Sarina rushes to the bathroom as I stuff myself quickly into my pants, checking my appearance in the mirror in the entryway before answering the door.
"Hello... Oh. Hey, John. What brings you by?" I ask, stepping to the side to let him in.
"I finally got the zoning redone on the apartments. I came by to bring Sarina the contract now that we can get to business on it." John smiles, holding the papers up in his hands as he looks around. "I seem to have interrupted your dinner, my apologies. But, " He looks around, "Where is she?"
Just then, Sarina comes walking out from our room, "Oh hey John. What brings you by?"
I take notice that she's straightened herself back up and brushed her hair as she steps up to him noticing the papers in his hands.
"Oh! The contract! So the zoning has finally been redone, excellent!"
She holds her hand out for the papers, even though he gestured his arms open for a hug in greeting. He doesn't miss a beat though and quickly shrugs his shoulders as to fix the shoulders of his jacket and hands her the papers.
"Yes, well, I did say I'd bring them by when the planning committee finished changing the rezoning. I'll let you two get back to your dinner. I will see you sometime this week, I hope?" John asks.
Sarina smiles and nods, "Sure thing. Thanks for dropping by and getting them to me."
John leaves and Sarina looks at me, taking in my appearance. She starts to snicker, making me raise a brow in question.
"What?" I ask, slightly annoyed.
Sarina giggles and steps towards me, "My poor baby... You were working so hard for that nut, only to experience coitus interruptus." She runs a hand over my chest and the other grabs my tie as she wraps it around her hand to tug me closer. "I'll make it up to you.... after dinner." She gives me a peck on the lips and heads back to the table.
"We may want to warm our dinner back up though." She calls out over her shoulder.
After dinner and a shower, we're laying in bed thoroughly spent, curled up in each others arms.
"So I guess you're going to have to pause the remodel upstairs and the gallery for now." I mention to Sarina.
"Yes, I guess so." She sighed, "The remodel for John and the wedding will be stressful enough. I should tell them that they can clean up the place tomorrow and finish that part up before pausing it. That way it's not covered in dust and trash."
I kiss her forehead, "Yes, you're right." I yawn and pull her closer to me, "I love you Sarina."
"Love you too." She yawns in return.
"Oh great! You're here!" Lirael smiles at us both as she lets us in. She goes over their routine with Richard, what he's starting to eat now, how often he gets a bottle, where his extra diapers and wipes are, and warns us after he eats that we'll still want a burp rag. "Please remember to close both gates on the stairs. He's crawling all over the place and it's really driving me crazy with how fast this boy gets into things."
I take little Richard from her arms, "Are you giving your momma trouble, little man?"
He proceeds to babble and make noises with his mouth, point at my mouth with his tiny little finger.
"Ah, he's just saying he's curious mommy." I tease her.
"Don't let that little innocent face fool you." Lance comes downstairs closing the baby gates behind him.
Lirael laughs, "They'll find out. Let's go, I am so ready to be an adult for a little while."
Sarina waves bye to them as they head, practically running for the door. Me and Sarina exchange a confused look, but take Richard to the blanket and begin playing with him as he crawls around. We're having a great time until we're not.
His arms just give out and he falls face flat on the blanket and starts to cry. Sarina picks him up to comfort him and he kicks his legs out and smacks her in the face. I quickly take him from her and he tries to do the same to me and I firmly tell him, "NO."
"Sarina, are you okay?" I ask her, as she feels her face.
"Yeah, I was more shocked than anything. He's stronger than I would have ever thought." She says as Richard begins to fuss and kick out again, smacking me in the face again.
I grab his little hand and hold it firmly, saying calmly, "NO Richard. No hitting."
His little face screws up tightly and a shrieking wail escapes his mouth. I have to pull him away from my ear, otherwise it would start to bleed. I lay him on his tummy and suggest to Sarina to go warm up some of his breast milk and baby food for him. While I sit there with Richard, rubbing his back trying to soothe him as he screams his head off, kicking his legs out. He pushes himself up off the floor rocking his body as he screams, when suddenly he grunts and I hear the splatter of what he just put into his diaper.
"Well, I bet you feel better now, don't you?" I chuckle.
Then the smell hits.
"OH DEAR LORD!" I stand up and go for a breath of fresh air above the noxious fumes near him.
Sarina comes running out, "What's the matter?!" She approaches and stops, covering her nose. "Oh my god! IS that HIM!?"
Richard starts screaming again, rocking himself more.
"Yes and I don't think he's done."
I see him moving again and sure enough, a grunt accompanied by a wet sounding fart is heard. Me and Sarina start laughing a bit, but knowing one of us has to change him, it becomes a strained laugh.
Sarina smiles, "I better go check his food, he'll probably be hungry after you're done changing him." She darts into the kitchen leaving me the responsibility of changing the toxic dump site that is my nephews diaper. Groaning, I take a deep breath before picking him and darting to the changing table downstairs.
I set him on the table and quickly grab out a new diaper and the wet wipe warmer. I unbutton his onesie, and warmth gets on my hand. His crap has exploded out of his diaper and is now on my hand.
I look down in disgust and little Richard giggles. "Oh you find this amusing?" I laugh, shaking my head and wipe my hand off with a wet wipe. Then I realize that was the last warm one.
I stick a new package in the warmer and proceed to remove the onesie all together. The offending substance has leaked out the sides continuing to do so as he kicks his legs out and tries to roll over.
"No, no, no buddy. We have got to get you out of that dirty diaper." I roll him back over and start to remove it. I grab a wipe and in that one second, he's got his hands in it.
"OH NO!" I shout, scaring him making him cry and make little poop fist marks on the changing pad. "I'm sorry buddy!" I say using the wipe to try and wipe his hands off.
I'm just about finished when I hear him grunt again.
SHIT!
But it's too late for me.
"SARINA! I NEED A HAND IN HERE!" I shout as Richard grunts again and more shit comes flying at me. "DEAR GOD HURRY!" I cry out, covering his little ass with the new clean diaper so I wouldn't get nailed in the stomach again.
"What's the matter.... OH MY GOD!" Sarina looks at me as I'm gagging from the smell, shirt and pants blasted in sticky, wet, baby poo. Suddenly, she's on the floor laughing her ass off at me.
"I can imagine this is hilarious, but could I please get some help?" I ask her. She gathers herself still laughing, up off the floor and stumbles to the downstairs bathroom as the next thing I hear is the shower being turned on.
She comes back and has a towel in hand to wrap up Richard. "Go take your clothes off and get them in the wash with his onesie. I'll just bathe him really quick."
She giggles and takes Richard to the bathroom, while I begin carefully peeling myself out of my clothes. I'm tempted to just throw the biohazard covered clothing in the trash, but get them gathered up and rinse them off in the laundry sink before tossing them into the laundry. I stood in my boxer briefs and socks, washing my hands before heading to the bathroom.
"Hey do you mind running to the car and grabbing my workout bag? I need my change of clothes while I wait."
Sarina chuckles, "We brought mine, remember?"
"Shit. Shoot." I say catching myself when Sarina scowls at me for cursing in front of Richard. "I guess I'll have to wait till my clothes are done then. I don't want to dig through Lance's clothes trying to find something that will fit. I know I'll end up touching something I will regret later." I shudder at the thought of the possibilities.
Sarina snorts in laughter at me, "Grab a clean towel please." She asks, still holding Richard in the tub as he squealed and splashed in delight. I open the towel and she pulls him out to his dismay and starts whining again.
"Hush, Richard. You can't sit in a bath all night long." I bounce him as Sarina empties the tub and starts spraying it with cleaner. I take him and put a diaper on him and a new onesie. Drying his dark black hair gently, before brushing it and adding a little lotion on it. He had Lirael's dark hair, but Lance's blue eyes, although I could see little flecks of green around his pupil. Maybe he'd end up with Lirael's green eyes.
I enter the kitchen and test his milk that's still warm. I go ahead and start to feed him as I head out to the living room and sit down on the couch with him while he's still fussing. He chews on the nipples of the bottle, still fussy and wiggling in my arms.
"Please don't poop on me again. That stuff was horrifying, you know that right?" I talk to him.
His eyes widen and focus on mine, staring deeply into my eyes. He still wiggles, but reaches for his bottle and tries to hold it himself, but he just proceeds to get some milk in his eyes. The fussing starts back up, right as it was starting to calm too.
Sighing, listening to Sarina still washing the tub out, I wipe the milk out of his eye and give his mouth the nipple that he keeps spitting out. So I start singing softly, "Well, I walked over the bridge, into the city where I live, where I saw my old land lord, well we both said hello, there was no else to go, cause his rent I couldn't afford... Well relationships change, though I think it's kinda strange how money makes a man grow, well some people they claim if you give them the fame, they'll live over the rainbow..."
Richard looks at me weird, like I've grown a second head, making me chuckle. "I guess you don't like Amos Lee? hmmm...." I think of another song, "Here where the sky's falling, I'm covered in blue, I'm running and I'm crawling, fighting for you, When the rain stops, then darling, what will I do? And I know I go all in, but why do I? You give me a reason something to believe in, I know I know I know.."
"A little Dua Lipa this time?" Sarina surprises me, making me start, startling Richard who starts to fuss.
"Oh, sorry!" Sarina covers her mouth as I furrow my brow in her direction. "Go ahead sing another one, it was working." She takes a seat on the couch next to me.
"What should I sing then?" I ask feeling the heat rise to my cheeks.
"You can sing with me.... Chariots rise? You know that one by Lizzie West?" She asks.
"Oh gosh.. it's been a while. Start off and I'll join in." I ask her.
She smiles, "This song always makes me think of you." She states winking at me before starting the song off, " I never felt this way before I've seen so many islands, I never felt this way before, In this song here I describe him, The chariots rise Up high in the sky, What a fool am I To fall so in love? What a wonderful dream It seems to be, 'Cause I love him."
I blush but join in with her, singing through till the end. "Though I have waited long, And they have all been wrong, Now I find in the end, With him I need not pretend, The chariots They rise up high in the sky, What a fool am I To fall so in love, What a wonderful dream It seems to be, 'Cause I love him."
We both look down and Richard is passed out, empty bottle still sitting in his mouth. I take it away from his mouth and Sarina takes and washes it. She rejoins me on the couch and we watch some tv as Richard sleeps peacefully on me. I must have nodded off cause the next thing I know, I feel Richard being lifted off of me and I protectively hold him closer.
My eyes pop open and Lance is smirking at me, "I heard you had a shitty night."
I let out a breathy laugh, "Yeah, that's one way to put it." Looking around, I notice I don't see either of our girls, "Where are they at?" I ask handing Richard over to Lance, noticing the blanket I'm now covered with.
"We're right here. We were grabbing your clothes." Sarina says holding my pants and shirt I had to wash earlier.
"Thank you." I say standing up, keeping the blanket over my body as I take my clothes and go get dressed. I come out as Lance and Lirael are hugging Sarina, thanking her for helping watch Richard.
As soon as we're in the car we look at each other and start to say something at the same time.
"I.."
"You.."
"Go ahead. " We say in unison, making us both bust out in laughter.
She clears her throat and goes first, "I don't want to wait a few months after we're married to take my birth control out. I want to do it before the wedding, so if it happens during the honey moon..."
What?