( ? )
taking a deep breath , lily pushed her head back out of her face holding the breath for a hopeful moment. then the crying pierced through the walls once more and she slumped forward onto her textbooks with a heavy sigh. e v e r y night. every single night. sometimes all day, even. least, that’s how is seemed to her, though that might have been the combination of stress and caffeine frying her sense of time. endless screaming or intermittent, it was doing nothing to help her get through her paper. glaring at the blinking cursor on her computer screen as if it was all it’s fault, she groaned and shoved her chair back. there was no point in complaining to the landlord ; what was he going to do, call the police over a fussy infant ? no, someone needed to calm that child, and clearly its parent was not up to the job. her demeanor softened at the sight of the frazzled man who opened the door, baby in his arms. he was at least trying, which is more than what lily might have suspected. he looked like someone had stretched him too thin and too tight. and like someone had stolen his comb. stooping, she picked up the dropped pacificer. it was almost instinct which had her following the man further into his apartment. it was a mirrored layout of her own, and she went straight to the sink, rinsing the pacifier off under warm water. she struggled with a frown as he apologized once more, holding out the pacifier to him. ” it’s okay. “ it wasn’t really, but what was she supposed to say to the already frazzled father who was trying his best ? screaming at him wouldn’t help, and she’d rather not wake up to shitty diapers on her welcome mat one day. ” … how old is she? ” she peered at the bundle in the man’s arms, already making her own judgment on the answer.
he looked to her, almost beholden to see the pacifier held out to him. with great care not to shift the baby in the crook of his arm, he took it into his hand, ready should he need it again.
“just over three months? feels like a lot longer though...” his words were on the edge of weary, but when his gaze turned from the girl to his daughter, nothing but fondness could be found. he was on his own & that was fine, but having a baby was difficult enough with two parents, delilah had only one. & as much as he hated to admit it, he was no baby whisperer.
a part of him wondered if he should mention the fact, explain that he was alone in this, as if that would somehow better the situation & cause some miracle that would result in a peaceful coexistence between delilah's cries & his neighbours.
“& no, it's really not okay. i wish there was something i could do to get her to quiet down more quickly but obviously everything i've tried so far hasn't been working.”
