Chapter 80
It had been three weeks of non-stop trips back and forth to the hospital to feed Katie and appointments for my surgery. It was determined that my cancer had gone to stage III and surgery was a must. It was something that I was not looking forward to, because a radical mastectomy was necessary. After that, chemotherapy would be the only hope of treatment, to ensure my survival.
“Nick, honey, are you about ready to go and get Katie Lynne?” I asked excitedly.
“I sure am sweetheart. Let’s get going.” He said as he opened the front door.
We drove to the hospital to pick up Katie Lynne. The doctors had decided that she was doing so well, that it was time to bring her home and get her accustomed to her new surroundings. I asked everyone if they were willing to come by in the afternoon for a small get together. Today was a very special day for Nick and I and we wanted to share it with everyone. Once we arrived at the hospital, we were escorted to the Nursery by Mike.
“Hey Mike, thanks for being here today with us. I already noticed a group of girls crowding at the front entrance. How do they hear about this stuff? I mean honestly, it’s like they are stalking us.” Nick said with a laugh.
“Dude, the girls generally know more about you than you do. Can you believe I stopped one girl last week when you and Heather dropped by? She had a list of places and times that you were seen by others and had an itinerary for your day. Did you know that you were supposed to go to the bathroom at 5:53 pm according to her schedule?!” Mike laughed with Nick.
I just looked at the two of them as we took the elevator up to the third floor. “You have got to be kidding me! Don’t tell me…they will have scheduled times that Nick should change Katie Lynne too!!”
“Well, yeah.” Mike said matter-of-factly.
“Let’s just hurry and get our baby home already!” Nick blurted out, tired of listening about the fans.
“Sounds like a great plan.” I said softly.
As we came up to the front desk in the maternity ward, the nurses were already preparing the paperwork. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Carter, it is nice to see you. Kathryn Lynne will be ready to leave in a few more minutes. If I could just get you all to finish signing some of the paperwork, we will speed things along.” Celeste, the nurse in charge said.
After filling out numerous forms and insurance claim papers, we finally were allowed to go and see Katie Lynne. It was a moment in our lives that we had waited for. Katie was finally going to see something other than these hospital hallways. As we walked into the nursery, we saw Katie Lynne sleeping peacefully, not aware that she was about to leave and go to her new home.
“She looks so peaceful, Nick. I am afraid to pick her up.” I said softly, hoping not to wake her.
“She is a tough little baby hon. She will be fine, have no fear….Daddy’s here!” Nick smiled and then picked Katie Lynne up gently.
She gurgled a bit, and then fell back asleep in his arms. She had the sweetest little smile, one that was reminiscent of her father’s. Those sweet little pouty lips, the little curl they made at the ends. I just knew that she was going to be beautiful, with the personality of her father.
“Mrs. Carter, if you will have a seat here in this wheelchair, we will wheel you out to the parking lot. It is standard procedure…no offense intended.” Celeste stated and then smiled.
“Don’t worry, none taken. It would nice to get off my feet for a few minutes anyway. Mike, will you drive the truck around to the front for us?” I answered.
“Of course, I will go right now and meet you at the entrance. It seems quiet, so I don’t expect any interference with the fans.” he said as he walked off towards the elevators.
“Well Nick, are you ready to take her home?” I asked softly.
“Yes, I sure am. We are going to finally all be together in our home. It is like a dream come true.” Nick smiled and then proudly walked alongside me as I was wheeled to the car.
*** *** ***
“They should be here any minute. Nick just called and said they were only a few minutes away.” Brian blurted out to the group.
Leighanne, Brian, Kevin, Dee, AJ, Howie, Kat, Leslie, BJ, Aaron, Angel, Jane and Bob had all come over to welcome Katie home. Afterall, they were her aunties and uncles and they wanted to see her just as much as we did.
“This is sooo exciting! I can’t believe that little Nicky is a daddy!!! This is tooo funny!” BJ teased about her brother.
“Well, let me tell you, Nick has it down pretty good so far. He was carrying her like he had been doing this all his life. I was impressed. I mean, Nick was the LAST one I would have ever imagined as a daddy!” AJ teased.
Brian and Dee were at the front window peeking out, watching for them. Nick and I expected them to be there, but we never expected what we would find when we walked in.
“They’re here!!! Get ready!” Dee shouted.
“Okay guys, remember…no loud cheering or surprises, we don’t want to scare the life outta Katie Lynne.” Brian reminded them.
The whole group nodded in agreement as they heard Nick’s keys in the door.
Nick opened the door, and standing at the front door was a HUGE teddy bear, holding a sign that said, “WELCOME TO THE CARTER’S!”
Then behind it, we saw the whole group patiently awaiting our arrival.
“Welcome home y’all!” Brian said cheerfully.
Everyone clapped softly for us and then helped us bring in all the stuff. As we moved into the living room, there were presents all over. I never had been given a Baby shower, because of all the things happening in our lives. AND, since Katie was born early, it was a bit of a shock to everyone.
“My goodness! What is all this stuff???” I asked curiously.
“Well, we got ya all kinds of things you might need to get started. Okay, maybe we went a bit overboard, but it was fun shopping.” Howie said.
“Yeah, you should have seen the four guys. They each had a shopping cart filled, and we followed them with second ones. I never knew that guys could be so corny!” Kat said with a laugh.
Nick walked around the room to look at all the stuff. In one corner alone, there were over 20 packages of Huggies diapers piled up. Next to that was another life-sized stuffed animal. A stroller, a swing, a baby car seat, a baby changing table, lots of clothes and socks, and then a case of Playtex Nurser System bottles and stuff. And plenty of Nuk Nuk pacifiers.
“My God! How many pacifiers does Katie Lynne need??” Nick asked nervously.
“Well, there is one for Little Bits when she sleeps, one for when she is in the car, one for her high chair, one for her crib, one for her little seat she will sit in, one for her play pen, one for her…” Brian tried to continue before Nick cut him off.
“Well, Mr. Littrell, since you are such an expert at babies and their needs, why don’t you do me a favor by changing my daughter. Afterall, you are her uncle and her Godfather to be.” I said seriously, trying not to smile or laugh.
Brian had this sudden look of fear as the thought of stinky diapers came to mind. “Oh, and Brian, it’s the squishy stuff inside that is stinky…NOT my daughter!” Nick blurted out.
I casually walked over and grabbed a diaper, the box of Chubs™ baby wipes, and handed them to Brian. He looked at us fearfully, and then went over to the changing table. He placed the stuff on the table, and then searched around curiously for something. “Hey, isn’t there supposed to be Baby Powder of something around here?” he asked.
“Umm, yeah, let me get that for you Brian.” Nick said professionally. When he returned with it, Nick held the bottle firmly as he approached Brian. Once the bottle was under Brian’s face, Nick squeezed it enough to squirt the powder out and coat Brian’s face. “But you are NOT to use that on my daughter. Got it???”
*** *** ***
As the two of them laughed, Dee, Leighanne, Kat and I walked to the kitchen to get drinks for everyone. “Nick and Brian have a lot to learn about babies.” Kat said sweetly.
“Yeah, but the fun in it is watching them. They are just two big kids at heart, and it is amusing to watch them.” I said.
“Well, I will tell you this. Kevin better pay attention to all this. I am planning on having LOTS of his children!” Dee said with a giggle.
“Two! That is all I want!” Leighanne said.
“Well, I don’t care how many, just as long as we are happy.” Kat exclaimed.
“Are you planning on having another one Heather?” Dee asked me.
“Umm, we haven’t thought much about it. I am hoping for another one. It would be great to have a son too. I know that Nick would want that more than anything. I know he loves Katie Lynne to death, but I am sure that he secretly wishes for her to be a boy. To play basketball with and all that daddy type stuff.” I said with a grin. “But don’t worry, we will get to working on that after my surgery.” I said matter-of-factly.
“Speaking of your surgery, do you mind telling us when it is?” Dee asked quickly.
“Umm, it is scheduled at the end of next week. Despite my pleas and arguments, Dr. Christine and her colleagues said that I cannot wait any longer. I put it off too long to begin with. But, let’s not talk about that. Let’s go see what the guys are up to.” I said with a smile, leaving the conversation behind me.
*** *** ***
“Look, first you gently hold her by her feet, and lift her bum off the table a bit. Then you slide the Huggies™ under her and set her back down carefully. You then fold the front of the diaper up over her and then use these cool Velcro strips to close them.” Nick said proudly.
“What happened to the baby powder? Aren’t you supposed to use that too??” Kevin asked curiously.
“Nope, the doctor advised us not to use it. It has been thought to cause respiratory problems, such as asthma. Heather and I don’t want to risk it, so, we decided to follow the doctor’s advice.” Nick answered.
“Cool. You sure have learned a lot Nick. It is hard to believe that you are a brand new daddy.” Howie said.
“Well, after helping raise Aaron and Angel, it is a bit easier. Isn’t that right mom??” Nick asked as Aaron and Angel looked at him curiously.
“Yes, Nickolas. You did a great job helping me and your dad with the children. Can you believe he used to sing to them to help them get to sleep?” Jane asked.
“Oh mom!” Nick said, embarrassed.
“I figured he would do that.” Brian said with a smile.
“Just as long as it was lullabies, and not those ‘sexual’ lines from our show.” AJ laughed.
“Nope, he used to sing the cute little songs like Little Bunny Foo Foo.” Bob answered.
Aaron and Angel started singing “Little Bunny Foo Foo” at the top of their lungs as they danced around Nick.
All of the sudden, there was a whimper and then a very loud cry. Katie Lynne had suddenly awoken and realized that the world around her was noisy and crowded.
“Aww, guys, see, now she is awake.” Nick said frustrated.
“It’s okay for her to cry a little Nickolas. That is her way of telling you she needs something.” Jane said gently to her son.
“I know…but I was hoping we wouldn’t wake her.” Nick said.
*** *** ***
I walked in the room as Katie Lynne started to cry. It was cute to see Nick get all fussy about it. “Nick, it’s okay, it gives everyone a chance to really see her.” I said.
“She certainly is a cutie.” Dee said.
“Look at those big eyes!” AJ said.
Everyone stood around admiring Katie for a short time. After a while, Dee and Leighanne tapped on everyone’s shoulder and then started letting them know it was time to start heading out. “We don’t want to wear out our welcome, so we will all head out and then drop by tomorrow.” Brian stated.
“Thank you all for the lovely gifts and stuff. You have no idea how much it means to us. We love you all so much.” I said with tears in my eyes.
We then hugged everyone goodbye, and then Nick went to put Katie Lynne down to rest. I told Nick I would be in the bathtub for a little bit, and to holler if he needed anything. Nick gave me a gentle kiss and then sat down on the couch for a while to watch television.
When I got to the bedroom, I quickly unpacked my journal, and wrote a short entry in it:
“Dearest Nickolas and Katie Lynne,
My life is fulfilled now, and I am learning to accept the things that are to come. I have never been happier in my life, other than the day that you said “I do” to me at the alter Nickolas. Katie Lynne, you have made your mommy and daddy so happy. Our lives are now complete since you are here. I love you with all my heart. I hope you remember that mommy loves you, even if you can’t see her. Life is strange at times. You are given the gift of a child, yet, life gets taken away in the process. I always understood that the angels were watching me the day that daddy saved my life. Now, the angels are watching me as God takes mine.
Just know in your hearts that I love you and always will. Katie Lynne, take care of daddy for me. He needs you…just like you need him. You two will stay strong together, so never let go.
With all my heart and soul—I love you,
Heather Lynne “
I then packed away my journal and climbed into the hot bath water.
My body relaxed, and I soon feel asleep.