Be My Forever [COMPLETE]

Chapter 31

201 Freedom Drive.

Toby and Melissa would kill me if they found out that I ditched school to go all the way to New Hampshire.

It was a very tiny house, but tiny in a cozy way. I felt welcomed before I even pulled into the driveway. I smiled as I passed the cheesy, yet adorable, lawn decorations, including a tiny statue of Dopey from Snow White, a few wind chimes, a small statue of a white bulldog wearing a red sweater with the letter "G" on it, and a giant red monogram on the front door. The letter H. For Howard.

I rang the doorbell. A little dog barked at the door a few times before a familiar man answered.

"Spencer? What are you doing here?" Tom asked me. He looked surprised, but mostly tired. A little cocker spaniel sat at his feet.

"I wanted to see Henry." I said. Henry is barely a week old now.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, sweetie." Tom warned me. I noticed for the first time that he had somewhat of a southern accent. I remembered Jannette telling me he was raised in Georgia, and he went to college there, explaining the bulldog out front.

"Please. I want to see my nephew." I begged. I wanted more than anything to see him. Not just through pictures. I needed to see him. Hold him. Kiss his forehead. Cradle him in my arms. I needed to know that he was okay.

Tom let me in, and I noticed that the living room was quite messy. Mostly with washcloths, dirty clothes, and a few unused diapers here and there. "Sorry for the mess. Henry's been keeping us up every night. Not to mention Samson's constant yapping." Tom says, gesturing towards the little dog, that was now following us.

"Where is he?" I ask. Tom tells me that Henry and Jannette are upstairs in the nursery. Tom guides me there and leaves me alone with my nephew and his new mother.

"Spencer! What a lovely surprise!" Jannette says, getting up from a rocking chair. She was wearing a very cute black top, however, her right shoulder was stained with what I'm assuming was Henry's puke. "You're just in time. Henry just woke up from his nap. He's in a good mood." She said.

Henry was wearing a dark green and blue striped onesie. It had a cute little giraffe on it. When Jannette turned him around to face me, he had the biggest smile on his face. He reached out to me, wanting me to hold him. I knew there was no way he could remember me. He was barely a week old.

"What brings you here?" Jannette asked, turning Henry around so he was no longer facing me. It made me a little upset. I could no longer see his beautiful face. Just the back of his head, and I noticed that he was growing hair that was the exact same shade as Melissa's.

"I just wanted to see Henry." I said, hoping Jannette would let me hold him.

"How's your sister doing?" She asked me, speaking in a low voice, as if Henry could understand her.

"She's... Not okay," I admitted, "she's  kind of a mess. She misses Henry. And she knows there's nothing she can do about it." It felt good to finally be able to tell someone that.

Jannette seemed too shocked to say anything. "We had an agreement. Melissa promised that she wouldn't make any contact with Henry until he is eighteen." She said. She sounded upset. Like she was heartbroken.

"I know. And that's why she's so upset. I don't know if she will be able to wait eighteen years."

"Well, she's going to have to." Jannette said, rather harshly. It was the first time I heard her use that kind of tone. It didn't sound natural. She noticed and sighed. "I'm sorry. I haven't gotten any sleep lately. He's been keeping me up night after night. I'm exhausted."

Henry starts fussing and crying. I remember that cry. It was the first thing we heard after a few moments of silence at the hospital. I remember thinking "This is why the baby is coming early. He didn't make it." But then Henry started crying. It made us all relieved. I held him in my arms as he was still crying. He was screaming and wailing as he was trying to adapt to the new world he was living in. I remember rocking him back and forth. He opened his eyes, revealing his dark brown orbs, and he looked up at me.
And then he stopped crying.

I asked Jannette if I could hold him, as she was struggling to soothe him, and she said yes. I take him and start rocking him back and forth, just like I did at the hospital. Within a few minutes the crying stopped, and he was back to his happy mood. He remained in my arms, and I wanted him to stay there forever.

Suddenly, an idea came to me. I might get in trouble for this, but I don't care. When a Hastings has a shot, they take it.

"You should let me babysit him." I say. Jannette gives me a strange look. "I insist. I'm great with kids," I lie, "and it won't cost you anything. You and Tom can go have some time for yourselves. How does this Saturday sound?"

Jannette thinks it over, and then she finally agrees. "Saturday it is."