Status: My life is a mess. Love you all for sticking with me.
Careful, Honey
Three
Geno sat in the back seat of Nathalie and Mario’s car. Nathalie drove to the nearest baby store looking into her rearview mirror every ten seconds watching Geno hold the bottle for the little girl.
“Her name is Alena.”
“Alena Malkin. It’s perfect Evgeni,” Nathalie smiled at him through the mirror. He nodded twice, once in thanks to her compliment, and once in assurance to himself. Alena’s eyes popped open once more and she found Geno easily. Geno rubbed his pinky finger down the side of her face as she continued to drink her bottle.
When they stopped Geno pulled Alena out of her car seat and attempted to hand her off to Nathalie, “I.. uh… I don’t know how…”
“How to burp her?”
Geno nodded but kept his eyes focused on the ground.
“Well I guess it’s time to learn,” Nathalie said throwing a baby blanket over Geno’s shoulder and proceeded to teach him there in the middle of the Babies R Us parking lot how to pat his new daughter on her back just right. It wasn’t hard and by the time the two had walked through the automatic doors Geno had gotten Alena to burp twice and fall back to sleep.
Geno followed Nathalie around helplessly as she oo’ed and ahh’ed over little baby clothes. He watched as she threw heaps of pink and white onesies into the cart alongside some clothes that she wouldn’t fit into for a few months, “It’ll save you the hassle later,” Nathalie had said.
By the time they got to the cribs, their basket already full with clothes, toys, and a newer safer car seat, Alena had woken up and was working herself up into a full on cry. Geno tried the few tricks in his arsenal that he had to get Alena to quiet down but soon he started to panic when she wouldn’t stop. He looked up to Nathalie who was digging around in the basket and watched as she came up with a two pack of nooks. She ripped the package open and handed one over to Geno. Alena sighed quietly and stopped her crying almost immediately as she began to suck on the faux nipple.
“Nathalie, I don’t know if...if I can do this.”
“You’re doing perfect Evgeni. It’s only been, what, eight hours since you’ve been a dad? Most parents have 9 months to learn all about burping and feeding so you just have to learn it all a little quicker.”
“Is scary…”
“And hard, really hard,” Geno looked down to Nathalie as she took a step closer running her hand over Alena’s bald head, “But so worth it.”
After a moment of staring down at the sleeping girl, the two went on with picking a crib which Nathalie insisted on buying for him as a congratulatory gift. They went with a dark wood crib that could eventually turn into a toddler bed and simple white bedding with a purple butterfly embroidered quilt. Geno looked down at the little girl in the crook of his arm, her big blue eyes staring up at him as she clutched onto a stuffed giraffe almost as big as she was.
He wondered what she’d look like in a month, in six months, what she’d look like as a toddler. What would her first word be? Would he be able to teach her to speak English better than he could? What would it be like when she was 10 years old? And then, what about boys? Geno decided there in line to pay for his daughter’s new clothes and toys that she wouldn’t be allowed to date until she was 40.
The crib and new rocking chair wouldn’t be shipped to the house for a few more weeks so Geno bought a small bassinette he could put in his room for the time being. Geno handed off Alena to Nathalie as he started to load the SUV with Alena’s new life. Nathalie instructed him on how to install the new car seat and watched as he mumbled obscenities under his breath trying to connect all the right straps.
Sidney met the three out front when they pulled up three hours of shopping later. Geno popped the trunk and went around back pulling bags and boxes out for Sidney to start taking up to the house. Nathalie pulled Alena from the car and brought her into the house. Sidney lead Geno to the guest bedroom closest to the master room and began putting boxes down in the middle of the floor.
“What happened to the bed?”
“Mario thought it’d be best if we moved it out of here to make room for the baby’s crib.”
“Alena, her name is Alena.”
Sid smiled at Geno and patted him on the back before jumping down the stairs to get to bring more boxes and bags into the house. Geno followed Sidney down the stairs but instead of going outside veered towards the living room where Nathalie was rocking Alena in his La-Z-Boy.
“She okay?”
“She’s perfect, Evgeni.”
“Sure?”
“Yes, why?”
“She sleeping a lot.”
Nathalie laughed at that, “It’s perfectly normal, Evgeni.”
“Sorry,” Geno kicked the floor with the top of his shoe, “I didn’t know…”
“It’s all right, Geno,” Nathalie said getting up from the chair, “you’re still learning and nobody is holding any mistakes against you.” Nathalie handed the wide awake baby over to Geno, “You stay here and bond with Alena, I’ll finish setting everything up.”
Geno looked down at the little girl in his arms then towards Nathalie, “You sure…I can do this?”
“Of course you can, Evgeni.”
Geno smiled and kissed Nathalie on the cheek before he settled himself into Nathalie’s previous seat. The two watched as Nathalie and Sid brought bags of clothes and toys up to Alena’s new room, Mario had come back from dropping off Geno’s old guest bedroom mattress at his personal storage lot and set himself up in Geno’s room going to work on setting up the bassinette.
It was just past 6:30PM when Nathalie called for Geno to come up, he’d just finished giving Alena her bottle. She showed him where all the diapers and wipes where. She talked him through changing Alena’s diaper giving him a few pointers he’d wish he’d known earlier, and then she showed him how to work the Diaper Genie. She pointed out the infant toys that Sidney had set up in the corner of the room and reminded Geno never to leave her unattended while playing.
She also pointed out the portable rocking seat that he could strap her into while she was feeding. Geno followed her into the bathroom where Nathalie had stored the baby tub and Johnson & Johnson. Alena was fast asleep by the time they got to Geno’s room and Nathalie suggested that he put her down in her new bassinette; Geno nodded and put her down watching Alena curl into herself and into the fetal position never once waking up.
Sidney and Mario were waiting in the kitchen when Nathalie and Geno came down. Mario wished Geno good luck and Nathalie offered to stay the night but no matter how nervous and unprepared Geno was, he needed this first night to prove to himself he could be a father.
A father, he thought. The words still tasted somehow wrong on his tongue. When the door clicked closed behind the Lemieux’s Sidney looked towards Geno reading his best friends face instantly: pure doubt mixed with complete terror.
“I know I say I could do this...”
“Oh no you don’t,” Sid laughed, “don’t go doubting yourself now.”
“I don’t know if I can take care of her…” Geno rubbed his neck roughly, “I hardly take care of myself…Especially after…” Especially after his long term girlfriend dumped his ass and moved to another continent. Nobody said it aloud but the two were thinking the same thing. Geno scratched his chin, feeling the roughness of his unshaven face. Before Alena had come into his life that morning Geno hadn’t even put any thought into ever really being a father, of course he wanted kids in his future, but he also wanted a wife who loved him.
When she who will not be mentioned left, Evgeni fell off the map. He ignore phone calls and moped around his house drinking beer and ordering in for food. He wallowed in his own self pity for what felt like an eternity…And then Alena was there in his life and in an instant he forgot about himself and was focused on keeping her happy healthy.
“You can do this, Geno. I promise, you can,” and with a pat on the back Sidney had left the house too.
“Is just me and you now kid,” Geno whispered to himself. He spent half an hour on an international book website buying every parenting book in Russian that was available and then spent every five minutes for the next half hour sneaking into his room to make sure Alena was still sleeping.
It was 8PM when he made a mental note in his head to call his parents in the morning to tell them the news. “Surprise you’re grandparents to a baby that was left on my front stoop.” By 8:30PM Geno had made five bottles just like Nathalie had instructed on the Post-It note she’d stuck to the baby formula. He plugged in the bottle warmer and rearranged his whole kitchen to accommodate the new gear: baby bottle drying rack, bottle warmer, and powdered formula.
Just before 9:00PM Alena’s baby gurgle could be heard over the baby monitor Geno had attached to his belt loop.
Here we go, he thought.
“Her name is Alena.”
“Alena Malkin. It’s perfect Evgeni,” Nathalie smiled at him through the mirror. He nodded twice, once in thanks to her compliment, and once in assurance to himself. Alena’s eyes popped open once more and she found Geno easily. Geno rubbed his pinky finger down the side of her face as she continued to drink her bottle.
When they stopped Geno pulled Alena out of her car seat and attempted to hand her off to Nathalie, “I.. uh… I don’t know how…”
“How to burp her?”
Geno nodded but kept his eyes focused on the ground.
“Well I guess it’s time to learn,” Nathalie said throwing a baby blanket over Geno’s shoulder and proceeded to teach him there in the middle of the Babies R Us parking lot how to pat his new daughter on her back just right. It wasn’t hard and by the time the two had walked through the automatic doors Geno had gotten Alena to burp twice and fall back to sleep.
Geno followed Nathalie around helplessly as she oo’ed and ahh’ed over little baby clothes. He watched as she threw heaps of pink and white onesies into the cart alongside some clothes that she wouldn’t fit into for a few months, “It’ll save you the hassle later,” Nathalie had said.
By the time they got to the cribs, their basket already full with clothes, toys, and a newer safer car seat, Alena had woken up and was working herself up into a full on cry. Geno tried the few tricks in his arsenal that he had to get Alena to quiet down but soon he started to panic when she wouldn’t stop. He looked up to Nathalie who was digging around in the basket and watched as she came up with a two pack of nooks. She ripped the package open and handed one over to Geno. Alena sighed quietly and stopped her crying almost immediately as she began to suck on the faux nipple.
“Nathalie, I don’t know if...if I can do this.”
“You’re doing perfect Evgeni. It’s only been, what, eight hours since you’ve been a dad? Most parents have 9 months to learn all about burping and feeding so you just have to learn it all a little quicker.”
“Is scary…”
“And hard, really hard,” Geno looked down to Nathalie as she took a step closer running her hand over Alena’s bald head, “But so worth it.”
After a moment of staring down at the sleeping girl, the two went on with picking a crib which Nathalie insisted on buying for him as a congratulatory gift. They went with a dark wood crib that could eventually turn into a toddler bed and simple white bedding with a purple butterfly embroidered quilt. Geno looked down at the little girl in the crook of his arm, her big blue eyes staring up at him as she clutched onto a stuffed giraffe almost as big as she was.
He wondered what she’d look like in a month, in six months, what she’d look like as a toddler. What would her first word be? Would he be able to teach her to speak English better than he could? What would it be like when she was 10 years old? And then, what about boys? Geno decided there in line to pay for his daughter’s new clothes and toys that she wouldn’t be allowed to date until she was 40.
The crib and new rocking chair wouldn’t be shipped to the house for a few more weeks so Geno bought a small bassinette he could put in his room for the time being. Geno handed off Alena to Nathalie as he started to load the SUV with Alena’s new life. Nathalie instructed him on how to install the new car seat and watched as he mumbled obscenities under his breath trying to connect all the right straps.
Sidney met the three out front when they pulled up three hours of shopping later. Geno popped the trunk and went around back pulling bags and boxes out for Sidney to start taking up to the house. Nathalie pulled Alena from the car and brought her into the house. Sidney lead Geno to the guest bedroom closest to the master room and began putting boxes down in the middle of the floor.
“What happened to the bed?”
“Mario thought it’d be best if we moved it out of here to make room for the baby’s crib.”
“Alena, her name is Alena.”
Sid smiled at Geno and patted him on the back before jumping down the stairs to get to bring more boxes and bags into the house. Geno followed Sidney down the stairs but instead of going outside veered towards the living room where Nathalie was rocking Alena in his La-Z-Boy.
“She okay?”
“She’s perfect, Evgeni.”
“Sure?”
“Yes, why?”
“She sleeping a lot.”
Nathalie laughed at that, “It’s perfectly normal, Evgeni.”
“Sorry,” Geno kicked the floor with the top of his shoe, “I didn’t know…”
“It’s all right, Geno,” Nathalie said getting up from the chair, “you’re still learning and nobody is holding any mistakes against you.” Nathalie handed the wide awake baby over to Geno, “You stay here and bond with Alena, I’ll finish setting everything up.”
Geno looked down at the little girl in his arms then towards Nathalie, “You sure…I can do this?”
“Of course you can, Evgeni.”
Geno smiled and kissed Nathalie on the cheek before he settled himself into Nathalie’s previous seat. The two watched as Nathalie and Sid brought bags of clothes and toys up to Alena’s new room, Mario had come back from dropping off Geno’s old guest bedroom mattress at his personal storage lot and set himself up in Geno’s room going to work on setting up the bassinette.
It was just past 6:30PM when Nathalie called for Geno to come up, he’d just finished giving Alena her bottle. She showed him where all the diapers and wipes where. She talked him through changing Alena’s diaper giving him a few pointers he’d wish he’d known earlier, and then she showed him how to work the Diaper Genie. She pointed out the infant toys that Sidney had set up in the corner of the room and reminded Geno never to leave her unattended while playing.
She also pointed out the portable rocking seat that he could strap her into while she was feeding. Geno followed her into the bathroom where Nathalie had stored the baby tub and Johnson & Johnson. Alena was fast asleep by the time they got to Geno’s room and Nathalie suggested that he put her down in her new bassinette; Geno nodded and put her down watching Alena curl into herself and into the fetal position never once waking up.
Sidney and Mario were waiting in the kitchen when Nathalie and Geno came down. Mario wished Geno good luck and Nathalie offered to stay the night but no matter how nervous and unprepared Geno was, he needed this first night to prove to himself he could be a father.
A father, he thought. The words still tasted somehow wrong on his tongue. When the door clicked closed behind the Lemieux’s Sidney looked towards Geno reading his best friends face instantly: pure doubt mixed with complete terror.
“I know I say I could do this...”
“Oh no you don’t,” Sid laughed, “don’t go doubting yourself now.”
“I don’t know if I can take care of her…” Geno rubbed his neck roughly, “I hardly take care of myself…Especially after…” Especially after his long term girlfriend dumped his ass and moved to another continent. Nobody said it aloud but the two were thinking the same thing. Geno scratched his chin, feeling the roughness of his unshaven face. Before Alena had come into his life that morning Geno hadn’t even put any thought into ever really being a father, of course he wanted kids in his future, but he also wanted a wife who loved him.
When she who will not be mentioned left, Evgeni fell off the map. He ignore phone calls and moped around his house drinking beer and ordering in for food. He wallowed in his own self pity for what felt like an eternity…And then Alena was there in his life and in an instant he forgot about himself and was focused on keeping her happy healthy.
“You can do this, Geno. I promise, you can,” and with a pat on the back Sidney had left the house too.
“Is just me and you now kid,” Geno whispered to himself. He spent half an hour on an international book website buying every parenting book in Russian that was available and then spent every five minutes for the next half hour sneaking into his room to make sure Alena was still sleeping.
It was 8PM when he made a mental note in his head to call his parents in the morning to tell them the news. “Surprise you’re grandparents to a baby that was left on my front stoop.” By 8:30PM Geno had made five bottles just like Nathalie had instructed on the Post-It note she’d stuck to the baby formula. He plugged in the bottle warmer and rearranged his whole kitchen to accommodate the new gear: baby bottle drying rack, bottle warmer, and powdered formula.
Just before 9:00PM Alena’s baby gurgle could be heard over the baby monitor Geno had attached to his belt loop.
Here we go, he thought.
♠ ♠ ♠
A/N: The comments on this are insane. Love everyone who comments, and even those who don't. I know what it's like to be a silent reader, I am sometimes too.I found this blog dedicated to babies earlier in the week...I got a teensie weensie obsessed with it. This is Alena if she were real.
I hope this length makes up for the lack of regularity.