“Ryan, would you please watch him while I make lunch?”
“I’d be glad to.”
I had played with Owen a little bit yesterday. I had never played with a baby before and I had been surprised at how fun it was. Owen was a happy little guy who constantly squealed as I played with him. He loved it when I gave him raspberries on his tummy. He wasn’t looking to play right now. Instead, he looked like he was doing baby push ups.
“Ashley, what’s he doing?”
“It’s Nicole. Ashley is no more, remember?”
“Okay, Nicole. Give me a while to get used to the name change.”
Ashley…err Nicole came over to the couch with a large salad that had pieces of grilled chicken mixed in.
“He’s working on learning to crawl. He is building up his strength and improving his balance. Soon, he will be all over the place. Why don’t you read to him?”
Several baby books were next to the blanket. I picked up one, sat down next to Owen and read. Owen kept doing his baby push ups as I read. One of his arms gave way and his head smashed into the blanket. He lifted himself back on his arm and gave me a big smile like smashing his head had been a lot of fun.
“It’s super important to talk to him”, said Nicole. “His mind is such a sponge at this stage. The number of words he hears now is a major factor in how big of a vocabulary he’ll have when he’s grown.”
“You know a lot.”
“I’ve been reading constantly since I found out I was pregnant. I’m hoping to be a nurse at a pediatrician’s office.”
When Nicole finished her lunch, she took Owen to the library for some program for babies.
“I have to network with moms,” Nicole told me.
Why would the library have a program for kids who can’t read?
Wednesday, Nicole let me feed Owen. I did the “Here comes the choo-choo” thing. It was a blast.
Thursday morning, Nicole was puttering in the kitchen when I came out of my room.
“Any luck finding a new roommate?” she asked.
“Nothing yet.” I sighed. “The people I know in town all work in the restaurant industry and those people aren’t the most reliable.”
“You work in the restaurant industry.”
“I hate working as a waiter. Customers crap on me all the time. My manager craps on me all the time. My co-workers are always bitching about how they hate their jobs and their lives. Yet, I am supposed to have this great big smile every time I talk to a customer. It’s depressing work.”
“Why don’t you get a new job?”
“There aren’t a lot of entry-level jobs in this town. Waiting on tables pays better than working retail or delivering pizzas. I just have to survive a few more months and then I’ll be a tutor at the university. Hopefully, that’ll be a lot better. Certainly can’t be any worse. Regardless, I wish I could get a fellow Engineering student as a roommate but they are all home for the summer.”
“In that case, I have a proposal for you. We’ve gotten along decently since I arrived. I’ll stay with you until the fall and then you can get a engineer as your roommate.”
“Nicole, I need to have rent money.”
That made her smile. She reached into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out a shiny-new checkbook. She ripped out a check.