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“I’m sorry, sweet girl. Your dad invited strangers into the house, so we can’t go in yet.”
“Strangers,” I guffawed. “You know every single one of them. Zoe’s met all of them.”
It’d been hard to coordinate, but everyone on the team came to visit Zoe and us. None of them stayed for more than a few minutes, but they came and they wore masks and respected Zoe’s sleep schedule and brought food and extra diapers. I’d never been more grateful for this team, this family.
“They just came by to make sure everything was unpacked and cleaned for us. And there was talk of filling the fridge.”
“Oh.” Leah slipped out of Zoe’s hold to sit properly in her seat. “Did Ricci cook?”
I guess Ricci made a good impression with his food at the baby shower, because over the last few weeks as Leah reached the end of her pregnancy, very few things made her excited. Not in a depressed way, but because she was too tired and irritated with everything her body was putting her through to find much joy. So it was reassuring to see her excited about something.
We found her a therapist who was a good fit, with both her PTSD and her upcoming postpartum, just last month. And Dr. Rochan invited me to a few of the upcoming sessions so we could all help Leah with anything she needed. It made me feel much better to be involved than to picture her sitting in the bedroom and just talking to a screen for an hour. I know she still felt like her emotions were a burden and a strain on our relationship, but over the past few months, I’d learned how to assure her more, be it love notes or flowers or a new craft kit we did together. And over time, she brought it up less.
“I know they mean well,” Leah started as she undid her seat belt and opened the car door. I quickly got out to help her, making sure she was steady on her feet before getting Zoe. “But I was looking forward to crashing in my own bed.”
“And you’ll get to do that very soon. I promise.” Just as I said that, the front door opened and Brooker, Taylor, Carter, and Kean piled out.
“Welcome home, we’ll be super quick,” Taylor said as they opened the trunk of my car and grabbed everything in it, leaving me just Zoe to carry.
“Those’re your uncles, Zoe,” I told our girl, kissing her head. She had a wisp of dark hair, nearly black. I was still hoping it’d turn red like her mom’s, though Leah was convinced that wasn’t happening.
“And apparently our butlers,” Leah said, chuckling.
We walked inside, Leah leaning against me a little, her ankle swelling just now starting to wane. But when we passed through the door, I was the one needing support.
The guys said they’d do a little tidying up for us, clean the dishes left in the sink, check the mail, bringing over some food, maybe set up the diaper bin. Little things, simple things.
Instead, what they’d done was completely clean the home. Like "not even a hint of dust on the ceiling fan" clean. All of Leah’s crafts had been carefully put away in a new shelf system. And there were dozens of things set up for Zoe, her tummy time mat, a bin for her toys, an extra diaper bag under the console table. Leah’s breast pump was on a side table by the couch, fully charged, and next to the baby monitor, which was also charged and already set up to show Leah’s crib.
“Okay!” Ricci said, exiting the kitchen while wiping his hands. “Everything has little notes for how to cook it. And there’s a pasta salad that you can eat straight out of the Tupperware. Enjoy!” He clapped me on the shoulders, careful not to jostle Zoe and hugged Leah. “We’ll get out of your hair now. Get some rest.”
The other four guys came out from down the hall, each of them copying Ricci’s quick goodbyes and making notes about things as they went.
“Hospital laundry is in the wash.”
“Fresh towels and blankets are fluffing up in the dryer.”
“We put up some blackout curtains in Zoe’s room and got y’all some sleep masks too.”
“Let us know if you need anything else.”
And then they were gone. The most helpful, organized whirlwind I’d ever seen. Leah looked over to me, eyes wide.
“Did you tell them I’ve been crabby and wanted rest?” she asked and I just shook my head, laughing at how silly they looked rushing out of here.
“No, but it’s a pretty solid assumption that someone coming back from the hospital, for any reason, just wants to be left alone.”
“Sure, but …” She looked around the house, eyes sparkling with happy tears. “They didn’t just pick up a few things, they set up our home.”
Our might be my new favorite word.
“Well, ready to start our life as parents? Not sure they left us much to do, but I think Zoe would like to cuddle in a real bed.” As if in agreement, Zoe babbled, making little bubbles. Leah laughed, leaning in to wipe our girl’s mouth.
“Yeah, let’s begin.”
The Bonus Clips
Clips from the Daunted Dastards social media
