Babies.

“Good morning, baby” I smiled down at my six month old son. He reached his arms out so I could pick him up out of his crib. I carried him in my arms to the nursery. After changing his diaper and putting a clean one on him, I changed him into red shorts and a black shirt that said Mommy’s Little Devil in red writing. Today was his first day at daycare.

I was so nervous about being away from him and starting my new job. I was hired to be the makeup artist at a very popular salon in Los Angeles, California. I brought Duke into my room with me so I could finish getting ready. I set him on the floor with a couple of toys. I picked up my makeup brush and finished applying foundation.

As I stared in the mirror and saw Duke playing, I once again noticed how different we looked. He had dark straight blonde hair and bright blue eyes. I had dark red hair with a white thick strip running through my bangs and green eyes. We did have the same nose and lips, though. He got everything else from his dad.

I shook my head before picking up Duke. I took him to his highchair so I could feed him breakfast. I gave him some bananas. “Time to go, bubby” he smiled at me and I couldn’t help but return it. I grabbed my purse and locked the door behind us.

I strapped him into his car seat then got in the front of my blue Fj Cruiser. It was now just a short drive to the daycare. I grabbed him from the back and slowly walked to the building. I wanted to make my last few moments with him last a little longer. I headed to the back where the baby room was.

There were just a couple of babies there. The teacher saw us come in and approached us. “Hello, Ms. Weston” we exchanged a smile. “Hi, Duke” he buried his head into my neck. I laughed and rubbed his back.

“How are you feeling?” she asked me. She knew how I was feeling about having to leave Duke. “I’m so nervous. I don’t know if we’re both ready” I admitted. Duke started to squirm as he looked around the room. I set him down on the floor and continued my conversation.

“I want him to have the interaction but I don’t want to be away from him. It’s the first time” I sighed. I could feel the tears coming. “It’ll be okay” she touched my arm before excusing herself. I looked to the floor, but Duke wasn’t there. He had crawled over to the door.

He was sitting at the feet of a man. There was also another baby sitting next to Duke. I bent down to scoop him up in my arms. “Dukey, you scared me” he looked at me with those big blue eyes and my heart melted. “Sorry” I looked at the man.

“Hope he didn’t bother you” he smiled. “No, not at all. He’s a cutie” he gave Duke a smile. “Thank you” the other baby was still sitting on the floor. He had bright blonde curly hair and dark eyes. “So is yours.” “Thanks” he picked up his baby.

Duke and the other baby stared at each other. “Duke, I think you have a new friend!” I said excitedly. The man laughed. “This is Bronx and I’m Pete” I smiled at the sweet baby. “Hi, Bronx. You’re super cute!” I gushed.

“This is Duke and I’m Wynter.” “It’s nice to meet both of you” we smiled. “You too” I switched Duke to my other hip. “How old is Bronx?” I asked. “Almost seven months. And Duke?” “Just turned six months” we all smiled. “Looks like they’re destined to be best friends!” he cheered.

“So do you wanna set up a play date?” he asked. My smile faltered a little. “Well…I don’t know” he set Bronx on the floor. “I don’t easily trust people with Duke. It took me six months to even put him in daycare” I gestured to the place we were in. “We can go to the park or someplace where you’re comfortable” I looked at Duke.

He wanted to be on the floor with Bronx. “Okay. But just because Duke really likes your son” he smiled. “Okay” we exchanged numbers and said goodbye to our babies. He walked me to my car where we parted ways. As I drove off, I wiped a tear from my eye.