Fanden and Therran babysit for the first time and it goes a little...awry. 🤣
I won’t lie, it broke my heart watching my precious baby sister walk away with sadness in her heart, but she’s a damn good mother. And in order to be a good mother, you need a break every once in a while; plus a little space is well-needed. However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous watching a baby.
“Well this is fun!” Therran comments as he places Jenevelle on the thick quilt in the living room. I sit down next to them, watching my brother play with her feet. I smile as I admire the two of them, hoping I’m able to bond with my niece. Therran seems to have no issue with it whatsoever, but he’s always been the outgoing one between the two of us. “Fanden, is everything alright?”
I nod, taking a deep breath as I reach my finger out towards Jenevelle, who grabs it almost instantly. She stares admirably at my black claw, smiling as she continues to lock her eyes on it.
“I’m alright, I’ve just never been around babies before. Or it might just be that they’ve always scared me. One of the two. Or both,” I rant, feeling ridiculous for even saying that out loud. I watch Jenevelle as she kicks her feet, cooing loudly as she grips onto my finger with her intense baby strength.
“Ah, but it seems the little one likes you. You’ll get the hang of it, I just know you will. Hey Fanden?” I turn to look at my brother, who has a cheesy smile on his face when our eyes meet. “You’re a wonderful brother, to both Emmy and myself. I know you’ll be a fine Uncle, and perhaps a father someday.” I scoff nervously, shifting my eyes down to a happy, bubbly four-month-old tiefling baby.
“Thank you Therran. I can’t imagine life without you. Where I’d be… I’d be so lost.” He pats my shoulder in a friendly manner.
“Same. I’ll go grab some baby toys from her room, and once I come back, we can indulge in some dinner before it gets cold? Then feed her that bottle on the counter? I call dibs though.”
“Sounds good to me, brother.” As he bolts upstairs, I look down at baby Jenevelle, who reaches up for me to hold her. How can I deny this little one? “Come here, tiny thing.” I pick the adorable baby up in my arms, then proceed to cradle her comfortably, her eyes watching me curiously. Tiny coos and spit bubbles escape her lips as she places her tiny hand on my face.
Okay, maybe babies aren’t that bad after all and tonight will be perfectly fine. Right?
“Oh look at you, Fanden! See, I knew you would bond with her. I think she likes you,” Therran mutters as his footsteps hit the floor from the stairs, carrying a couple rattles and an owlbear plush. “She can’t exactly play a whole lot since she’s so small, but…eh. Better than nothing. Ready to eat?”
We scoot the quilt closer to the kitchen table so we can watch her while we partake in a delicious dinner. I place the baby on the quilt with her toys, then sit down at the table with my brother. Our little sister really went all out on a fancy dinner just for Therran and I. Roasted venison, vegetables, and seasoned potatoes? Just smelling it alone triggers my stomach to roar aggressively.
“Do you ever think what would happen if our adopted mom…you know…never adopted me? Where would we be in life, if we’d ever meet at all?” Therran cuts up his freshly cooked venison while I shove squash in my mouth, and he hesitates for a moment while he thinks about it.
“You know, I think about this all the time. And I wish I had an answer, but I have a feeling we’d grow up never knowing each other. I’m glad that’s not the case here. I love you, Fanden.”
“I love you too. And, even though we haven’t fully bonded with our sister yet or known her for very long… I love her as well, and I can’t even tell you how happy I am that she's in our lives.” Therran and I smile at one another as we finish indulging in this hearty dinner she prepared for us. Once finished, I wash the dishes while Therran plays with Jenevelle some more.
“Alright, I think it’s time for a bottle, hmm?” Before Therran picks Jenevelle up in his arms, she begins to cry from discomfort. “Ah, so you are hungry. I think.” I watch as Therran picks the baby up and attempts to feed her a bottle, but she turns her head and denies it for some reason.
“Well, um… Maybe she’s tired?” I suggest, but then I notice Jenevelle’s face turn crimson as she begins to scream, the sound nearly blood-curling as she scrunches her body in discomfort. “Disregard.” Therran and I then look at one another, our eyes widen as we try to figure out the issue in this situation, and it appears there’s only one more problem we didn’t consider.
“Fanden…sniff her butt.” He brings the baby close to me, with her bottom facing my direction. “Do it.” My brows furrow as I give him a look that screams, ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ I hesitate for a moment, while his expression tries to encourage me to do it.
“I am not sniffing that! Are you out of your mind?”
“Yes. Now sniff it.” I glare at him without saying another word for a moment, contemplating a way to get me out of this awkward scenario.
“Maybe it isn’t the butt, maybe she just has to spit up? Come on, Ther. How about you do it just to be safe?” Therran takes a deep breath as he squints his eyes at me, leaning in to sniff it himself. Fanden, you sly dog, you just tricked your twin brother…which is my trademark, after all.
“Oh GODS. That’s rank as hell! Fanden, first of all, well played. Second, I don’t know how to change a diaper. What should I do?!” I let out one loud laugh, but his vicious glare that cuts like a knife caused me to stop.
“Okay, okay. We’re in this together. Take her to the changing table upstairs, and I’ll…erm…get a bucket of water and a sponge.” Therran gives me a confused stare, as if he doesn’t realize exactly why we need it. I release a frustrated sigh in response. “Just trust me, Ther!”
“Come on, stinky baby. Don’t worry, Uncle Fanden and Therran will figure this all out despite the fact we share a single brain cell.” I roll my eyes and quickly rush into Emmy’s room upstairs while Therran takes the baby to her nursery. I, luckily, managed to find a bucket and a sponge right next to their bathtub, so I filled it up with warm water and snagged a cloth from the bathroom counter.
I make it to the baby’s nursery, where she’s lying on the changing table and Therran is preparing to get her undressed. We look at one another as he begins to unbutton her pink onesie.
“Okay, let’s do this. Three, two…” Therran pauses as he closes his eyes, as if he’s heavily focused on trying to think.
“Well? You do realize what number comes before two?”
“Yes, Fanden, I’m just dreading the war crime that was committed in this child’s pants.” He unbuttons the onesie, then as he opens the tabs of the diaper, we both gag and turn the other way in response from the horrors within it.
“Bane on a bicycle!” I cover my nose with my shirt, then as Therran and I both clean her off at the same time and nearly crying from the unbearable stench, I pull out a diaper from her dresser and put it on her. She seems relieved at last, but then I notice Therran close up the dirty one and throw it out the open window. “Therran Gortash…”
“So you threw a dirty diaper out the window?”
“Well, I don’t see a trash can!” I step to my left, where I reveal a trash can in open view; then again, it was my fault for keeping it hidden. Whoops. “Damn it, Fanden.”
After that horrific incident of terror was over, I picked up Jenevelle while Therran grabbed the bottle downstairs from the counter. I sit in the rocking chair, keeping her held close to my chest as I watch her gaze up at the ceiling. As he comes back into the room, I hand the baby over to my brother.
“You can feed her as long as I put her to sleep,” I say kindly, finding it hard not to smile. Therran nods and carefully picks her up from my arms, placing the warm bottle in her mouth. We both sigh from relief, realizing we managed to conquer an evening that was full of chaos, and despite it all, my heart is full.
