Simon could tell he’d struck a nerve and felt a bit guilty. Yes, she could get government assistance but, that would take time and effort. For now, he wanted both girls checked up on and healthy.
Signing Jasmine’s last name off as “Montgomery” just as the first nurse in the hospital told her. Todd wasn’t mentioned anywhere on Jasmine’s birth certificate and she would keep it that way. Once she finished, half of Jasmine’s paperwork was blank. There wasn’t an address because she didn’t have one nor did she know Simon’s. There wasn’t a phone number, no emergency contact, or insurance. All that was written was Jasmine and Cherish’s name. She looked it over for a long moment before handing the clipboard to Simon, “Here.”
Taking the clipboard and swapping Jasmine, he read over the details and noticed every single gap. Taking the pen, he arched an eyebrow before he began to fill out the rest, “For now, I’m going to write my address and number since you’re staying with us alright?” He asked lifting his gaze for her approval.
Cherish nodded, “Alright.” She whispered giving in. She watched over his shoulder and pulled back when he was finished. As he left to return the paperwork to the receptionist, she caught sight of another mother staring at them. Her breath vanished because she expected a crude gesture to be thrown her way. Instead, the woman smiled at her and returned her gaze to the television taking her completely by surprise.
Simon handed the clipboard to the receptionist, returned, sat down, and waited to be called on. After a few moments passed, he sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees, “Are you as tired as I am?” He questioned staring down at Jr. With a weakened smile, he leaned over and dusted his wispy black hairs over his round head. He was so pudgy and cute that Simon wanted to pick him up.
He knew better.
Cherish broke her gaze from the news and blinked at him. She smiled a bit and nodded, “After you fell asleep last night, Jasmine woke up. As soon as I put her down, Jr. decided he wanted to feed more. But...I enjoy it. It’s better than...nothing. So yeah, I'm tired as hell.” She answered with a small chuckle.
Simon smiled a bit. Experiencing parenthood with another person felt nicer than he originally thought. They understood each other’s struggle and he was glad she decided to stay. He knew he would’ve been worse off if he was truly alone.
Cherish abruptly stopped, rolled her lips in, and cleared her throat, “Sorry.” She muttered.
She did it again which caused Simon’s eyebrows to tuck together, “Sorry?” He asked. Truly he didn’t understand because he enjoyed her laughter. He didn’t feel joy in himself. In fact, he was numb inside. At least one of them was happy and that was enough for him. But, now he wasn’t so sure.
Cherish wet her lips, “I didn't mean to laugh so much.” She replied. Unfortunately, she’d hardly laughed ever in her life. Even though Todd never laid a hand on her, the verbal abuse and constant degradation took its toll on her. Even though she was free of him, Todd’s conditioning made her believe she was subpar to Simon. Those habits were hard to break.
Before Simon had a chance to respond, the door to the back opened and a nurse entered, “Simon and Jasmine!” Cherish stood and approached with Simon behind her. The nurse smiled at them, “Let’s go back to room seven.”
Being brought into a large, standard pediatrics room. Cherish sat in the chair with Jasmine in her arms while the nurse shut the door behind them. She smiled though when met eyes with Simon, there was an unsaid sympathy behind her gaze, “Alright, you guys my name is Shelby and I’ll be taking the babies measurements.” She said looking between them once again. She then flicked through the paperwork, “Let’s get little Simon up here first on the scale. So, take him out dad and rest him down there.” Shelby said pointing to the scale with her pen. Simon placed Jr. on and she laughed a bit, “Oh. He’s a chunky little guy, isn’t he?” She asked.
Simon smiled as Jr. stirred on the smooth, white surface, “I was a chubby baby too.” He said proudly.
The nurse chuckled lightly as she leaned in and read the digital screen, “Eight pounds and fourteen ounces. He’s right on schedule. Don't worry dad, he will gain his weight back quickly. It says here that he had dietary issues. Has that been resolved?” Asking this, she took Jr.’s length and measured the circumference of his head.
Simon nodded, “Yes, we’ve found a solution.” He answered.
Once finished, she waved Cherish over who stood. Lifting his boy into his arm, Simon held him and rubbed his back staring down at him. This was Emily and his baby. All that he had left of her and he loved him more because of the fact.
With Jasmine on the scale, Shelby smiled, “Seven pounds, twelve ounces. So cute!” she said. She measured Jasmine’s length and head before she handing her back to Cherish, “Now, are they wetting at least three diapers a day? Sleeping enough? Eating every three hours?” She asked.
Cherish and Simon met gazes and her nod assured him, “Yeah. They’re sleeping, eating, and pooping a lot.” He answered.
The nurse looked between them. Honestly, she was expecting two different answers but...only Simon did. This man just lost his wife, Jasmine was obviously biracial. Who was she to judge? Shelby instead nodded and checked off the boxes, “Alright then. I will be back with Doctor Cline soon. Make yourselves comfortable.” She said
