it’s fun.
At least I think it is. I haven’t been in ages.
In fact, I think my last visit there might have been a school field trip.
I’ll ask my mom tonight if it’s still around.
Should be. Anyway, they have penguins and polar bears and more fish than you can believe. ”
“Any yetis? Not sure my aunt would go if they do.”
I grinned. “Not a single yeti, I swear.”
“I’m sure they’d be up for that then.” He put his arm around me. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” I held up the remaining half of the penguin. “I think my blood sugar was low.”
He kissed my temple. We watched The Twilight Zone until it was time to get ready for dinner.
I went with my stretchy knit tank dress with a cute maroon cardigan and maroon flats.
I put JJ in one of his many outfits, a knit onesie that looked like a sweater bodysuit.
That and socks and he was ready to go, lucky duck.
Sin wore black jeans with a charcoal sweater. I was in the nursery double-checking JJ’s diaper bag when our door chime sounded. Sin and I both ended up at the door at the same time. I let him open it.
“Hi, Mom,” Sin said.
“Hi, honey.” She saw me. “Hi, Jayne. How are you?”
“I’m good. Everything okay?” I only asked because she looked slightly distressed.
“It’s fine.” She came in. “I was just wondering if you had some nail polish remover? I didn’t pack any, and I chipped a nail. I was hoping to clean it off and repaint it before dinner.” She held out her hand to show me the nail. She had a bottle of polish in the other one.
“I can fix you right up.” I went through the bedroom to the bathroom and looked under the sink. Even though Sin and I hadn’t lived in this apartment for a while, it was still very well stocked.
I found the bottle of remover and took it and some cotton balls back out. Sin and his mom were in the kitchen now. “Here you go. I brought you some cotton balls, too, in case you needed those.”
“Yes, and I didn’t even think of that. Thank you.” She took them both. “Here, I can clean this nail off right now, then I don’t have to take this with me.”
As she removed her polish, a thought came to me. “Could you look at something for me before you go?”
She scrubbed at her nail with the cotton ball, then checked her work. She smiled at me. “I’d be happy to.”
I grabbed the folder that held the guest list and opened it up. The page with the weird name was right on top. I pointed to the name. “What do you see there? What name?”
Her brow furrowed. “Is this a trick? I don’t see a name, just a jumble of letters that keep moving around.” She laughed. “What kind of magic is that?”
Sin leaned in. “You don’t see the name Holiday?”
“No. Should I? What does it mean that I can’t?”
I glanced at Sin. This was so weird. “I wish I knew.”