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“I befouled your bathtub, Devon. There’s nothing left to expose.”
“You haven’t seen me eat fruit off my trees. It’s wet, it’s juicy, and it’s a mess.”
“Ha! You’re insane. Okay, either go to sleep or leave so I can sleep.”
“I think I’ll stay,” he said. “Lila’s going to toilet the dogs, so we’ll be okay.”
“Oh God, that means she’ll see the mess I made.”
“It’ll be fine. Just relax.”
The next morning, the doctor discharged Aisling and Mika at nine, and by nine thirty, they were rolling up the driveway. They could see Lila and their family had done more than just let the dogs out when they’d come by. There was a wooden cutout of a stork holding a bundle withIt’s a Girlpainted around its belly. Balloons and baskets of flowers were all over the terrace.
But it was inside the house where the magic had been done. Charlie had gotten the soaked couch out and taken it to the dump. Roberta Saint and Cindy Murphy had turned a corner of the master bedroom at Devon’s house into a nursery. The whole house had evidence of the love and concern of their friends and family. Even the fridge was filled with food.
Later that morning, after bringing fresh donuts to the couple, Charlie teased them. “The bathroom looked like a murder scene,” he said, with Lila trying to shush him. “I washed Devon’s clothes and the towels because I was afraid if we left them, they’d start to stink.”
“You really have a big mouth,” Lila said, disgusted. “Why would Devon’s stink?”
“I was covered with blood,” he said. “Remember, I delivered that tiny thing. Who’d think it would come with so much blood? You just can’t prepare yourself for it.”
“Well, all of you, thank you so much,” Aisling said, embarrassed but grateful. “It was out of my control. I never thought I’d cause so much trouble and need so much help.”
“No trouble at all,” Charlie said.
“It was really no trouble,” Devon said, laughing.
“And thank you for the beautiful flowers and balloons. That was so sweet.”
“I hope you can do it for me someday,” Lila said, winking.
“Don’t get carried away, dear,” Charlie said. “Let’s go. They look like they could use some sleep.”
“Thank you again,” Devon said, walking out with them while Aisling put the baby in her crib.
“I’m going to try to sleep while she’s out,” she said when he returned. “Why don’t you lie down with me?”
“I’ll lock up and be right back.”
He let the dogs out one more time and made sure they had some kibble and water, tiptoed back into the bedroom, took a shower, and fell into bed, where they’d all sleep until the sun was on the other side of the house, making its journey to the horizon.
Aisling woke up first, tiptoeing to the crib to look down into it. She placed her hand on the baby’s back to see if she was still breathing.
“Is she awake?”
She looked over at Devon, up on his elbow, watching her. “No. Should I just let her sleep, or are you supposed to wake them up?”
“You’ve got me. I’ll Google it. In the meantime I’d better turn the AC on. It’s like an oven in here.”
Aisling had never seen Devon disheveled and it was amusing. His hair, usually as neat as a soldier’s, stood straight up. He turned the air-conditioning on and then picked up his phone, typing infeeding newborns.
“It says to let her sleep if you’re feeding on demand, in which case you feed her whenever she wants to eat.”
“Okay, well, I guess she’ll let me know when she’s hungry. My boobs are like rocks though. Is that normal?”
He Googled that, too. Everything he read concurred with what she’d learned in her childbirth preparation class.
“Look at these things,” she said, posing in front of the mirror. “My milk didn’t even come in yet.”
