Page 6 of Coming Home for Fall
“I can do both.”
“No, that’s okay,” Callie said, beginning her prep work on the chicken. “I got everything I needed yesterday. But have fun shopping for—” She paused. “What is it you’re looking for again?”
“A life jacket,” he said. “And some waterproof clothes.”
“Oh, right.” She snapped her fingers. “The river rafting trip. How could I forget?” David was going to Dubai in December, and then in January—when it’s summer in Australia—he’d planned a river rafting trip with a few of his work buddies.
“I think you chose to forget about it because you think I’ll die out there on the rapids.”
“You should watch some of the videos I saw on YouTube! Those rapids in Australia are no joke. Don’t you think it’d be a shame to pass away six months before retirement!”
“Taylor never should’ve shown you how to use YouTube.” David rushed to the kitchen island and knocked his knuckles on it. “Don’t say that. You’re going to curse me.”
Callie rolled her eyes and waved David off without further argument, sending him on his way. While she was happy that he was getting out and seeing the world, she wished he’d pick slightly less dangerous adventures to go on at his age.
But for now, the only worry she had the capacity for was putting together a perfect dinner for their guests.
Chapter 3
When Dot awoke an hour and a half later, she made sure everyone in the house knew she was there. All was quiet besides the soft hiss coming from the oven, but the silence was pierced by an ear-splitting scream. If Callie hadn’t heard the sound on many occasions as a young mother, she would’ve been worried.
In fact, Sasha did think something was wrong.
Less than a minute after the baby started wailing, Sasha came running down the stairs with her little one cradled in her arms. “Uh—Mrs. Ward?!”
“In the kitchen, sweetie!” Callie called back, but she rushed around the corner anyway to meet the girl. “What’s the matter?”
“She’s so pink!” Sasha said, her voice trembling. “Look!” She showed Callie her baby’s reddened face. “Is she sick?”
Callie shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She reached for the baby. “May I?”
Sasha nodded, handing the child over without any of the hesitation she had before. Sasha’s hands were shaking with fear. Callie could feel the heat radiating off the baby from the moment she took Dot into her arms. She started to unravel the first layer of wrappings around the child, only to find that she was dressed in a wool onesie underneath and that her feet were double layered with socks.
“She’s overheating.” Callie took the baby over to the couch and started to undress her. Dot squealed and fought against Callie’s efforts as best she could, but once the onesie was offand the baby was simply laying there in her diaper, she calmed down. “There you go.” Callie smiled, rubbing the baby's fingers with her thumb. “All better. You were just getting a little too hot, weren’t you?”
Sasha stared at the child with soft, glossy eyes. “I didn’t—” Her bottom lip trembled. “I didn’t even think—At the shelter, it’s always so cold…”
Callie reached for Sasha’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. It makes perfect sense that your instinct was to wrap her up. Babies do get cold easily and you’ve been living in circumstances where keeping her bundled up was the right move. But now, you’re in a house that doesn’t have a draft.” She chuckled. “Not to mention, I cranked the heat up last night when I heard we might be getting some frost. I might’ve gone a bit overboard. See—it’s partially my fault too.”
When Dot stopped crying, and Callie was able to finally see her striking blue eyes that complemented those dark curls; she looked like a painting. “There’s no need for you to worry now.” Callie reassured Sasha and gently brushed her finger over the baby’s cheek. “She’s just fine. Maybe a little hungry, but other than that, she’ll be alright.”
“I’ll get the formula. And her bottle,” Sasha said, rushing back to the room. When she returned a few seconds later, she still looked pale and frazzled. Callie took the baby into her arms and stood up, facing Sasha.
“When my first child was just a year old,” she said as she rocked on her feet, falling into a natural rhythm that relaxed the baby, “he fell out of the swing at the park. I thought he was old enough to sit up and not wobble around, but—well, I don’t really know what happened. One moment he was laughing in the swing, and then the next he had somehow gotten his legs out of the holes and toppled down into the wood chips. To this day, Istill don’t even know how Taylor slipped out of the seat, but he did, and he fell face forward.”
Sasha gasped. “Was he okay?!”
“He was fine,” Callie answered with a laugh. “He cried for a few seconds, until David grabbed him and blew a raspberry into his belly, and then he was all smiles. We took him to urgent care just to make sure, but they said he was alright. Babies are more durable than you think. But I wasn’t okay. I felt guilty for weeks. I thought I was the worst mother in the world.” She tapped her chest. “Even telling you the story now, my heart hurts a little.”
A sad smile formed on Sasha’s lips, tears welling in her eyes as she folded her fingers around her baby’s small hand. Dot leaned forward, requesting to be handed over to her mother, and Callie obliged. Sasha seemed an expert at balancing her child with one arm and holding multiple items in her other hand. Callie’s heart broke just a little bit, thinking about how much this young woman had to take on all alone.
Sasha hugged her daughter close. “It’s just... she’s everything... And I—I don’t wanna mess up...”
“I understand,” Callie said. “That’s perfectly natural. In fact, I’d be worried if you didn’t feel that way now that you’re a mom. What I’m trying to say is... we all make mistakes sometimes, but the key is keeping your head up and moving on. Dot’s fine now. That's what matters, right?”
Closing her eyes Sasha drew in a deep breath and pressed a gentle kiss to the baby’s head. “Yeah... you’re right.” She smiled and turned to Callie, her voice breaking a little as she spoke. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” Callie said, placing a reassuring hand on Sasha’s arm, “I mean it.”
