Sunday Fiction ch. 3

If you have missed earlier entries please check out The Fiction page.

Nicole was feeling anything but glamorous by the time Nick arrived at the hospital. He walked through the door hidden by a bouquet of red roses and blue balloons.  "Hello beautiful!" he roared as he sidled up to the bed.

Nicole had just finished nursing Bruce and was cradling him in her arms. Rather than being glad to see Nick, she was annoyed. All her wisdom and grace had disappeared in the delivery room, the room he had not been in! "Where have you been?" She demanded.

"You know where I've been," He calmly replied. "I had business to attend to and when I was done I got on the first airplane back. Now I'm here."

"Why didn't you even call? We tried to get a hold of you and never got an answer, anywhere you were supposed to be."

"The meeting got moved, that is why you couldn't reach me at that office. I had checked out of the hotel yesterday morning in anticipation of catching an early flight, but the meeting ended up running until 9:00 last night. I rushed to the airport, but there were no flights and slept in the airport until I boarded a few hours ago. I'm not sure where all of this doubt is coming from, perhaps your hormones?" Nick said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Tears started to leak from Nicole's eyes as she listened to her husband in disbelief. He had always been honest with her before, but there was definitely something going on with his story. She knew it deep in her soul, but there was no way to prove it.

Gently Nick wiped the tears away and whispered in her ear, "You are the love of my life, the mother of my son and the only thing that is good and real in my life. Why would you ever doubt me?"

"I don't know," she whimpered back.

"Maybe you're just being silly! Now can I see my son?" He asked.

Nicole jerked her head up and asked, "How did you know he was a boy? No one has spoken to you since the birth."

"I checked with the nurses before I bought the balloons."

"Oh," she said, feeling foolish for being suspicious. "He is beautiful and I was thinking about naming him Bruce after my grandfather."

"That sounds like a great idea. Bruce Frederick Patterson." 

Nick sat in a chair right next to Nicole’s bed, holding their son in his arms. Bruce had been asleep for a while when all of a sudden he squirmed and then opened his tiny mouth and a grand sound protruded. Nick started to laugh, but Nicole did not find it amusing. “Give him to me! There’s something wrong. I’ve never heard him make that noise before.”

“Sweetheart, that is what a newborns cry sounds like. He is a normal baby.”

“He’s not just any baby!” She whispered as her eyes gave way to the tears that had formed, “He’s MY baby!”

Nick scooted even closer as Nicole cradled Bruce trying to calm him down. “Nicole, I know he’s your baby, but I also know that because of that you will be the one who understands his every need. The two of you need to get to know each other.”

She began nursing the baby and looked up at her husband. “How do you know all of this?”

“What do you think I do when I’m stuck on a plane? I wanted to get as much information as possible before he arrived so I could be helpful. The first couple of weeks are really all about mommy and baby.”

They sat in companionable silence while Bruce ate. Once he was about to doze off again, Nicole asked, “Do you want to change his diaper.”

“You bet I do!” Nick volunteered. He took the baby from his wife’s arms and walked him over to the tiny changing table that was in the room. He gently changed the diaper, being careful of the umbilical cord. When he had finished he walked back to the bed and handed him off again. “What are we doing about the circumcision?” He asked.

“I wasn’t really sure,” Nicole answered. “We never talked about it because we didn’t know if he was a boy until he arrived. What do you think we should do?”

“Can a doctor do it while we are still in the hospital? I think that would be the best thing.”

“We can check today. I think I’m supposed to stay here again tonight.”

“Can I stay with you?” Nick asked.

“I would really like that!”