A day of snow had kept Pearl from returning to Darren's house when she wanted to. The ice on the road was too dangerous for her. He texted that he understood and only wanted her to be safe.
The day after that was fine enough. Pearl rode on over to his house early in the morning, but she found out that his family was coming over. In his defense, it was apparently short notice for him too. His little sister had recently given birth and she wanted to come over to show the little cuddle potato off. His parents thought they might as well come and visit at the same time. Not only would they be checking in with their son, they'd get to see the new baby. Two birds, one stone.
And all that meant that Pearl would have to bake some cookies. Classic chocolate chip.
Lunch was over by the time all the guests had shown up.
Crystal Nathan was Darren's married little sister, and she was very small in comparison, not too much taller than Pearl. Her husband, Eric, was a sturdy White guy, maybe five feet and ten inches in height. They seemed nice enough, and they didn't mind at all that whenever Pearl walked by she waved and said hi to the baby.
Little Andrew Nathan, he looked like a sculpture or a doll. That's how perfect he seemed. A perfectly wrinkly and sleepy little newborn with the softest skin.
Mrs. Booker and Mr. Booker Senior went crazy over the baby. Normal and fine, even endearing. Darren liked the little guy too. He got to hold him a few times. It was a heart-warming sight. A big, almost scary man that looked like he could eat a bowl of nails for breakfast without any milk. He happily snuggled with and cooed down at a delicate child.
Trying not to giggle at the old Spongebob reference in her head, Pearl served the guests a plate of warm cookies and glasses of milk. She received quite a few smiles and thank yous. As she walked off, Mrs. Booker called out, "Girl, aren't you cold? You should have some sleeves."
Pearl turned around and put her hand on her bosom. She was wearing a T-Shirt. Her sweater and coat were elsewhere. "No, Ma'am. I'm fine. It's warm in here and all the work makes me sweat."
"Well, alright." Mrs. Booker Senior then looked up at Darren's face with an odd expression. The old man was smirking, amused, like he knew of a secret joke. Darren held in a snort and turned to lightly hold the baby's hand with his big fingertips. At that time, Andrew was in a stroller so he could have a rest.
Upstairs, in Darren's bedroom, Pearl went to see how the dogs were doing. Darren had sent them up there because he was worried about one of them getting too aggressive with the baby. He was certain that they were good boys deep down, but even if they didn't want to hurt anyone, they could accidentally do so. Baby humans were a brand new concept to them. They likely didn't know how to behave.
Pearl played a short, indoor game of fetch with Gunner. Then she played the same game with Baby Blue. A few head pats each, and she went back downstairs. As she went off towards the laundry room, she heard Mrs. Booker say, "Boy, you need to get yourself a baby soon. You aren't getting any younger."
"A good wife's pretty hard to find, Mama." That was certainly Darren.
"Well, I guess I'm glad you aren't going to knock up some random girl and walk away."
The old father spoke up, almost offended. "He'd better not! I raised him better than that!"
Pearl was putting clean clothes in the laundry basket. Nothing but blue jeans. She didn't think she should fold them in the living room where all the guests were. She carried the basket into the kitchen.
"You can fold those in here! It's alright!" Definitely Darren.
Shrugging, Pearl went to the living room. She sat on a spare cushion on the couch and went back to folding. By the time she was done, the baby woke up and made cute noises. The short nap must have done him some serious good. He wasn't crying or whining or anything like that. As Pearl got to her feet, she heard Crystal say, "Oh, wait! She didn't get to hold the baby!"
Pointing at her chest, her cheeks flushing, Pearl looked at the woman's glittery brown eyes and said, "Me?"
"Yes, you!" Crystal carefully scooped her tiny Andrew up and then stepped over to Pearl. "Everybody says you're sweet as sugar. I don't mind showing my baby off to you. Ever held one before?"
"A few times, but it's been a while. I've never even been a babysitter."
Her cute cheeks rising, her soft brown hair rustling with her movements, Crystal said, "Just support the head and you'll be fine." She showed Pearl how to position her arms in a cradle hold. Then she put Andrew right there.
The little darling had his mother's pretty eyes! And he the cutest little hands. "Oh ... he's so beautiful." Pearl was beaming down at him. "And he smells so good. Baby powder and clean clothes."
"He won't smell like that for long."
"I guess not. Would you mind if I touched his face?"
Crystal put some insurance there, her hands under the baby in case Pearl slipped. Then she said, "Go for it."
Pearl let the backs of her fingers and finger joints caress Andrew's cheek. His lips smacked and he turned his head towards her hand. "He's so cute," Pearl said. "Okay, I'll give him back before I get tempted to steal him."
Crystal snorted out a laugh as she took Andrew back. "You're funny. Okay, I'll let you get back to work."
That exchange put Pearl in a glorious mood. She was thinking about cute babies for quite a long time. When the guests were finally gone, and Pearl was washing the dishes, she imagined what it was like to deal with a baby screeching as if the world was ending and then comforting the poor dear. She even imagined changing diapers, which she'd done on some occasions in her life, but this day was the first time in what felt like forever that she got to hold a baby.
A tap on her shoulder.
"Eeeeee!!" She dropped a glass in the water, making suds splash onto the countertop. About half a second after that she hopped and turned around at the same time.
Darren's torso.
She calmed down immediately.
"What are you smiling about?" he playfully asked.
Pearl slapped her hands together, flinging extra little drops of water around. She eagerly said, "I got to hold a baby!"
"That just made your day, didn't it?" His hands were on his hips, and when Pearl looked up at his face, she saw a his teeth peeking out from a little smile.
"I need to tell Mama when I get home," Pearl said as she snatched up a towel and wiped up the little mess she'd made. She faced away from him to do it. "She'll go gaga."
She heard his socks slide on the floor, then one of the kitchen's dining chairs being dragged. "Your mom wants grandbabies, right?"
"Oh, if I popped a baby out right now she'd pick it up and say, 'This is mine.'"
