****
Alan
After I’d gotten off the phone with Sarah yesterday, I’d looked up used car listings for minivans in a thirty-mile radius. I would have preferred a new car, but the nearest dealer was in Charlotte, which was too far for me to get to before they closed, and none of them were open on Sundays.
Since I wanted to make sure Jess had transportation before I flew out on Monday morning, a private party sale was going to have to do.
I’d absolutely lucked out with the Sienna. It was only a year old with low miles. Apparently the wife decided she didn’t want a “mommy mobile,” so her husband bought her a Suburban instead. But what the dealer had offered the man to trade-in the minivan was insulting, so he’d put it up for sale himself.
I’d been able to pick it up that morning after Sarah wired him the funds.
She’d also been the one to order the car seat/stroller combination for me and had it overnighted to Brian’s address.
“I expect a stellar bonus on my birthday,” she’d quipped. “And if your next kid’s a girl, you better name her after me. Remember, it’s Sarah, with an ‘H’.”
“I know how to spell your name, smartass. And, I’ll agree with you on the bonus.” Her bonus last year had paid off her car. “But let’s not get crazy about any future children. Ruthie’s barely six weeks old.”
“Puh-lease. You have baby fever—there’s no way you’ll be satisfied with just one.”
Definitely not.
But I didn’t tell her that.
Now I had a weepy Jessica in front of me, and I was trying to figure out if I’d fucked up royally by not involving her in the vehicle purchase, or if those were happy tears.
“I can’t believe you did this.”
Eyeing her cautiously, I asked, “Is that a ‘I’m so happy, I can’t believe you did this,’ or a ‘You’ve got some nerve, I can’t believe you did this’? Because if it’s the latter, we can sell it and get whatever you want.”
“Oh my god, what kind of ungrateful person would say, ‘you’ve got some nerve’ after being given a vehicle?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know… I just didn’t want you to be mad because I picked this out without you, especially since you’re going to be the one to mostly drive it.”
“Alan, I would have been happy with a rusted out, twenty-year-old station wagon as long as it ran.”
“Well, I’m not letting my girls ride around in a dangerous rust bucket, so you get a minivan.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist and looked up at me with an adoring smile. “Thank you.”
I’d give her any damn thing she wanted just to see that smile again.
~~~~
Unfortunately, my attempt at giving Ruthie a bottle did not go as smoothly. After ten minutes of the baby turning her face and refusing to take the silicone nipple while screaming bloody murder, we gave up.
Jess took her from me, and all she had to do was pull her shirt down for Ruthie to find her breast and start suckling.
“We’ll keep trying,” she said with a wry smile.
“I read it can take a while. And it shouldn’t be you giving her the bottle, since if you do it, she may wonder why she’s not getting your breast.” I shook my head. “Fuck, I hate that I’m leaving you right now.”
“It’s only for a few days. And there’s plenty of people who’d be willing to help if I asked.”
“I know. But I should be the one doing it.”
She glanced down at Ruthie and murmured, “You’ve done plenty already. We’ll be fine. Maybe by the time you get back, she’ll be taking a bottle.”
I didn’t like that idea at all.
