More than Expected

Part 53

June 6, 2014
      She stands in front of the mirror as she's dressed in her cap and gown. In a week from today she'll prove statistics wrong by walking across the stage and getting her diploma. She'll be a high school graduate and then she and Royce will be with Rick permanently. She feels two hands on her arms and sees her mother appear behind her in the mirror. "My baby." She whispers. Kate's right hand lifts to her mother's left hand, "I'll be okay, Mom." Kate assures her. "I know, but I always thought I'd have a few more years before I let you go."
      Kate turns and hugs her mother, "I'll always need you." She whispers. Johanna kisses her cheek, "I know, but Rick needs to be your go to person from now on. You two are about to get married and live on your own and, I'm guessing before long, there will be a few more Royce's coming our way." Her mother brushes a curl behind her ear, "You need to tell him your fears and stresses. You two are each other's everything from now on." She continues as she cups her daughter's cheeks in her palms.
      Kate smiles and nods before her mother kisses her forehead, "I love you, baby girl." Johanna whispers, "I love you too, mom." Kate whispers. "Okay, now give me that so I can steam it and put it back in the garment bag until graduation." Johanna insists. Kate chuckles as she slips the gown off and hands it along with her mortarboard to her mom. It's not long before Royce is awake demanding to be fed. "Want to try some sweet potatoes, baby boy?" Kate asks rhetorically as she settles him in his high chair and attaches a bib to him.
      She grabs the Gerber baby food and a spoon before sitting in front of him. She mixes the puréed food before gathering some on a spoon and placing it in Royce's mouth. "What's he trying, Katie?" Her father asks. "Sweet potatoes. He seems to like them." She answers as she places another spoonful in his mouth. "Hi Bubba." Her father crouches down and stares into Royce's eyes that are slowly transitioning to his mother's golden green irises. "Looks like he got his mommy's eyes." Jim remarks, "I know. I was hoping they'd stay blue like Rick's. His eyes are breathtaking."
      "Well, I might be biased, but I think your eyes are just ask breathtaking." Jim says as he kisses his daughter's forehead. Kate smiles as she continues feeding her son. Once he's finished the food, she throws the container away and tosses the spoon in the sink before wiping his face clean and removing the bib to put in the laundry room. She wipes down his high chair table and then lifts him out of it. She changes his diaper before placing him on the floor for tummy time. "C'mon, Bubba." She encourages as she shakes one of his toys in front of him.
       He starts getting fussy, "Hey, it's okay. You can do it, baby." She gently encourages him. She helps him out by getting him propped up on his elbows. From there he gets himself onto his knees and hands. "That's it, Royce. C'mere. Come to Mama." Kate whispers as she holds her arms out for him. Before she knows it he reaches out with one hand. He's done this in the past, but usually ends up falling. Today, however, his opposite knee follows his hand before he switches sides. Her eyes widen when he reaches her.
      "You did it! Mom! Dad! He's crawling!" Kate exclaims. Royce begins crying at his mother's yelling as it frightens him. "Oh, I'm sorry, baby." She coos as she gently rocks him in her arms. She stands with him as she rubs his back, "You're okay. Shhhh." She whispers. Johanna and Jim finally make it into the living room, "He's crawling?" Johanna asks, "He was but then I got excited and accidentally scared him." She explains, "Oh, yeah, that's one thing with parenting: you're going to want to celebrate every milestone, but sometimes celebrating can freak them out." Johanna tells her daughter.
      Kate nods, "I'm gonna take him upstairs and nurse him to calm him down. I'll try to get him to do it later to show you guys and get a video for Rick." She promises them before going upstairs into her bedroom and settling into bed as she frees her breast for him to latch onto. Her phone rings in the middle of her nursing session. "Hi babe." She answers once she saw it was Rick calling. "Hey. What're you doing?" He asks, "Nursing Royce. Guess what?" "What?" "He just crawled for the first time." "Are you serious!?" Rick exclaims.
       She giggles, "Yeah. I'm going to try and get a video later to send you." "That's amazing, honey." "I know. I can't wait to be in North Carolina so you don't miss anymore of his milestones." She bites her lip not trying to make him feel bad, but she really wished she was calling him into the room earlier, not her parents. "I know, love. But, about that, I got some news earlier." "What kind of news?" "I'm getting pulled to do a deployment." He says. That word is the only word she's been dreading to hear since he enlisted.
      "How long?" She asks painfully. "You'll need to look at a calendar because I can't say the exact dates over the phone." He tells her. She puts the call on speaker and opens her calendar app, "Okay." She says, "Alright, I leave 20 days after you guys move here." He says. She counts the days out: July 7. "And when do you get back?" "6 days after my birthday." April 7. A tear streams down her cheek, "Okay." She sighs once more, "Talk to me." He insists, "Nothing." She mumbles, "Kate." He pushes not wanting her to calm up and not talk to him.
      "It's just that we're moving there for you to leave us." She says, "Do you want to stay with your parents until I get back?" He offers, "No, we're going to be paying rent. Might as well be making use of it." She says, "I'm really sorry, baby. I wish I didn't have to go." "I knew what I was signing up for. It's not your fault. I'm going to finish nursing him and get him down for a nap. Talk to you tonight?" She asks, "Always. I love you." "I love you too."
Part 53!