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Chapter Four

Brooklyn slept longer than she ever had before. When she finally started to cry I was ready for the challenge. I slid into Nick’s terry cloth robe and tied the sash across my waist. I padded into the nursery and flipped on the light.

“You hungry?” I asked as I scooped her up in my arms and sat down in the rocker.

She wasn’t interested in feeding. I went over and checked her diaper. It was clean.

I rubbed her stomach.

“What’s a matter?”

She just seemed to cry louder.

I have to admit, that when I pictured myself as a mom, I always thought of myself as a mom to a two year old that could communicate with me and who I could play dress up with. Watching my baby girl cry and having no idea what she needed from me was frustrating. I picked her up and made a gentle bouncing motion.

“Need some help?” Nick said groggily. I turned to see him standing stark naked in the doorway.

“What are you doing? Put some pants on!”

“Why?”

“Because…because…I don’t know why, but I’m sure some psychologist probably would.”

Nick grinned. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

I blew a piece of hair from my eyes. “Nick…”

“I’m going!”

He reappeared five minutes later in boxer briefs, his hair sticking straight up. He walked over and stroked Brooke’s cheek. I know it sounds bad, but I felt a little triumphant when she continued to cry.

“I think you just got lucky,” I said. He shook his head and held out his arms. I transferred her over.

Nick walked around the room, humming calmly. Brooklyn threw back her head and let him have it. Without batting an eye, he walked out of the room and down the stairs. I followed him.

“Brooklyn, you’re going to grow up singing aren’t you?” Nick said as he walked around and around the kitchen island. Her response? More crying.

Nick headed towards the living room. I followed him.

“I’m going to try recreating the moment,” Nick said. He sounded like a man on a mission. He sat down on the couch and slowly reclined until he was lying on his back. He placed Brooke on her stomach. Her little legs scrunched up; she looked like a frog about ready to jump.

And all was quiet.

“I don’t believe it,” I said. Nick looked over at me.

“Let’s think about this,” he said. I saw him stroke her hair with his thumb. Brooklyn lifted her head slightly and looked at him. I swear it looked like she was saying ‘Ah, thank you, daddy.’

I studied them. There was only one thing that I could see he was doing that I hadn’t done.

“Her stomach,” I finally said. He looked over at me.

“What?”

“You put her on her stomach.”

The hospital had drilled in my head the importance of putting a baby on their back to sleep. The thought of SIDS scared me to death.

“Yeah?”

“Dr. Tresher said to make sure that she didn’t fall asleep on her stomach!”

“Well, I think Brooke’s got other ideas.”

We watched her eyes close.

“How can a six week old be so opinionated?” I whispered. Nick smiled.

“Well, she’s my daughter. I don’t think she got her momma’s patience. Plus,” he sang in a whisper. “She wants it her waaaay.”

I laughed. “That was incredibly corny.”

“I know.”

“But, seriously. I think if she’s awake and we put her on her tummy on the play mat she might just tire herself out so much she’ll sleep for a few hours on her back in the crib like she did tonight.”

He had a point. I nodded.

“We’ll give it a try.”

He laughed. “How about you lay down here with her while I go get some cereal?”

We did a very slow calculated change of the guards. When I was sufficiently positioned on the couch he placed her on my chest. It was a flashback to the day she was born.

Brooklyn’s eyes opened and she studied my face. I could almost see her trying to decide whether this was a sufficient place to be. Her fists went into my boobs. I winced and slid her hand to the side. She began to cry.

“Shh, shh, no, no. It’s okay,” I assured her. I felt her legs tuck up under her even more; my hand went around her little baby bottom and I scooted her up.

That seemed to do the trick even though I daresay she would have preferred to be lying on Nick’s flat chest. Mine was a little too hilly.

“We good?” Nick asked, coming back into the room with a mixing bowl filled with cereal. I glanced over at him.

“That’s a big bowl.”

He shoveled a great big spoonful in his mouth. “I was hungry.” He held his spoon up in the air and licked the back of it.

“By the way, I used up the leftover milk. We still have a whole gallon unopened.” He shoveled in another bite. I raised an eyebrow.

“What leftover milk?”

“The stuff you put in the smaller container. I figured you didn’t want to waste it.”

I don’t know why, but I let him take another bite.

“Hey Nick?”

“Hmm?”

I was trying my hardest not to laugh. The less I shook the more content Brooklyn seemed to get.

“That was breast milk.”

A mouthful of Lucky Charms flew across the room. Magical rainbows, shamrocks, and horseshoes went everywhere. He looked horrified.

“Are you serious?”

I laughed. “Yes, I am.”

He stared down at his bowl and made little stabs with his spoon. He looked crestfallen.

“I just thought it was two percent. It tasted sweeter than normal.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

He shuffled back into the kitchen and returned with paper towels to clean up his mess. I looked down at Brooklyn. Her eyes seemed to be trying to focus on his every movement. He looked over at her and smiled.

“Is daddy a doofus Brookey?”

She let out a little gurgle. Nick laughed.

"I’ll take as a yes.”

----------------------------------------------

When mom and Marcus finally came to check up on us, I was still laying on the couch.

“It’s a miracle,” Marcus said. My mom smiled.

“You know when you were born, the nurse told me to let you sleep on your stomach. We didn’t really have a concept of SIDs. I think she takes after you.”

“Well, if she had a choice she’d prefer to sleep on Nick,” I said. “But still…” I closed my eyes. “It’s quiet.”

My mom laughed. “You did the same thing to me. I thought you hated me for the first year of your life. Your dad would walk into the room and you’d become an angel. I guess it’s heredity.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Yeah, well I wish it would have skipped a generation.”

Nick was eating Lucky Charms straight from the box.

“Dude, don’t you got any milk?” Marcus said. Nick shook his head.

“Don’t ask.”

I laughed. Mom spread out the play mat. We had tried it a couple of times before, but Brooklyn was uninterested in the mobile while on her back. I slowly sat up and placed her down on her stomach.

It was like a different baby. Mom and I scattered a few toys about. Her legs bounced excitedly.

“So, is now a good time to ask you to watch Brooklyn while I take my wife on a date?” Nick asked sweetly.

Mom looked down at her and then back over at Nick.

“How can I say no?” she said with a smile. “You figured out in twelve hours what we couldn’t figure out in weeks.”

I smiled. “You’re taking me on a date?”

Nick nodded; I saw him glance at Marcus.

“And I’m setting you free buddy.”

They shook hands.

“Thanks for your help,” Nick said.

“Anytime. When you guys going back on tour?”

Nick laughed. “We’ve got to record some music first.”

“Well get cracking. Fall out Boy doesn’t have anything on the BSB.”

Nick walked Marcus to the door. I knelt down and made sure my daughter wasn’t suffocating. All was good.

“Stop freaking out,” Nick said. I turned and looked up at him in surprise. He laughed and gently pulled me back up.

“Why don’t you and I go get changed?”

I glanced at the clock. It was one o’clock in the afternoon and we still weren’t dressed. Nick had managed to get into a robe; that was about it. Such was the life as parents of an infant.

“What time does our date start?” I asked with a smile.

“Three.”

“Three o’clock? We’re having a date in the afternoon?”

His eyes crinkled as he smiled.

“This is a special date.”

I didn’t know whether to be worried, scared, or both. I went up to the nursery to pump some more milk and then walked into our bedroom. Nick was peering into the mirror, analyzing a pimple.

“What are you doing?”

“I need some Skin ID. What do you think my numbers are?”

I smiled. “All tens. Now leave the zit alone.”

I reached into my closet.

“Do I need to dress up?”

“Nope.”

“Jeans and a jacket?”

“Sounds good to me.”

I slid into a worn pair of jeans, a plain t-shirt, and a jacket. Ignoring several pairs of heels that I tried not to wear for fear of falling flat on my face, I grabbed a pair of flats.

“Ready?”

“For what?”

Nick laughed. “Nice try.”

We walked downstairs hand in hand. Brooklyn was asleep on the play mat and my mom was sitting watching her. She looked like she was happy to have a grandchild again. For awhile I was sure she was regretting the decision to move to Florida and doubting my ability to create a normal child.

“Mom, I put milk in the fridge. There are some leftovers in the fridge for you for dinner.”

“What happened to the other milk you pumped?”

I looked over at Nick; he wrinkled his nose. My mom laughed.

“Nick, honey, I put a “B” on the container.”

“I didn’t see the 'B'! I just wanted some Lucky Charms.”

Mom and I laughed.

“Call me if you need anything,” I said. “We’ll be back soon.” I looked over at Nick. “Won’t we?”

Nick nodded. “I won’t keep your daughter out too late,” he teased. Mom just waved us off.

Like a gentlemen, he opened the car door for me. After a quick kiss he got in and we took off towards the Interstate.

“Still not going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked. He shook his head.

“And ruin a good surprise? No way.”

“You forget I hate surprises.”

Nick laughed. “What do you call Brooklyn?”

Well…he had me there.