by Cee, DW
I don’t know where Laney came from, but she caught him right as he was about to hit his head on the ground. She got to him literally centimeters before I would have been in deep shit with my brother.
At this point all hell broke loose. James hollered for dear life, Ellie hollered because her brother hollered, Donovan hollered at me for “dropping the baby,” and I hollered back defending myself, trying to convince everyone that I did not “drop the baby!”
In the melee, Laney had quietly rounded up both kids, was sitting on the oversized rocking chair and had begun reading them a book. Both babies let out tearful hiccups here and there, but were soon calmed down.
“Ellie, you want me to read you a book?” Her godfather asked.
“NO!” She answered with conviction.
I was afraid to ask, but didn’t want to lose out to my cousin so I started to say, “James...” and that’s when both kids started crying again. Hell! I gave up and left the room.
“Don’t think you’ll be having kids anytime soon,” Donovan cracked up and put his arm around me to console me.
“No, I guess not,” I answered with anger. “I’m not the girl you want to marry if you need a mother for your kids. Go talk to Laney, instead.”
“I think I prefer a woman to a little girl, when I decide I need to procreate.” How does this man make everything look and sound so freakin’ delicious?
“Shut up!” was my only lame answer to him as I elbowed him away from me.
In the course of reheating the Bolognese sauce for our dinner, Max came over and I recounted the entire saga to him. Rather than consoling me and making sure I wasn’t in too much shock from the events of the night, Max scolded the both of us and said, “And you let Laney put both kids to bed by herself?”
He marched right up to the kids’ room and we walked in on three angel-looking Reids sitting on the rocking chair, asleep. Laney had both kids protectively cradled in each arm.
“Laney,” Max whispered, and gently put a hand on her shoulder. “Let me take James from you and I’ll put him down.”
When she looked up at my boyfriend with those big blue eyes, she really looked not much different than a child herself. She, too, had those cherub cheeks like the twins and that doe-eyed innocent look.
“Take Ellie. I’ll hold on to James a bit longer. I don’t think he’ll part from me just yet.”
Max did just that and gingerly transferred Ellie to her twin-size bed that my parents bought for each grandchild as a birthday gift. He then very slowly and carefully took a whimpering James from Laney’s arms and rocked him a bit till he calmed down, and eventually put him in his own bed as well. Finally! The kids were down.
“Have you had dinner?” Seeing Max with Laney made me think that he would have made a great older brother—so opposite of my own!
“I haven’t eaten yet, have you? Emily made spaghetti sauce before she left. If you want, I can heat it up for you.” Laney answered.
“Why don’t you sit and I’ll heat it up for us. You’re probably tired after taking care of both kids all afternoon. It’s a good thing those kids go to bed so early.”
“Today, I have to agree. I don’t know how Emily does it every day. She’s pretty incredible.”
“That she is.” My boyfriend agreed.
This love fest between Laney, Max and Emily was nauseating me. So, I cut into their conversation. “Who’s staying here tonight?”
Before anyone could answer, Josh was at the back door.
“Hey, Bro’. What brings you by?”
“Laney brings me by. What other reason would I have for being here? It definitely isn’t to babysit.”
“Well, you should’ve come earlier if you really wanted to help your friend. She had a rough night.”
“What were the rest of you doing, not helping Laney?”
“It’s all fine Josh,” Laney said. “How are you? You went and got your passport in order?”
“Yeah!” My cute little “brother” smiled wide. “We’re gonna have so much fun together in Europe!”
“Why would you guys be in Europe together?” Big brother Donovan asked.
“Laney is moving there for a year and I’m going to go paint out there for a year.”
“What’s the matter with this graduating class? Don’t you believe in getting a job after college, or going to graduate or professional school? You young people are too dependent upon your parents. You need work experience. You need to live in reality.”
I nodded my head and concurred with every one of Donovan’s words. “I agree!” I exclaimed.
Josh and Laney stopped talking for a brief moment, stared at us, checked each other out, shrugged their shoulders, then continued with their conversation as though neither Donovan nor I had said a peep.
Max laughed and joined in their conversation. “You need help with anything before you leave, Laney?”
She hesitated. “I think I’m okay, Max. Thank you for asking,” was all she said before asking Josh, “When will you leave and where will you go first?”
“I’m leaving in June and I think I’ll start in London and make that my base. You think your grandparents will let me live with you in the flat?”
Laney kept quiet. We could tell that wasn’t her cup of tea.
But, Josh kept pushing. “Jane, can I ask your Gram for permission to room with Laney?”
Before big brother Donovan could bark at Josh, I answered, “You can ask Gram yourself.” I was all for those two becoming roommates!
We all decided to make an early night of it, and I was up and ready to leave. I figured Max and I would come back in the morning, and it wouldn’t matter whether or not Donovan chose to come back since Max was around.
“Can we leave?” I don’t know why I had to ask Laney for permission, but I did. “Max and I’ll be back early in the morning to help you?”
“Sure,” Laney agreed.
“Babe, I don’t feel comfortable leaving Laney here by herself with the babies. Maybe I should stay here with her.”
Say what??? I don’t think so!!! “We’ll be right across the street. Jake never said which one of us had to stay here.”
“Why don’t I stay for a while, then I’ll leave when Laney is ready to sleep.” Max kept insisting. This big brother bit was going too far. Max could tell I wasn’t happy.
“How about I stay with Laney?” Josh suggested with a squirrely smile. He was such a cutie!
“Out of the question,” Donovan said.
Max concurred. “No. If something were to happen, I don’t know that you’d be much help.”
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Josh complained, Max chuckled.
“I don’t need any of you here. Thank you, Max, but I have my stuff here already and I’m happy to stay with the kids by myself. I’ll go to sleep as soon as you guys leave so you don’t need to worry about me.”
“I’d feel much better if you let me hang out a bit longer.”
“Well, suit yourselves,” I exclaimed and headed to the back door. “I’ll see you bright and early in the morning.” I waved goodbye to the three men and started out the door.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” Max whispered.
“Don’t count on it,” I whispered back.
Believe or not, that earned me a quick, but wet kiss. I was blushing by the time Max let go of me.
Fast forward to today, Monday, early evening, Jake’s backyard for Emily’s birthday dinner. I walked in with a beautiful gift in hand, ready to greet my sister.
“...next thing you know, James pees on Jane’s face, she screams like a little girl, and he rolls off his changing table trying to get away from her...” Everyone gasped as they heard Donovan, that rat, tell an exaggerated version of what happened the other night. My brother is glaring at me even though he’s told that nothing happened to his beloved one-year-old.
“That’s the last time I put the care of
my kids in your hands,” was the thanks I got for playing tirelessly with both kids on Sunday to try and make up for the near accident. I lost count of how many times I stacked both sets of nesting blocks so Ellie and James could karate chop / karate kick them down. I even gave them their first lollipop, which did not make Laney happy, but those twins sure were happy.
“Ellie, you want to play with Auntie Jane?” I asked the little girl who was draped over my boyfriend.
“NO!” was the emphatic answer that greeted my question. If that wasn’t enough, she said a few more times, “NO! NO! NO!”
Obviously, this motherhood stuff wasn’t for the weak-hearted, and obviously it wasn’t for me...at least not yet!
May 23, 2013 Introducing James and Elizabeth Reid
Max and his brothers decided to lowball the already low price on the house, and the builders accepted the bid. I think it had everything to do with the fact that they would have three sales at once. The Davis boys were psyched, and we all ended up celebrating at Emily’s house, of all places.
“Emily, you’re the greatest!” Josh brown-nosed my sister. “Thanks for inviting us to this impromptu barbeque.”
“I’m glad you could make it. I want you and Garret to visit more often. I see Max because he comes over with Jane, but you guys haven’t been here since the birthday party. Don’t you miss me?” She smiled while Jake frowned.
“Of course we miss you,” Josh said, while putting his arms around Emily’s shoulder. “But,” he then whispered, “that man you married doesn’t look like he wants us to miss you.”
Emily laughed so hard, the twins stopped what they were doing and laughed with her. Babies were the oddest creatures. They had no idea why their mother was laughing, but they decided that if it was funny enough for her, it was funny enough for them.
It may sound like I’m bragging, and I kinda am bragging, but I will swear on the Bible that my niece and nephew are the best looking one-year-olds on this planet. When they were first born, they looked almost identical to one another but as they grow older, not only are their appearances contrasting, but their personalities are like night and day.
They both started with a full head of black hair and beautiful blue eyes. I guess you could say they looked like a Reid since we three have the same coloring. Ellie’s blue eyes remind me of a deep sapphire sometimes. They’re almost as black as her hair, but when she’s out in the sun like she is now, they look like a beautiful ocean. She shares the jet-black hair with her dad and her aunt and uncle, but she has something I’d give half my shoe closet for—curls! Think ringlets now, but soon will look like Victoria Beckham / Kate Beckinsale’s loose waves with giant curls at the end. Because of her curls, her hair only appears to reach right below the ear, but once she grows and her hair relaxes, she’ll have beautiful waves from head to halfway down her back. In the skin department, Ellie has beautiful baby skin with naturally rosy cheeks. No matter what she’s doing, even while sleeping, her cheeks have a blushed glow.
James started with straight jet-black hair and sparkly blue eyes, but now his hair was turning a wavy dark brown, with curls at the end. His eyes have a cool blue-green hue to them and he is a sight to behold, especially when he smiles. Though his cheeks aren’t naturally flushed like Ellie’s, his are fuller and even more lovable than Ellie’s. He has those great big cheeks you wanted to kiss and squeeze all day. I can see why Laney was always kissing his cheeks.
At age one, it was hard to tell what my niece’s body would eventually look like since there were so many rolls of fat everywhere, but she had long legs (even for a one-year-old). And if she had her mother’s genes, she’d have no issue with weight, no matter what and how much she ate.
James was already taller than his sister, and he was looking more like Emily as he got older. Ellie looked and acted like Jake as the days passed us by. It was amazing how their temperaments were so different from one another. Ellie was a “NO!” girl, and James was a “yawsh” boy (that’s how he pronounces his yes—yawshshshsh—it is so damn cute). Just like my brother, Ellie wants everything NOW and she has to be FIRST in everything. It is like Jacob trying to usurp Esau’s birthright. If James wasn’t careful, his sister wouldn’t surprise any of us if she tried to convince everyone that she was the firstborn.
Of course, with James’ easy-going personality, he probably won’t care whether Elizabeth acts like she’s his elder. He’ll wait his turn in playing with certain favored toys, in receiving his snack, in getting in his cuddle time with Mom. Emily does a great job of making sure he comes in first at least half the times, but with a vocal daughter, it isn’t easy. But, I do notice that if there is something of importance to James, he doesn’t lose out to his sister. Case in point, James loves the Dr. Seuss book, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and he makes sure he is the first one to “read” that book and only when he is done, does his sister get to even touch the book. James is also very protective and possessive of his mother. She is the cat’s meow for him. Of course Ellie loves Emily, too, but there is an extra special mother-son bond, for now. Ellie, being an attention monger, is an equal opportunity lover. My brother once stated that she’d “charm anyone within a smile of her” and he wasn’t kidding. She spreads the love and men fall like flies already, and she’s only one. Imagine her lure when she turns eighteen. SCARY!
“What are you smiling about, my muse?” Max whispered in my ear, and kissed it the same.
“I was thinking about my niece and nephew and how cute they are.”
“They are as adorable as they come. You think if we had babies, they’d be that cute?”
Babies...us...??? Yowza, I’d never thought of making babies with this man!
“I think they might have a fighting chance...we definitely will have a good time trying...” I left it at that with a wink and a pat to his inner thigh.
“Wawa! Wawa!” Ellie called out, and pointed to the pool as soon as her meal was done.
“Again, Elizabeth?” My brother asked.
“Ellie and James love the water, and she’s been badgering Jake to take her in every night since the weather’s warmed up.” Emily explained.
My brother got smart and picked up Ellie and started asking her, “Do you want Uncle Max to take you in the pool?”
In my brother’s mind, he was trying to pass the buck, but in my mind, all I could think about was the moniker, Uncle Max. It had a great ring to it.
“NO!”
Okay...
“How about Uncle Nick?”
“NO!”
“What about Uncle Doug?”
“NO! NO! NO!”
It looked like Jake wasn’t getting out of hopping in the pool with both kids.
“Anybody home?” Donovan walked in through the back yard gate. “Am I too late for dinner?” He asked while giving Emily a kiss on the cheek and dropping a huge bag of presents.
“I’m glad you could make it. What’s in here?” Emily started rummaging through the bag.
“Just some stuff Kate and I picked up for the twins in London.” He and Kate??? “I’m afraid Ellie has a disproportionate number of gifts, compared to James.” He confessed while picking up James, making double sure that the mashed potato all over James’ face did not get on his suit. “Sorry, Bud! There’s just more girl stuff in this world.”
My gorgeous nephew gave Donovan a beautiful smile, and patted Donovan’s cheeks with his gravy and mashed potato-stained hands. Donovan couldn’t get away from him quickly enough to avoid being “mashed.” We all had a good laugh.
“You want your godfather Donovan to take you in the pool?” Jake was still looking to replace himself.
I always knew this girl was going places, but was absolutely convinced when I saw her jump from Jake’s arms into Donovan’s body. She nodded her head yes—like a million times—smiled a brilliant gummy smile and kissed Donovan on the cheek. Then, she hung her chubby arms around Donovan’s neck and cradled her bod
y into his. Her godfather had no chance of resisting. He smiled wide, gave Ellie a kiss on her head and took her toward the pool. Damn! That little girl was good. I needed to take lessons from her.
“Um, you need to change before going in the pool,” Jake reminded him. “Bring Ellie and let’s go upstairs. I’ll lend you swim trunks.”
“You know I just got in and haven’t had dinner yet.”
“I’m sure they fed you plenty on the plane. Plus, Emily has food put aside for you. But first, you can appease your goddaughter.”
“The things I do for you Reids...” Donovan chuckled and carried Ellie with him, not that he had a choice.
“Where’s Laney, Emily?” Of course, Josh was the one to wonder.