"Ann?"
Ann looked up from where she was playing with her baby girl. "In the living room," she called back. She smiled up at Harris as he came in, setting everything down. "How was your day?"
"Eh, you know how work is," Harris replied. He leaned down to kiss her. "Missed my two favorite girls."
"And we missed you," Ann agreed, turning to Emma. "Didn't we baby girl?"
The infant made a gurgling noise and waved at her parents. "You can't even see me, can you?" Harris chuckled with a fond smile. Ann tugged on his pants and he made himself comfortable behind her.
"She's been holding her head up all on her own," Ann gloated. "And she reaches for her monkey when I hold him out."
"That's because she's smart," Harris said proudly. He kissed Ann's temple. "Just like her mother."
"Well aren't you in a flattering mood tonight," she snickered. "Oh, dinner isn't quite ready yet. I got busy with Emma." She smiled brightly at the baby who had begun to crawl towards them. "I hate leaving her alone. I'm afraid I'll miss something."
"I told you, I can hire a cook," Harris sighed. "Or a nanny to look after her. Are you sure you want to be home with her all day?"
Ann gave him a disapproving look. "She's my daughter, Harris."
"I know that. I also know you're not one to just sit around all day. Besides, you never struck me as a stay at home mom."
"She needs someone here to take care of her. And you certainly pull in enough money to take of not only us but probably Emma's children for life."
"Annie, you know i just want you to be happy. There's lots of working mothers out there. No shame in admitting you need some help. Even in the old days they hired help when they could. And we can."
Ann picked Emma up and cuddled her against her chest. "I just want to be as good a mother to her as I can be. I want to do right everything my mother did wrong."
"I've got no doubt you will," Harris promised her, wrapping his arms around both of them. "You've all ready been so good to me. You're going to be even better with her. But like I said, there's nothing wrong with having a maid and a cook to take care of everything else while you play with her. Or a nanny for when you're exhausted. I"m not sayin' they have to raise her. Just to help her out."
Ann pursed her lips. "We can talk about it after dinner," she declared. She placed Emma in ehr father's arms. "You two catch up. I'll go work on dinner." She kissed them both on the forhead before heading to the kitchen.
Harris positioned his little girl so she was resting her head against his heart. "You've got a hell of a mother there," he told her. "And we're both very lucky she loves us."