The woman laughed at Simon’s dumb question before she took one from his hand and placed it back on the shelf, “This one made me break out. The one you have now might be five dollars extra, but I haven’t had any problems. I don’t think race has anything to do with it. She will be just fine.” She stated with a smile. The woman tucked her blond hair behind her ears as her little girl stared at him with bright blue eyes, “Did you have a boy or a girl?” she asked.
Not expecting that question, Simon looked up and to the side, “Both. Yeah, a boy and a girl, they’re really cute.” He answered.
The woman laughed a bit, “Oh wow, twins! How wonderful.” She replied.
He blanked for a moment, “Yeah.” He whispered distractedly. This woman reminded him of how he imagined Emily would be as a mother. His heart sank rapidly as he gave her a weakened smile, “Thank you for your help.” He then locked eyes with her baby and gave a small wave, “Goodbye you.” He whispered. With his spirits low, Simon gathered rest of the items on the list. While he stood in line, he rubbed a hand across his face. The pain in his heart didn’t let up. He just wanted to get this done and over with, so he could go home, lay down, and relax.
If he could, that was.
Bacon wrapped chicken, macaroni, and baked vegetables were warmed in the oven. By the time she finished the food, Cherish cleaned the kitchen before plopping on the sofa. Of course, five seconds later, Jr. began to twist and groan where he rested. His mouth turned downwards, and the first cry broke through the silence. When one started, the other followed. Before long, they were both crying in unison.
Her eyes fell open and she frantically glanced from side to side. A moment passed. As she remembered where she was, she stood once more and went to make Jasmine’s bottle. While it was warming, she checked their diapers and changed Jr. much to his distaste. Soon, Jasmine was swaddled and propped on a pillow. Cherish held her bottle in one hand and had Jr. on her breast in the other. Blowing out, she leaned her head back for a moment in silence. Once again, she found herself staring down at their precious faces. The little folds of fresh skin beneath their eyes and around their cheeks were flushed. Both made hungry suckling sounds. While they filled themselves to contentment Cherish sat there exhausted. She felt like shit, but she was truly in love.
For a moment she’d forgotten about the last nine months and lost herself in thought. She felt as though she had two beautiful children in her life. She lived in a pretend world where everything was perfect. Her husband would come through that door any minute with his arms full of gifts and they’d be a team. But that was a fantasy Cherish could never have. She was simply a homeless teenage mother who, out of the kindness of his heart, lived temporarily with a recent widower and his newborn son. The problem was, she loved this boy like her own, but was afraid to say so.
Eventually, Simon made his way home. He parked in the driveway, shut the car off, and sat there in silence for a few minutes. Shutting his eyes, he slumped in the seat and placed both hands over his face. His heart was hardly hanging on, but he reminded himself he had two babies and a woman, just meters away, who needed him. So, once again, his grief and problems were pushed to the side and he dragged himself from the car.
Closing the door with a slight click, he locked the door behind him and was hit with a glorious smell. Cherish had nodded off to the minute sounds from the babies. It felt like a second later that footsteps were heard. Her head snapped up in a rush. She glanced down at Jasmine and saw her little lips wrapped around the bottle before she looked at Jr. who had the same peaceful expression on his face as he ate away.
Peering around, Simon found them sitting on the sofa with Jasmine in the pillows and Jr. in his new favorite place. Somehow, this all brought a blanket of comfort to him. His shoulders relaxed as he advanced further into the room and placed the bags on the coffee table, “I hope it’s what you needed.” He said going straight for Jasmine. With the bottle, he cradled her in his arms and tucked her into his chest.
Cherish gave him a soft and weary smile, “Thank you. I hope you enjoyed yourself. “She answered. She glanced at the bags and read over the labels. Wal-Mart, Target, and Victoria’s Secret. Wait, what? He went WHERE? Eyeing the bag for a moment, she paused, and stared at the way he rocked Jasmine. Todd really was an idiot. Feeling a bit dejected, she nodded and pointed to Jr., “I’ll look at them when I finish with him. Thank you again.” She said.
Simon noticed Cherish hardly had the energy to move. Just when he thought he was worse for wear, she had a much harder time. Within a few moments, Jasmine pushed the bottle out of her mouth. She was full and well but Jr. was far from finished, “I’ll let you finish feeding him.” He said.
Setting Jasmine back in the crib, he went
