The Struggle Of Our Lives

Chapter 26: Last Week

Daniel shyly mumbled, "What's her name? She's cute." But before I could answer, Theo replied.

"September."

I had swung my leg over the bench and leaned forward towards Teddy so he had easier access to feed Tember, and so I could look at him better. He really is a sweet kid, I thought. We watched as he held the bottle to her mouth, telling her she needed to drink. Lotte had started chatting with Yasmin about her outfit and mentioned her black and white vans again. As Yasmin mentioned she couldn't pick between them and a white and purple pair, Tember finished her bottle and so I held her up to pat her back. 

After a few hiccups and some baby burps, she got fussy and started moving around in the sling. Soon enough, she started crying and throwing her arms around. I took her out of the sling so I could rock her gently and hopefully calm her down. Yasmin got up from the table and walked over to me, asking if I needed any help. "Oh she's fine," I assured her, then turning to the twins. "I'm gonna change her diaper real quick, so stay put." Theo handed me a folded up diaper and a packet of baby wipes from his pocket and Yasmin stood at the end of the table, probably to keep an eye on them. I walked toward the backside of the building to the bathroom and waited for it to be un-occupied, then went in and locked the door behind me.

 I brought Tember to the baby changing station attached to the wall and sat her down to clean her up. I took off her onesie and diaper, then immediately put a new one under her while I wiped her down. I had read somewhere that you should have the diaper down before you clean them so the baby can't pee everywhere. I got her new diaper on and her onesie, then put some cold water on her forehead to cool her down. I washed up and left the bathroom to see the kids playing tag with Yasmin and Daniel at the side of the building. 

September had calmed down some now that she was clean, so I went over to watch them all play. It didn't take long for Yasmin to notice I was back and stopped the game. "We should head back soon," I said, feigning tiredness and continued rocking the baby in her sling. Yasmin pivoted and stood to my right, with her head close to mine as she patted September on the back and touched her hair. "You tiring her out? It's only three," At first I didn't know if she was talking to me or the baby, until she returned to face me and told me to get some rest. It really had been a long day, but a good one. 

After some small talk along the lines of "We should do this again," we waited for Yasmin's mom to come pick them up, and when she came we saw how similar they looked to her. "Hi kids! Are you Terry?" she asked, and so I replied, "Yes I am, and these are my siblings." 

"I'm Analetta, but you can call me Mom," she replied, waving at Charlotte. "Ugh, Mom," Daniel replied, I laughed and assured him it was fine. "You can call her Miss Shanti, that's what her students call her." I I turned to ask what she taught but she argued that we could all "share" her. Theo stole my thought and asked, "What do you teach?" She lit up and answered, "I'm a world religions teacher at the high school, how old are you guys?" 

The twins answered "11," and mentioned we just had my birthday. "And how old is the baby?" Surprised, I guessed she thought I was babysitting. "Just over a month now." 

Yasmin and Daniel got into their car and we said our goodbyes. Soon after, we collected ourselves, and I made sure to grab my library book. I checked the time and it was 3:47, so I started planning what we'd have for dinner. I asked the kids what they thought and they suggested pizza. I searched for a pizza place nearby and decided on Little Caesars. There was a store not far from us, so we walked over and I held the door open for us. The kids entered first and we waited in the crowded lines. We finally got to the front and ordered our usual pepperoni and extra cheese pizza. 

We waited to the side of the line while more people came in and waited. After what felt like forever, we got our pizza and I paid just over $12 for it. We walked to the closest bus stop and waited for Desmond to come. The bus came at 4:00 exactly, and after a painfully long ride home with the steamy pizza in my lap, we said our goodbyes to Desmond after he gave September a kiss on the head.

We walked down the steps like always and followed the trail to the garage, as the kids talked about books they saw at the library or jokes Daniel told at the picnic bench. We heard a scurrying sound, and assumed it was a wild bunny since they came by to eat our berries occasionally, until we came to the garage door and saw a fawn eyeing us down from behind a bush. 

"Oh, hi baby, we didn't mean to bother you." I told her. She stayed as still as a statue while I quietly unlocked the door and snuck in, the kids turning back to stare once I closed the door. It wasn't too uncommon for deer to come by the house since it was in the middle of the woods, but typically, they never came so close to people. We talked about the doe's pretty spots in hushed voices as we ate our pizza, and soon after, she was gone. 

We watched some TV for a few hours before Lotte and September went to the other room for the night, while Teddy got into the loft bed and I onto the couch. I fell asleep thinking about how the next morning was to be my last Monday at Miranda's, and how grateful I was to her.