Sunday, October 3, 2004
Masline, California
Rose looked into the back seat to check on Lizzy as Jack pulled up to the curb and parked the car. Both mother and the two-day-old infant were fine, so the hospital had released them an hour earlier. Jack had put the infant seat in his car and had picked them up.
Lizzy had lain quietly in Rose’s arms until she had put her into the infant seat, facing backwards. At the sudden loss of contact and the experience of being strapped in, she had wailed furiously, but had soon quieted when Jack had started the car, the vehicle’s motion lulling her to sleep.
Rose would have liked to have held her all the way home, but she knew the dangers of holding a baby while the car was moving. If there was an accident, or even if they stopped abruptly, Lizzy would go flying. She was safer strapped into her seat, no matter how much she cried.
Rose got out of the car and opened the back door, unbuckling Lizzy and taking her out. The baby whimpered at being disturbed, but soon relaxed in her mother’s familiar embrace. Jack picked up Rose’s bag from the car and walked over to her, putting an arm around her and stroking the baby’s tiny cheek with his free hand. Lizzy turned her head toward him, her mouth working, before settling down again.
"I love you, Rose," Jack murmured, kissing her forehead and putting his arms around both her and the infant.
Rose leaned her head against his shoulder. "I love you, too." She was still upset over the fight with her mother the day before, but she kept trying to put things in perspective. Mom may not love me, but I have a husband who does, and a brand new baby. I’ve got relatives who care about me, and good friends. I don’t need Mom. I’m an adult, with a family of my own.
"Your mom is wrong, you know," Jack told her, slinging her bag over his shoulder and walking her toward the front door.
"About what?" Rose looked at him, puzzled.
"About you being unlovable. I haven’t met many people as lovable as you."
"You’d better not meet anyone more lovable, buster." Rose gave him a mock-scowl, seeing the humor in his words.
He gave her teasing look. "Oh, I don’t know. There’s a little girl who about matches her mother. Of course, that’s not surprising, seeing that she’s your baby."
Rose grinned, setting the baby against her shoulder and patting her back. "Well, if it’s only Lizzy..."
"Trust me, if she grows up to be anything like you, the world will be the better for it."
Rose gave him a heart-rending smile. "Jack..."
He kissed her. "I’m serious, Rose. You’re one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, and I’m not saying that because you’re my wife. From the start, I could tell that you really cared about people. If there were more people like you in the world, it would be a better place."
The door flew open suddenly, startling them. "Are you going to stand out here talking all day, or are you going to show us that baby?" Sophie demanded, looking at the threesome.
"Sophie! I didn’t know you were here," Rose said, looking at her friend.
"I’m parked just down the street."
"I guess I didn’t see your car. I was too busy checking on Lizzy."
Sophie leaned forward for a better look at the baby. "She’s so cute, Rose. She looks a lot like your mom." She looked at Rose in surprise as tears sprang to her eyes. "What? What did I say?"
"Nothing. It’s all right. Mom and I just got into another fight, is all," Rose told her, unwilling to dredge up the details again.
"Oh. Another one?"
"Yeah, as usual." Rose slipped past Sophie into the house, Jack following.
Helga was sitting in the kitchen, feeding Daniel. She smiled when she saw Jack and Rose.
"Tommy! Jack and Rose are here!" she called. Lizzy whimpered, startled at the loud words. Daniel laughed, kicking his feet in delight.
Rose patted the baby’s back soothingly, calming her, as Jack set the bag in a chair and Tommy came out of the living room.
"You’re back!" he exclaimed, looking at the couple and their newborn.
"Yep. We’re home. Let’s go sit in the living room," Jack suggested, leading the way.
All five adults squeezed onto the couch, Rose in the middle with Lizzy in her arms. Helga sat beside her, Daniel in her lap.
"Can I hold her, Rose?" Sophie asked. "I didn’t get a chance to come down sooner."
"Sure." Carefully, Rose passed the baby to Sophie, who cradled her carefully, looking at the thin blonde hair and tiny face.
"She’s just beautiful," Sophie declared. "Now that I look at her more closely, she looks a lot like you and Jack, too. And she has hands just like your Nana."
Jack nodded. He’d already observed this, and had sketched the tiny hands, both alone and curled against her mother. He hadn’t spent so much time making drawings for fun in a long time, but Rose and Lizzy provided the perfect inspiration.
Sophie passed the baby to Tommy next, letting him hold the newborn. Lizzy stared in blank fascination at him, waving her arms. One thumb finally found its way into her mouth, and she dozed off again, safe in her uncle’s arms.
Jack and Rose finally took her back. Helga looked at her admiringly, but couldn’t hold her with a lap already full of active baby. Jack held her, rocking her, before Rose took her back to give Helga a closer look.
Helga put one arm around Daniel, to keep him in place, while she touched Lizzy’s hands with the other. Lizzy curled her fists around Helga’s fingers, holding on tight for a moment before letting go.
This was too much for Daniel. Curious about what all the fuss was about, he squirmed in his mother’s arms, trying to see the object of such adoration.
Helga set him so that he could see the new baby. Daniel stared at her for a moment, watching the waving arms and unfocused eyes. Wanting to examine the interesting new object more closely, he grabbed at her, then screeched in surprise when Lizzy’s tiny fist clamped onto his hand, holding tight.
Everyone laughed. Daniel looked like he was about to cry, but Helga picked him up and put him on her shoulder, patting his back lightly. Rose did the same with her own startled infant, and the two babies stared at each other in childish fascination.
Jack watched as Daniel grabbed Lizzy’s hand again, the newborn holding on tight to the other child’s fingers. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship," he commented, seeing Daniel give a smile that showed off his new tooth.
The mothers laughed, agreeing.