Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 123155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 616(@200wpm)___ 493(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
“I’m just going to get these ones,” CeeCee said, lifting a box of diapers from the shelf. “They’re the ones the hospital uses, so they should be a safe bet.”
I followed Cecilia around the baby department while she grabbed supplies, growing more and more confused as she filled the cart. When she’d said that she wasn’t prepared for the baby, I’d assumed she’d meant that she had some holes in her supplies. From what I was seeing, though, Cecilia must not have had a single thing. Why the hell wouldn’t she have been at least a little prepared? Didn’t women have baby showers and shit? She’d had nine months to prepare.
“Shit,” she said, coming to a stop. She glanced at full the cart. “We should’ve grabbed the car seat first.”
“Pick which one you want,” I replied, handing the baby back to her. “I’ll carry it.”
She walked down the line of strollers and car seats, stopping at each one so she could read the tags. Then she pulled out her phone and started reading something there. Finally, she pointed to the one she wanted.
“That one has the best reviews,” she said, her fingers pressed to her lower lip.
The gesture made everything inside me pause. I wasn’t even sure if I was breathing as memories flooded back. She’d always done that lip thing, for as long as I’d known her. It was a nervous habit that I wasn’t even sure she was aware of. Her Grandma Rose had done the same thing. When they were stressed or worried or thinking about something, they pulled at their lower lip.
“This one?” I asked, the words coming out gravelly.
“Yep.” She took a step back so I could grab the box. “It isn’t the fanciest one here, but it has the best ratings.”
“That’s usually a good thing,” I assured her, lifting the box. “Middle of the road is usually a safe bet. Just ’cause something’s flashy doesn’t mean it’s the best.”
“True,” she murmured as the baby started to fuss. “We better hurry. She’s getting hungry and we’re about five minutes from complete devastation.”
Balancing the car seat box in the seat of the cart, I followed her to the front of the store and unloaded the supplies while she grabbed about ten reusable bags from the end of the aisle. Blankets, towels, wash cloths, tiny baby clothes, diapers, bottles, pacifiers, some sort of baby carrier that looked like it would take an hour to put on, nursing pads, the list went on and on. She helped me unload as the baby began to really fuss, and then her eyes widened.
“Shit,” she said, bouncing up and down. “I completely forgot—I’ll be right back.”
She took off without another word.
“New babies are hard,” the checker said sympathetically. “Especially ones as fresh as yours.”
I nodded.
“She can take her time,” the woman continued with a smile as I lifted the car seat so she could scan it. “There’s no line and I’ve got nowhere to be.”
“Thanks,” I said, glancing back toward the rest of the store. I wasn’t sure if I should follow Cecilia or wait while she got whatever she’d forgotten. Deciding to wait, since I wasn’t even sure where she’d gone, I shot an uncomfortable smile at the checker.
“First baby?” she asked knowingly.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Don’t worry, it doesn’t get easier,” she said, laughing. She leaned against her station. “Just kidding. I mean, it really doesn’t get easier, but it changes. Right now, it’s all about the lack of sleep and making sure they eat and poop enough. That goes away and you’ll wish they weren’t pooping so much!” She laughed again. “But eventually, you’ll only be worrying whether they’re safe and happy.”
“Your kids grown now?” I asked.
“Picked up on that, did you?” she said with a wistful smile. “It’s cliché and hard to understand when you’re in the thick of it, but trust me on this—soak up every second of this stage because before you know it, that baby will be a toddler and then heading off to school and then graduating, and it’ll feel like you blinked and missed it.”
“I’ll do my best,” I replied, uncomfortable with the entire conversation. I wasn’t about to correct her and embarrass her for assuming, but it also felt really fucking weird acting like I was any part of the baby’s life. She was going to be gone the next day and I really was going to miss it all.
Just as I finally decided that I was going to find Cecilia and was pulling my wallet out of my back pocket to pay, the sound of the baby girl’s cries became audible and they came around the corner.
“Sorry,” Cecilia apologized, out of breath. “I forgot to get a few things.”
She threw a package of underwear, a bra, a pair of sweats and matching sweatshirt, and a big package of pads on the conveyor belt. My lips twitched.