Two Weeks Old
From the request thread, today we have a piece inspired by @arianascott24 ! It's a cute little piece, and I hope you all enjoy it.
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If the girl thought she didn’t get enough sleep as a film producer, nothing had prepared her for being a mother. Little Vic’s wail screeched through the baby monitor for the fifth time that night, dragging her out of the shallow waves of sleep that had barely begun to wash over her. She barely realized that she was hauling herself out of bed until the cold tile bit her feet on the way to the nursery. “It’s a good thing you’re as cute as your father,” she muttered and stumbled into the kitchen to prepare a bottle.
With practiced ease, the ninety-percent asleep mother poured the powder into the bottle with warm water from the heater on the counter and shook it gently. Little Vic’s cries intensified and the girl sighed. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” She made her way to the nursery and scooped up the infant, cradling him in her arm as she gently bounced him on the way to the rocking chair. The babe’s wails only intensified, drawing the girl’s tired face into a deeper frown.
“Come on, little munchkin. Mama’s here. That’s enough of that noise.” Her voice was soft and tender as she pressed the nipple of the bottle to her son’s lips. Though it took him a few moments to recognize it through his crying, soon the little boy sucked contentedly while his mother closed her eyes. “I swear you’re going to be even more the death of me than your father, and it has only been two weeks…please, please don’t be as bad at sleeping as he is…”
As if in response, the tiny being cuddled in closer to the girl’s side and grabbed her finger with his tiny hand. Any annoyance she held at being woken yet again melted away and an overwhelming warmth filled her chest to bursting. She began to hum a soft lullaby as she rocked gently and held her firstborn to her chest. As his stomach filled his little eyes closed until the bottle fell from his lips and the tiniest of squeaky snores reached the girl’s ears.
“There we go, little boy. Now back to bed with you.” Her lips curled up into a smile as she tenderly laid the little bundle back in his crib and stretched to straighten her spine. A series of crackles accompanied the realignment of her vertebra, followed by a yawn. Back to bed…
Meanwhile, Victor paced his hotel room. This being the first business trip since Little Vic was born, he couldn’t help but wonder how his wife was doing. Was she getting enough sleep? Had he purchased enough formula before he left? He shook his head and sat down on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. Knowing that everything would most likely be fine didn’t make him any happier about being away.
The return flight was only five hours away. Perhaps he could just go to the airport and ask about an earlier flight? The meetings were over, after all. Nothing was keeping him here except a pre-arranged ticket purchased months ago. Victor glanced at the clock and frowned. There was no way he was going to get any sleep, so these five hours would be a waste.
He unlocked the screen on his phone and searched for the number for his booking agency. As soon as he found it, Victor pressed “dial” and set the phone on the bed on speaker. The rings filled the otherwise silent room while he gathered his items and packed them into his suitcase. It didn’t take long; in his usual tidy way, very few things were actually scattered around the room. He hadn’t even bothered to pull his clothing from the bag and put it away on such a short trip.
“Hello, Loveland Airlines. How may I help you?”
Victor paused his packing and turned toward the phone, speaking in a firm voice. “I need to transfer my ticket for 9AM for the earliest flight from Beijing to Loveland City. It is under Victor Li.” The woman on the phone affirmed his information and went silent for a few moments as she searched her computer. In the meantime, Victor placed the last couple of items in his bag and zipped it up before slipping his feet into his shoes.
“The earliest flight I have departs at 6AM, with only one seat left in first class. Would that be alright?”
“Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you.” Victor picked up the bag, his phone, and headed out the door while the agent instructed him on picking up his ticket at the desk. The moment she hung up, he called for a cab and waited at the door of the hotel. “Don’t worry, my little dummy,” he muttered to himself. “I’ll be there soon.”
The airport was surprisingly busy for it being 4:30 in the morning. Victor grumbled as he hauled his bag through the crowd on his way to the service desk. He had almost forgotten what it was like to stand in line to get a ticket printed; Goldman had always been so good to have things printed and ready to go. Everyone seemed to move painfully slowly, though that could have simply been Victor’s eagerness to get home taking over.
He finally reached the counter, received his boarding pass, checked his bag, and was on the way to the terminal. Truth be told only twenty minutes had passed, but they felt like an eternity. Victor stalked through the airport corridors with a look on his face that caused everyone who looked at him to back away slowly and allow him plenty of room to pass. This made his passage quite easy, and he arrived at the gate with plenty of time to spare.
Exhaustion hit Victor like a truck to the face the moment he sunk into a chair in the waiting area. As tired as he was, Victor sighed to himself and pulled up a picture of his wife and son on his phone. “I’m sure you’re even more tired than me,” he whispered, a half smile crossing his cheeks before he put the phone away and closed his eyes.
He must have fallen asleep, because what felt like moments later he was woken by the announcement over the PA. “First class now boarding on flight N38 to Loveland City. First class passengers, please make your way to the gate and have your boarding passes ready for scanning.” Victor rose from his seat and crossed the five feet to the desk where the other first class passengers were waiting. As soon as he reached his seat and buckled the belt, he was out again.
It was a smooth flight in all definitions of the word. Victor slept through the entire thing, getting more uninterrupted sleep than he’d had since Little Vic was born. By the time they landed on the tarmac of Loveland Regional Airport, the new father was feeling rested and ready to go. His eagerness to have his little family in his arms carried him as he met Goldman at the baggage claim, climbed into his car, and made small talk on the drive home.
“How much bigger has he gotten? Is his hair still as thick as when he was born? Is he even close to sleeping through the night yet?” Goldman, unsurprisingly, had a million questions about the tiny human that he adored. Victor patiently answered each one, fatherly pride in every word. “I’d ask to see pictures, but I guess I should keep my eyes on the road…”
“Yes, yes you should. I’ll see how the wife is feeling about things when I get home and perhaps you can come in and see Little Vic for a few minutes. I suspect she will be exhausted, though, so don’t expect her to be too chatty.”
Goldman nodded emphatically and made no effort to hide the grin on his face. “Of course, boss! I’d be happy to hold my little nephew so his mama can get some sleep!” Victor chuckled and nodded his head, knowing he would be hard-pressed to get the girl to allow anyone that wasn’t himself to hold the baby. First time mom and all…
They pulled up to the house and Victor exited the car, grabbed his bag, and hurried through the door. He half expected to hear the infant wailing and his poor wife attempting to soothe him, but to Victor’s surprise the house was silent. He set down his bag and slipped out of his shoes, put on his slippers, and headed straight for the nursery.
The inside of the room was almost completely dark; the curtains were drawn and only the string of glittering star lights on the far wall provided any light. Victor’s eyes immediately went to the form in the rocking chair; it was his wife dead asleep with one hand on the crib. He smiled and peeked into the crib where Little Vic was also fast asleep. “Looks like everyone is as tired as I thought,” Victor chuckled softly, turning to leave so as not to interrupt the napping.
However, the girl seemed to have become incredibly sensitive to sound as she slept because her eyes popped open and she groaned softly. “Victor? Is that you?” She blearily glanced at the clock and frowned. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be home for like three more hours. I’m dreaming, aren’t I…”
Victor again chuckled and scooped her up from the chair. “No, my dearest. I managed to catch an earlier flight. I thought someone might be a little tired from having to take care of our son by herself for three days.” The girl simply nodded and melted into Victor’s arms, his warmth filling every cell of her body with relief. “Don’t worry. I’m going to put you to bed and take care of Little Vic. You just get some sleep.”
He carried her to their shared bedroom and put his wife to bed, pulling the covers to her chin and kissing her on the cheek before exiting and closing the door behind him. Victor headed back toward his son’s room but paused when he saw that Goldman was still sitting in the driveway. He shook his head and pulled out his phone to send Goldman a text. “Little Vic is asleep and the wife is as exhausted as I expected. Why don’t you stop by tomorrow afternoon with Vivian and we’ll have a nice lunch?”
The response came quickly and Victor could picture Goldman’s disappointed face as he read it. “Alright, boss. That sounds good. You get some rest too while you can. See you tomorrow!” Before Victor could reply, the sound of the car engine humming to life drifted in a muffled way through the room before fading into the distance.
Victor sunk into the rocking chair in his son’s room and just stared at the tiny, perfect form for a long time. Had he really had a hand in creating this little being? He was filled with wonder for the millionth time as he gently ran his finger down Little Vic’s cheek. “Rest easy, son. Your dad is here to take care of you.” Little Vic yawned and clenched his fists for a moment before his face returned to a relaxed slumber. And Victor rocked in the chair, a million thoughts flying through his head around a central theme: Life is good. Life is so, so good.
