My What if Christmas Wish

Chapter 9

Patrice scurried to Junior and hovered over his crib. His cries were screeching. What's wrong, she thought. She stroked the baby's cheek. 

It did not ease him. Patrice carefully picked him up and sat in the nearby rocking chair. She slowly rocked back and forth. His crying persisted. What else can I do? She asked herself.

Then she stood and a thought crossed Patrice's mind. She lifted Junior and smelled his bottom. She was right. Oh no. Still, she carried the baby to the changing table. After placing him on his back, she rummaged for the supplies she needed.

Patrice returned with the baby wipes. Then she looked underneath the changing table and found the baby powder as well as fresh diapers. She searched for gloves too, but there were none in sight. Junior's cries continued. Patrice finally spotted gloves on a nearby dresser.

With all the supplies she needed, Patrice put on the gloves and proceeded to take off Junior's pajama pants. Once removed, she opened the dirty diaper. The site inside churned her insides, but she pressed through the task. Using three baby wipes, she wiped Junior's bottom clean.

Next was the baby powder. Unfortunately, Junior urinated. Just great. Patrice tried to cross his legs, but it was too late. Her shirt was wet. She eyeballed the infant, who giggled. Patrice bit back a smile of her own. She cleaned up the remaining mess, put baby powder on his bottom, but struggled to put on his diaper. She needed a second diaper because she put the first one on backward.

Once her diaper changing experience was over, she discarded the dirty gloves along with the dirty diapers. After thoroughly washing her hands, she changed Junior's clothes, grabbed one of his toys, and carried him to her bedroom. She then laid him on the bed, as she changed into a clean shirt.

Patrice then picked Junior and his toy up sauntered to the kitchen. She spotted a high chair in the corner and placed him in it. After giving him a bottle, she paced the kitchen floor.

"Well... what should we do first?" Patrice asked baby Junior. She noticed him gnawing at his bottle. Patrice could see four teeth in between his bites. "Oh my goodness." She beamed at the little boy. Then the phone rang.

Patrice contemplated whether to answer the phone or let it ring. She moseyed over to it. Since she did not recognize the number, she let it go to voicemail. Plus, she did not want to get caught in a conversation with someone she didn't know. She had a difficult time already trying to adjust to her new environment. Talking with a stranger was not going to help.

Then she noticed two lists on the refrigerator. Beside them were some family pictures and what looked like attempted drawings by Hannah. Patrice perused the list.

1. Clean Hannah's room

2. Wash the clothes

3. Finish wrapping the presents

4. Cook dinner

Junior's gurgling filled the room as Patrice stared at the list. It seemed to be in her own handwriting. When she noticed the nearby calendar, it showed it was two weeks before Christmas. Her mind focused again on the list. Patrice sighed and looked at Junior.

"Okay baby boy, let's get to work," she said.

She picked him up from the high chair and walked back to his room. She knew she could not leave Junior while she worked, so she found his carrier. Once she found the vacuum cleaner in the nearby closet, Patrice started in Hannah's room. At first, she was reluctant, since she did not want to scare Junior. To her surprise, he loved the roaring noise as she vacuumed.

With that, she vacuumed all the bedrooms. When she decided to clean the bathrooms, Patrice put Junior back in his crib. Fortunately, he was already asleep, but she grabbed the baby monitor. She made sure the volume was high and kept it in her pocket. After finishing the bathrooms, she gathered the dirty clothes. She had a time locating the laundry room but eventually found it further down the hall.

Patrice separated the clothes and started her first load. With that going, she walked to the living room with wrapping paper for the Christmas gifts. As she rose to her feet, she sat on the couch and relaxed. A nap would've sufficed, but Junior's cry bellowed through the baby monitor. Patrice hurried to his room and found him on his back in tears. Then she extended her arms and picked him up.

"What's the matter now? When was the last time you ate?" Patrice asked in a motherly voice.

Wow, I didn't know I could do this. Her whispers soothed him, and to her surprise, Junior calmed down. He just wanted me to pick him up. She smiled at the notion. She kept strolling the nursery and kissed his baby cheek. "You're okay. It's okay."

Patrice brought Junior with her to the kitchen. "Let's get you another bottle." She saw another bottle already made in the refrigerator. She shook it up, put Junior back in the high chair, and gave it to him. This time he would not take it. Next, she pulled out a jar of baby food. She read the label: Chicken and vegetables. She wasn't convinced of the combination.

"You eat it mixed like this?" she wondered.

Junior clapped his hands. Patrice then retrieved a spoon and a towel and took a seat in front of him. She unscrewed the jar and fed Junior. After five minutes, he seemed satisfied. When he finished, she wiped his mouth with the towel. Once she found another toy for him from his room, she gave it to him. Her next task was the recipe for dinner. She rummaged the refrigerator for the ingredients, though she was nervous about cooking.

The first thing that needed to be cooked was the chicken. While Patrice cooked occasionally, this particular recipe was more involved. Here we go. She rinsed off the chicken, removed the fat. Next, she peeled the potatoes, washed the carrots, and tended to Junior when he needed her.

The dinner was not turning out the way she hoped, but she placed the chicken in the oven and continued. Then she chopped the potatoes and grabbed a medium sized pot to boil the water.

Still, she found it difficult to focus on. If Junior was not whimpering, she was dashing back and forth to the laundry room. As time went by, the phone kept ringing, only frustrating Patrice more. She did not feel like talking to anyone. When Junior whimpered again, Patrice picked him up and smelled his bottom. She changed his diaper, washed her hands, but grimaced when she smelled something burning. Patrice hurried with Junior in her arms.