Page 75 of The Baby Twist
Life with a newborn. What could I say? It had been a tough past couple of weeks. We were sleep-deprived, and Scarlett fed every hour and refused to sleep. Jenna started pumping into bottles so I could relieve her every now and again, especially in the middle of the night, so she could get some rest.
I worked from home the past couple of weeks to be here for Jenna and the baby. But now it was time for me to get back into the office. I tried to hire a baby nurse to help her out while I was gone, but Jenna wouldn’t hear of it. I kept the number close by just in case she changed her mind.
“I have to go now, babe. I’m sorry.” I kissed her lips as she stood in the kitchen, holding Scarlett.
“Don’t be sorry. We’ll be fine.”
“I’m going to miss you girls so much.”
“Babe, I know you’re secretly excited about getting out. You can’t fool me.”
“How dare you say that. That is not true.” I kissed her forehead and then kissed Scarlett goodbye.
Once I hit the doors to the outside, I let out a sigh of relief. I loved them both so much, and they consumed me. But fuck yeah, I was looking forward to going to the office.
Jenna
I’d finally got Scarlett down for a nap and sat behind my desk to record a podcast about the first two weeks of parenthood. As I was talking, I started to cry. I wasn’t sure why, except I knew I was mentally and physically exhausted. Instead of stopping the recording, I cried my way through it, for I promised my listeners I would be open and raw about my experiences. Just as I finished recording, I decided to lie down and try to take a nap. Grabbing the baby monitor, I quietly entered our bedroom. Peeking into the bassinet that sat next to the bed, she looked like a peaceful little angel. So, I carefully laid down on the bed and smiled when my head hit the pillow. My eyes weren’t closed for a minute before the ear-piercing cries started.
“No. No. No,” I whispered as I reached over and gripped the edge of the bassinet and slowly rocked it back and forth, which only made her scream more.
Picking her up from the bassinet, I unbuttoned my shirt and fed her for the hundredth time today. When she was finished, I changed her diaper, took her downstairs, and set her in her swing. Immediately she started to scream, and the moment I picked her up and held her, she stopped. An hour later, she finally fell asleep, and I desperately needed some coffee, so I set her in her swing, turned it on, and headed to the kitchen. My coffee had just finished brewing when I heard the elevator ding. As I ran to the foyer, Lucas had just stepped out, and Iimmediately placed my hand over his mouth before he could say anything.
“Wake her up and die,” I whispered.
He nodded, so I removed my hand. He gave me a tender kiss and then pointed toward the bedroom. After I grabbed my coffee from the kitchen, I walked to the bedroom, shut the door, and talked to him as he changed out of his suit.
“You didn’t shower today?” he asked.
“Excuse me? What did you say?”
“I said, you can take a shower now that I’m home.”
“That’s what I thought you said.”
“Come here.” He held his arms out to me, and I immediately fell into them.
“How was work?” I asked.
“It was okay. I missed the two of you terribly.”
“We missed you too, babe.”
“So, what about dinner? Did you?—”
“What about dinner? And did I what?” I cocked my head at him.
“Did you decide what you’re in the mood for? Your choice. Anything you want.”
“Pizza?”
“Excellent choice. I’ll call it in right now.”
After Lucas called in the pizza, we walked to the living room, and I saw his wide grin when he saw Scarlett was awake.
“Your daddy’s home, princess,” he spoke to her as he took her from the swing and sat down on the couch. “Daddy missed his sweet girl so much,” he said, kissing her cheeks.
Watching him with her melted me in every way possible. Especially when I thought back to a time not so long ago when he told me he couldn’t be a father. Every time I saw him with her and that thought popped into my head, I would start to tear up.
