The Parent Project

Wednesday

The next morning on the way over to Joey's, Lauren mused that she was incredibly grateful that he had had Samson last night. Because she had been so distracted at dance her teacher had asked her to stay a little longer to help tidy up as punishment. As a result, she had arrived home late and hadn't had time to do her homework from Monday or Tuesday so now she had two days' worth of homework to catch up on. But she had managed to sleep for around seven hours last night so at least there was one benefit.

Lauren knocked lightly on Joey's front door and seconds later his Mom ushered her inside with a warm smile and the offer of a breakfast pastry.

"Morning Lo," Joey grinned as he bounced down the stairs, Samson in Lauren's old baby carrier and (thankfully) now dressed in something far more modern than yesterday.

"Hi Joey," she blushed lightly at the new nickname and immediately took the carrier from his hands to say good morning to her son. "Hi Sammy, did you have a good night?"

"His Dad took extra good care of him," Joey smiled, tugging a pale blue cap over the baby's ears.

"Glad to hear it!" Lauren replied, as Joey came up behind her to slide her backpack from her shoulders, "you don't have to do that," she mumbled.

"If you're taking the carrier, I've got the backpack," he said, slinging the item in question over his left shoulder.

"You two are so cute," Denise muttered as she watched them interact, a soft smile on her face.

"Mom," Joey warned and she held her hands up in defence and backed away into the kitchen offering Lauren a sympathetic smile. "Sorry," he said when she was gone, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck.

"It's okay," Lauren mumbled trying not think about the implications of what his Mom had said. She led the pair of them out of his front door and down the driveway. "Did he cry a lot last night?"

"A few times, but he was quite easy to pacify, just sung him a few songs and when he really wouldn't stop I just kept him in bed with me," he shrugged easily, the early morning sun causing him to squint down at her.

"You shouldn't do that JoJo," she exclaimed shifting Samson to her other arm so she could walk closer to him, "I read that your body heat whilst sleeping could cause them to overheat or suffocate, he could die!"

"Really?" Joey replied, his eyes wide and unflinching at his new nickname.

"Yeah, apparently it's one of the leading causes of sudden infant death syndrome," Lauren affirmed as she recalled the 'danger: how much babying is too much babying?' article she had read before bed last night.

"Wow, okay," Joey trailed off and looked over at Sam in his carrier, his eyes shining with affection, "no more of that then,"

A few minutes later it was obvious Joey was still thinking about what Lauren had said. She laid her free hand on his forearm, sliding her fingers down to intertwine with his naturally.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly as they walked onto school property.

"Yeah, just thinking about what you said," he blinked still spaced out and looked down at her, "how many new parents do you think have made that mistake?"

"It doesn't matter, it's a mistake anyone could make," she shrugged, the impact of his words not lost on her. She heard him mumble something along the lines of 'I could've killed him' and she sighed softly squeezing his hand in hers, "Samson is plastic Joey, he's a lesson, a place to make mistakes and learn from them. He's not going to die and you and I are doing our best for two very young parents who were forced together one day and given a child." She ended with a small smile pulling him to a stop just outside of the makeshift day-care room.