by Vani Viswanathan
Jamie was exhausted. It was just a week after she had given birth, and her mother, who’d been with her through it, had to return home to attend to her sick husband, Jamie’s stepfather. Jamie’s husband, Aaron, was on another of his countless business trips. All alone, Jamie couldn’t handle the endless visits from friends and colleagues. She couldn’t handle feeding the baby and constantly changing those diapers, staying awake to put her to sleep, and she knew she’d break down if the baby wailed once more.
That’s it, Jamie told herself. I feel lonely. People were visiting, yes, but she could hardly count on any of them for help. Everyone coo-chi-coo-ed, held the baby, and discussed how much like Aaron she was (Jamie tried to dismiss that stab of jealousy that hit her whenever she heard this). All attention was strictly on the baby, and any talk with Jamie had to do with the way she was holding or feeding the baby. And the gifts… Gifts for the baby were streaming in endlessly, and childish though Jamie felt admitting this, she didn’t get any. Why did she feel so left out? Aaron had called only twice that week, and even all he wanted to know was about the baby: Did she cry all night? Did she smile?
Without warning, Jamie burst into tears and threw herself on to the bed, next to the baby, who was sleeping. She’d never felt this low ever. After a couple of minutes, she wiped her tears and stared at the baby, who was sleeping blissfully unaware of the havoc she was causing in her mother’s life. Jamie suddenly realized they hadn’t even named the baby yet. Jamie also noticed that Baby Grant-Lee’s hair was just like hers – jet black, and curly. The baby suddenly yawned, opened her eyes, and as if in answer to her mother’s tears, beamed a generous smile. Jamie, despite herself, laughed, and took one of her daughter’s tiny fists into her hand, and kissed it. ‘But of course, everything is for you!’
Pic : Dino Olivieri: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dino_olivieri/
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