Raising Echo

02

It was the dead of night and Christopher's eyes had cracked open abruptly. After days of not sleeping comfortably in a swanky hotel room downtown, his biological clock was off. He sighed, rubbing his face as he pulled his tired body out of his bed. After a few moments of a dreadful silence and loneliness, his son's wails sounded through the baby monitor on his dresser. Chris trudged to the room and went to the crib where an ornate mobile hung over it, spinning around and around. Carefully, he picked Aeko up, supporting his neck and rocking him back and forth, in an effort to calm him. "Shh Shh Shh, Echo," he whined, restlessly, "are you hungry?" He placed Aeko down into the crib and quickly grabbed a pre made bottle out of the see through mini fridge as the baby boy wailed. Chris looked over at the crib, then at the bottle warmer as he placed the bottle inside. As if on queue, rain started to patter against the window and Chris's anxiety levels were through the roof. "What were they thinking?" He asked himself. "I can't do this."
He ran his fingers through his blonde curls and went over to the crib, his eyes met Aeko's and the crib fell silent. Aeko stopped crying and the rain stopped falling. Chris looked at Aeko furrowing his eyebrows and then out the window into the darkness.

_

Morning had come and Chris sat in the kitchen eating breakfast his mother had prepared as she fed Aeko. "Mm, don't forget, the social worker is coming by again today. I won't be here so please be on your best behavior."

"I'm thirty years old, you don't have to lecture me on being on my best behavior, anymore," Chris responded nonchalantly as he ate a piece of  bacon. "Mom, something strange happened last night."
Joyce looked at her son and raised her eyebrow as Aeko, wide eyed and alert stared at his father.
"Last night...Echo was crying—"
"He was? That is strange because I didn't hear a thing," she said preparing to burp him.

"Well he was," Chris continued, "and it started to rain too. It sounded like it was pouring. Then as I was heating the bottle, I looked at him and he just stopped. The rain did too. When he stopped crying, the rain stopped falling," he looked at his mom as Aeko let out a small burp and she placed him in his carrier.

"Well," Joyce began, "I think it was just a coincidence. Or you could've dreamt it. You've always had vivid dreams."

"No, I know it happened."

"Well, what are you trying to say? Aeko has super powers and his cries control the weather?" She joked.

Chris just shook his head. "What time are you leaving? I wanted to shower before Desiré gets here."

"I have a minute to watch him," Joyce said as she loaded the dishwasher. "You like her, don't you?"

"I don't even know her like that," Chris scoffed.

"Like that's stopped you before," Joyce scoffed back. "At least this woman is well put together."

Chris rolled his eyes and walked to the stairs. He loved his mom; she was the kindest person he knew but sometimes the things she said really could get under his skin.

_

"So, how'd your first night go? Any complications or concerns?" Desiré sat cross legged on the couch as she questioned Chris on his first night of parenting. He felt it was tedious that she had to be back so soon.

"It went well. I had no complications or concerns," he answered simply.

"Are you sure, Mr. Brown?"

"Why're you questioning me? That's the answer you want to hear right?" He challenged

"The answer we want to hear isn't always the truth, though."

"Would you like to know the truth?"

"Please, it's just a simple question," she looked up from her computer. Chris marveled at her features that he thought were perfection. He hated how attractive she was because he wanted her so badly to be the bad guy. The enemy.

"You're the one who made things difficult. The truth is the question is stupid. Of course I had complications and concerns. I'm caring for a new born. My guard is up constantly. I've been checking his crib every fifteen minutes to make sure he's okay. And I have to worry about answering your questions right so that you don't take him away from me!" Chris yelled, waking Aeko, and causing Desiré to stand quickly.
Just then, rain started to patter against the windows but both of them were more concerned about their issues with each other to notice.

"I think we've done enough for today," Desiré said as she packed up her things, evidently phased by Chris.

"We only got through one question," Chris looked at his crying son, already feeling that he messed up beyond repair. Chris picked the wailing Aeko up and rocked him, but his wails only continued as his social worker headed out the door. She looked outside and yelped at a loud crack of thunder caused her to jump back. The rain had picked up and showed no signs of stopping. "You can't... go anywhere in that." Chris looked down at Aeko, trying to calm him, but like the rain, he showed no sign of stopping. The lights flickered and then the power went out.

Desiré swallowed the lump in her throat, "I guess we have no choice but to continue."

"I guess so," Chris said furrowing his eyebrows as his son rejected his bottle.

"Can I try?" Desiré asked looking at Chris.
Apprehensively, Chris looked at her and nodded, handing her his son. "Come here, Aeko," she said lowly in a baby voice. Almost immediately, his cries quieted. Just like how they did when I looked at him in his crib. I looked outside to check and see if the rain had stopped too but it didn't.

"Maybe it was just a coincidence," he thought.