After Brianna had left for work, Janie removed several toys from the diaper bag and set them on the floor in front of Ava. She sat crisscross near the baby and played with her until Ava showed signs of being hungry.
With no highchair, she had to get creative on how to keep a crawling seven-month-old in one spot long enough to eat. After carrying Ava through the house and searching for anything she could use as a makeshift highchair, she tried fashioning a portable highchair out of fabric with leg holes to tie around a regular chair. She scowled when it didn’t work as she’d envisioned.
Ava whimpered and scrunched her face into an angry pink ball.
“Well little girl, you’re hungry, and I’m out of ideas, so I’ll sit you in my lap, hold you tightly, and hope for the best.”
Before sitting down with Ava, she opened the pantry and grabbed an apron from a hook. She needed a layer of protection between her and pureed carrots. She opened the jar and retrieved a purple plastic baby spoon from an interior pocket. With everything set in place, she lifted Ava and sat down at the table. “We can do this.”
Ava responded with flailing arms.
“Shh. I know you’re hungry, sweet girl. We’re going to get some food in that belly.” She dipped the spoon into the jar and scooped out a pea-sized amount. Swirled it in the air like a plane before holding it to Ava’s mouth.
The baby gobbled the bite, and Janie put a larger portion on the next scoop. “Here you go, sugar. Keep eating like a big girl.”
Amazement struck Janie when Ava finished the entire jar with no mess made except on the sides of her mouth and a dot on her nose. “Great job. You’re a rock star at eating your veggies.”
Ava giggled, happy again now that she had a full belly.
When six-thirty neared, Janie changed Ava out of an adorable, frilly pink outfit, intending to dress her in a sleeper in anticipation of her falling asleep during her upcoming bottle. Unfortunately, Ava’s diaper needed a change first.
Digging in the bag, Janie searched for a fresh diaper. With a sinking feeling, she realized there had only been two in there, and both had been used already. She pursed her lips. Leaving Ava in a soiled diaper wasn’t an option, but neither was leaving to make a store run. She had no car seat.
Left with few choices, she made a call to Evan. His classes should have let out two hours ago, and she prayed he’d pick up.
Her prayers were answered on the fourth ring. “Hi.”
“Hey, I have a huge favor to ask.” She waved a hand around the baby’s bottom to evaporate the stink. “Are you busy?”
“Doing homework, but it’s nothing that can’t wait. Why?”
“Would you be able to pick up a small bag of diapers and swing by with them?”
“I guess. Why?”
She filled him in on Brianna’s predicament. “And baby Ava is sweet. You should stay and hang out with us.”
“I can do that and bring dinner.”
“Sounds good.” Ava had kept her so busy, she only now realized she hadn’t eaten since her early lunch.
“What do you want and what type of diapers do I get?”
“Whatever you want, and the ones she had on looked like a generic store brand, so whatever’s cheapest.” She held her nose and looked to see what size Ava wore. “She wears a size three.”
“Um, will that be obvious on the package?”
His unsureness made her laugh from the depths of her stomach. “Yes. Usually, in the bottom corner, it will tell you. If you don’t see it, snap a picture and send it to me. I’ll tell you if it’s right.”
“All right. Give me about forty-five minutes.”
She cringed. “Any way you can be here sooner than that? We, uh, kind of have an emergency diaper situation going on.”
“I’ll stop at the dollar store on the corner. I think I’ve seen diapers there.”
“Thank you.” She hung up and returned her gaze to Ava. “You’re going bottomless for a few minutes. I’m not letting you sit in that mess.”
After she cleaned Ava, she tied a piece of soft cotton fabric around Ava’s bottom. “It’s not much, but at least you’re not naked.”
