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“Isn’t it too hot to have him out?”
“No, he’ll be okay for a short visit outside. I’d like to see what you did with the yard.”
As he redressed the baby, in the process of skillfully wrapping him in a lightweight blanket, Dave had a fleeting moment of self-actualization, perhaps one of the first where he actually knew that what was happening to him had a name. His smile was ear to ear.
He followed Katrina down the hall to the terrace. She held the door open for him and happened to glance up in time to see the smile.
“What are you so happy about?” she asked, teasing him.
“Everything. I am meant to be in this place, at this time. It’s everything I had hoped for in life.”
“Good. Me too,” she said. “I hope it lasts.”
“Yeah, I just thought the same thing. I had that moment in the hospital where I wanted to kill that resident who kept saying shit like he was going to be an NFL star.”
“Dave, maybe by the time he’s in his late teens, he’ll be able to be a professional athlete. His future is unknown. It’s okay.”
“Yeah, but she was patronizing us.”
“Just because someone gets through medical school doesn’t mean they don’t have foot in mouth disease. And while my legs were in the air, the doctor said the baby was going to take after you in the stature department and every female within fifty feet of the room came to see what he was talking about.”
“Aw, shucks,” he said, pretending to be embarrassed.
She stepped out into the yard.
“Oh, Dave, this place is wonderful,” she said, kissing him again.
They strolled around the yard, Dave holding the baby, and he explained what the different flowers were and what else he had in mind to plant. The sun came out from behind a cloud so they returned to the covered terrace and sat down next to each other.
“Do you want something to drink?” Dave asked.
“What do we have?”
“Anything you want, including wine.”
“I might pump later and have a glass,” she said eagerly. “Maggie said you can drink and wait two hours to nurse or pump. For now, just lemonade or iced tea.”
“Lemonade it is,” he said, handing the baby to her.
Almost like he could smell her, the baby started to root around on her chest. She pulled up her top and let him have it. The lactation nurse had warned her that babies with Down syndrome sometimes had trouble nursing, but baby David was like a suction machine.
When Dave walked through the door, he could hear the slurping and laughed. “That kid has the right idea.”
“I didn’t think I’d like this, but I really do. It’s so nice to pull a boob out and feed your kid without any ado.”
His phone beeped, and he handed her the glass before pulling the phone out of his pocket.
“Oh, I’m not sure about this.”
“What?”
“Justin and Maggie are here with baby Tina.”
“It’s okay, Dave. I told her we were coming home. Just grab the hooter hider out of my bag and I’ll cover up. I want to see the baby.”
Justin, holding the baby, and Maggie came out on the terrace, chorusing their congratulations. Katrina had covered up while the baby fed under the hooter hider which was a shawl designed for nursing mothers to have some privacy.
“Where’s the kid?” they asked.
