Memorial Day picnics are tradition at Leche Catholic Church. There is food, games, entertainment, and all sorts of activities for both young and old. But this particular picnic would have a special flavor like no other picnic I had been to before.
The picnic began at 2:00. At that time, all of the families set up their lawn chairs, laid blankets down on the grass, and chatted with other parishioners. Some of the older men started a game of horseshoes, while some of the young adults played volleyball. I just kind of wandered around, talking with people I knew and just enjoying the nice weather.
Erica, Jim, and their family arrived at about 2:30. It had been about 6 months since we had our dinner and "dessert" that Sunday afternoon. I had been watching for their arrival, as I always kept my eye out for her. She was wearing a blue dress with white flowers. The dress did not button down the front as I always liked, but rather it zipped down the back. Her appearance had really not changed much since then, but in my mind, she looked better every time I saw her. Her chest was still enlarged, as she was still nursing little Jimmy, about 8 months old now.
I was chatting with an older fellow when I spotted them walking into the picnic area. She was carrying the baby and their picnic basket, while Jim was walking with their 3-year old daughter and carrying their lawn chairs. As they entered the pavilion where I was on the far end, our eyes met as she was looking for a spot for her family's belongings. We had very little contact since that Sunday afternoon, but I think we both knew we enjoyed that meal very much. Jim was very skeptical and protective of his wife, so I tried to maintain my distance. I didn't want to send any unusual vibes. Anyways, they found a spot to put their stuff about 100 feet away from our stuff.
The formal ceremony began at 3:00. The minister led us in the saying of the pledge of allegiance, the singing of the "Star Spangled Banner", and a short prayer before people began eating. There was lots of food to choose from; as this was a potluck dinner (meaning every family brought at least one dish to share). I enjoyed some ham, barbeque beans, corn on the cob, and rolls. After I finished my meal, I helped my son, almost 2 years old, eat his food. I then sat down on the lawn chair and watched him play on the blanket below me while my wife Karen talked to the people around us. I caught a few glances of Erica and her family as they ate their meal.
At about 3:45, everyone started moving around again. I joined in on a volleyball game with my brother and some friends. We won several games in a row, as nobody else could put a team together that could beat us. During one of the games, I spotted Erica watching us play volleyball. When I saw her watching, I tried hard to score a couple of points. Erica had always admired my athletic ability and body. I looked over at her after I spiked a ball for a point and noticed her smiling with admiration.
4:30 was the time where the service began. We sang a few songs ("God Bless America", "Battle Hymn of the Republic", etc.), had some special singing, and a short challenge from the minister. I sat with my wife and family and held my son on my lap as the service went on. During the challenge from the minister, my son fell asleep. Karen suggested that take him inside the church and lay him down in the nursery room. I agreed that I would do this after the service was over.
The service ended, and I stood up with my son in my arms. David usually napped for about 2 hours in the afternoon, so we could lay him in the church nursery and check on him every now and then. I opened the doors to the church, went down the hallway, into the nursery wing, and into the infants' room. They had several cribs in the infants' room, so he would be safe in there. I laid him down, covered him with his favorite blanket, and walked out of the room. The church nursery was very nice. They have three separate 24' x 24' rooms, one each for infants, one-year olds, and two-year olds. Each room was stocked with toys, rocking chairs, changing tables, a restroom, and all other necessities for your children.
I walked back outside to the activities. My wife had struck up a conversation with an old friend she had not seen in a while, so I just wandered around. I watched some of the kids jump in the bounce houses, threw the football around, and watched some volleyball. After about 20 minutes or so, my wife called me over and asked if I would check on David. I agreed and began to walk towards the church.
I opened the doors and headed down the hallway towards the nursery wing. As I got closer to the nursery, I heard the cry of a small child.
"Oh, great," I thought, "David probably woke up. Now he's going to be grouchy the rest of the day."
I got to the door of the room, and peeked in the window to see if he was standing in his crib. He appeared to be sleeping from the window. I quietly and slowly opened the door, only to see David fast asleep in his crib.
"Who is crying?" I said softly to myself. As I looked around the corner, I saw a woman leaning over her baby changing a diaper on the changing table. She heard me enter the room, and turned around to see who it was. It was Erica.
"Oh, sorry, I was coming to check on David. I thought he was crying," I said.
"No, it was Jimmy. He's having a rough day," she replied as she finished changing him and sat down in one of the rocking chairs.
"How have you been Erica?" I asked.
"I'm doing pretty well. I have missed seeing you around."
"I have missed you to," I said, "I just thought it best to avoid a strange situation, so that's why my wife and I haven't been around in a while."
"Oh, that makes sense. Shut the door," Erica ordered, "and sit down by me."
I shut the door, opened the half-door entering the nursery, and sat down in the rocking chair next to her as we continued our conversation.
"There's no one else in here, right?" I asked.
"No. Just you and me," she said smiling as she tried to soothe the baby.
"Erica," I whispered, "I haven't been able to get you out of my mind since that day. I enjoyed everything so much and fantasize about it daily."
"Me too," she said, "I thought about calling you a couple of mornings and asking you to stop by before work since Jim goes to work so early."
"I definitely would have come over. How is little Jimmy doing?" I said.
"He is doing OK. I am still breastfeeding him, but he is starting to lose interest."
"Really? How could anyone lose interest?" I said jokingly.
She giggled and blushed.
"He does not want to nurse today, so I brought a bottle for him just in case. Would you get it for me? It's in his diaper bag."
I got the bottle for him, gave it to Erica, and sat back down as she began to feed him the bottle.
"I'm still producing milk, Mike, if you'd like to nurse on me again."
