Saturday, July 11, 2009

Baby Fever

Hear the story read by the author

In the town of Normal, Pennsylvania, there’s a little church at the corner of Wilson and Elm. Recently, the primary topic of idle discussion around the church was newlywed Carrie Winslow’s pregnancy.

Carrie hadn’t intended for the news of her impending breeding to be public knowledge quite yet – she had only just discovered the fact herself – but her mother, Karen, found out during coffee hour one Sunday due to a morning sickness incident and became so excited she blurted it out to the entire congregation.

Del Winslow, Carrie’s father, was happy for his daughter, but that happiness was mixed with some frustration. Carrie and her husband Carlos had both lost their jobs when their company went bankrupt and were living with Del and Karen. The situation was supposed to be temporary, however the introduction of an infant into the equation threatened to change that.

The Friday evening after the news went public, Del walked in on Karen showing Carrie pastel colored paint samples. When he inquired what they were for, Karen said she figured they would turn Del’s den into a nursery when the baby came. When Del protested that she might have asked him about the idea first, Karen scoffed and responded, “All you ever do in there is sleep anyway.”

Yes, the temporary living arrangements were sounding a little less temporary than Del would have preferred.

Del was still sulking Sunday morning when the family arrived at church. Del was in the choir so he went to the choir room to warm up. Missy Moore greeted him as he entered with a cheery, “Good morning, Grandpa Winslow!”

Up until that moment Del’s mind had been primarily occupied by the steadily growing population of his household and the consequent loss of peace, quiet and the one room where he could nap undisturbed. Though of course he knew Carrie’s pregnancy meant he was going to be a grandparent, nobody had yet used the word “grandpa” out loud. It made him feel… what was the term…?

Old.

The fact that his own father had been younger than he was now when Carrie was born did not in any way ease the sensation of decrepitude. Of course once Del had time to adjust to the concept and certainly by the time the baby was born he would be thrilled with his new title. But that was all in the future. On this Sunday, Missy’s offhand and well-meant comment set in motion a series of events that would bring both physical and mental pain to Del.

It was perhaps this distraction that caused Del to come in at the wrong moment on one of the hymns during the service. It was an embarrassing mistake, uncharacteristic of Del. After the song ended, Celia Simmons looked back and whispered, “the mind is the first thing to go, Sweetie.”

Given Del’s current mental state he did not find the implications humorous. By the time coffee hour rolled around he was in a downright grumpy mood.

Meanwhile, Carrie was having her own issues with being the center of attention. It seemed everyone had advice on being pregnant and was anxious to convey it to her. The advice was often contradictory, sometimes slightly disgusting and once in a while completely terrifying. Not to mention that Carrie was finding it tougher to adapt to life without caffeine than to the idea she was going to be a mother. She missed the jolt of energy her daily double lattes provided.

There was no quick escape that morning for either Carrie or Del, because Del and Karen’s Bible study group was hosting coffee hour that week, which meant they had to help clean up. And since Carrie and Carlos rode with them, the younger couple had to stick around as well.

As coffee hour wound down, Del went to move the giant coffee urn to the kitchen. The enormous contraption was made of steel and dated from the 50’s.

“That’s still pretty full,” Ralph Billings said, “hang on and I’ll give you a hand.”

“I’ve got it,” Del said peevishly. He hoisted the urn up. Ralph was right; it must have weighed over forty pounds. But Del was determined to handle the chore himself. He headed toward the kitchen trying to keep his expression nonchalant.

But as he moved across the room, the urn seemed to grow heavier with every step. His shoulders moaned. His arms screamed. His fingers whined. He began to feel the urn slipping out of his grip. He moved faster, trying to reach the kitchen before he dropped the whole shebang, waddling with his knees bowed out as the urn slid down between his legs.

He reached the kitchen and summoned up a last burst of energy to hoist the urn onto the counter.

It didn’t move. Del’s back had seized up. It was all he could do to lower the urn to the floor.

Missy Moore poked her head in. “Are you okay?”

Hunched into the shape of a question mark, Del knew the jig was up. “My back…” he hissed.

Missy ran over and began massaging his lower back. Her fingers digging into his flesh was more painful than throwing it out in the first place. But after a few moments the muscles loosened and he could stand upright.

“Let’s get you out to the couch,” Missy said as she easily lifted the coffee urn onto the counter.

Missy took Del’s arm and led him back into the social hall. When Ralph spotted them he came rushing over to find out what happened.

“He threw his back out,” Missy said.

“Oh no,” Ralph said. “You just sit here and rest. We’ll finish cleaning up.”

Del slumped on the couch and watched the others working for a bit. He felt silly and embarrassed. Finally, when nobody was looking he slipped out the back door.

Del discovered Carrie sitting on the back steps with a morose expression. “What’s wrong, Sweetie?” he asked.

“I just needed to be alone for awhile,” she said. “Everybody keeps telling me all this stuff I have to do before the baby comes and what books to read and about natural child birth and drugs and how I need something called a Doula… I just don’t know if I’m ready for all this.”

“Forget them,” Del said. “You’re going to be a great parent.”

“Not as good as you and Mom.”

“Nonsense. You’ve always handled everything that’s been thrown at you with ease. Ever since you were a little girl.” Del sat down beside her.

“I remember when you were four I took you to the mall. I stopped to look at a telescope in a store window and next thing I knew you were gone. I looked everywhere for you, completely panicked. And then I found you sitting by the fountain lecturing a teenage boy who had tossed a gum wrapper on the ground about the evils of littering. That kid was terrified. I was terrified. And you weren’t scared at all.”

“That’s what you thought,” she said. “I remember that day. I figured I’d never see you again and I was going to have to live in the mall. That’s why I got so mad at that boy. He was messing up my new home.”

Del laughed. Carrie leaned her head on his shoulder. “You know, Daddy, I really wasn’t thrilled with the idea of moving back in with my parents at my age. But it will be nice to have you and mom around when the baby comes.”

Del put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze. He was surprised to discover he was starting to warm up to this whole grandpa idea.

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