In the Life of a Rose

January 3, 2022

In the Life of a Rose...

"Hi, baby!" I exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. Harley carefully passed me her child, Danielle, into my arms and I cradled her.

She was a full nine months since I had never seen her when Harley was pregnant and after the birth— COVID and all. Now that they had moved to LA since Emmanuel got a job opportunity, I got the chance to see her more often.

"Can you take care of her for a while?" Harley asked. "I have-"

"Yes," I cut her off. She grinned, set the baby bag on the couch, and clicked the stoppers of the stroller in the corner.

"Thank you," she said, kissing my cheek. "Wait, what about Chris?"

"He likes kids." She kissed her baby once more and I waved as she left the house. I fixed Danielle's position on my hip and walked to the kitchen. There, I fixed a baby bottle and handed it to her to drink.

When I sat on the couch, Dodger trotted over and stared at me and the baby. He didn't bother climbing onto the sofa or on me, knowing his threatened territory. He opened his mouth and whined like a Husky.

"Calm down," I said. I didn't want to stroke his fur and then touch the baby's clean skin so I used my foot and patted his back. Eventually, he quieted down and sat next to my feet.

After an hour or so of tv, I had gotten bored and hungry. I went and fixed myself a salad. Before I could eat it, I placed Danielle in a rocker so she wouldn't be in my arms, trying to eat my food.

Dodger had relocated next to her and he didn't move an inch after. Even when I made his food, he didn't go to eat.  I shook my head and resumed watching tv. I did have a movie to review but I didn't have time to pay attention while I was babysitting.

Danielle began to whimper and Dodger sat up and I shooed him away so I could tend to her. As she was in my hands, the dog was prancing around my legs, wanting to know if she was okay. I cradled her long enough for her to stop crying and that's when I realized she had pooped herself.

I sighed and grabbed her bag and went to the bathroom. I knew Dodger could smell it when I took off her diaper and I gagged at the horrid scent. I shook my head when the child giggled and I cleaned her up and put on a new diaper.

"I'm gonna put you on the floor and you can go exploring," I said. Obviously, I was going to follow her since the house wasn't baby-proof and I had to stand in Dodger's way so he wouldn't be too playful with her.

She reached the stairs, about to embark on it, but I pulled her away and rerouted her trip. I had picked her up when I heard the car beep and the keys in the door. Turning, Chris walked in and frowned at the child in my arms.

"Who's baby is that?" he asked in a light but confused tone. He set his keys and the mail on the table and approached me, ruffling Dodger's fur.

"It's my godchild," I answered. "This is Harley's daughter, Danielle."

"Oh, right," he nodded. He started making baby noises and weird faces which made her and me laugh. "Wait!" he gasped, "That means I missed her."

"She'll come back to pick her up," I assured him. "Then you two can finally meet." He nodded and kissed my lips, heading towards the kitchen. "So, how was the Gucci Guilty shoot?"

"It was good," he said, glancing up with a smirk on his face and I rolled my eyes. "This model was there, looking beautiful as ever and it got me thinking... you should come and shoot with me."

"Mmm... I don't think so. First of all, I'm not a model and I don't understand why that cologne is unisex, it smells like a man."

"Well that's because you've only smelt it on a man," he retorted and I playfully shook my head. "But you can just pose a little and there'll be a few of us together."