Chapter 7
For the Trager-Van Dam family, their first night as a family of four, after a day spent getting the girls settled, was surprisingly quiet. They decided to keep Violet in a port-a-crib in their bedroom to start.
Venus gave Amelia a bath, and Tig told her two bedtime stories, as she was tucked into her bed, Gertie laying on the floor next to her.
"Ok baby girl, I'm going to say good night to you." Tig said, leaning over to kiss the little girl on her forehead. " Take good care of Gertie, ok?" he winked and stepped back. " I think Mama wants to say Goodnight to you, too."
Venus entered the room after putting Violet down for the night, and sat at the edge of the bed.
"Look at you!" she said softly. "Are you and lamby all tucked in and cozy?"
Amelia nodded her head." Yes, Mama"
"You must be sleepy. Today was an exciting day."
Amelia shook her head, and tried to stifle a yawn.
"Would you like me stay with you for a little while?"
Another nod.
"Well, alright, then." Venus glanced at Tig, and mouthed the words, "It's fine." He shut the light, and quietly went into the hall.
Amelia patted the bed, motioning for Venus to lie down.
Venus positioned herself next to Amelia, and started to soothe her by rubbing her back, and humming some wordless tune. After a few minutes, Amelia turned to face Venus and spoke,
"Mama?"
"What is it, baby?"
"Today was the best day ever."
"It was the best day, baby, because you and your sister came home to us."
"Mama?"
"Yes, baby."
"Lamby, puppy and I are sleepy"
Venus glanced down at Gertie snuffling at the side of the bed, and smiled.
"Well, my sleepy little girl, I hope you have the sweetest of dreams. Mama and Daddy love you so much. We're just down the hall if you need us, ok?'
"Ok, Mama."
Venus kissed Amelia goodnight, and silently padded out of the room.
She made her way back to the living room where Tig was waiting for her on the couch.
"Well, I think today was a success" he said, wrapping his arm around her as she sat down next to him.
"I was just told it was the best day, ever." She said, smiling and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Amelia said that? "
"She sure did"
"I think it rates pretty high, baby."
Tig leaned down and kissed Venus' forehead.
"Think it'd be ok if Chibby stopped by tomorrow?"
"I don't see why not. Filip is like family. I think Brooke and George should stop by, too, get the girls used to her."
"Great. I'll call him. Set something up. To bed?"
"To bed." I do believe today's excitement has caught up with me, darlin." Venus said, yawning. "And besides, someone's going to be hungry in a a little while."
"I can do it, baby. You deserve some rest."
"You're sure? It's no trouble."
"Baby, it's fine. You know me, some nights I'm too jacked up to sleep."
"Ok, Tiger." She smiled at him reassuringly. "Ok." They headed to the bedroom.
Throughout that first night, they took turns feeding Violet. Keeping her in the same room with them made it easy for them to attend to her quietly.
Saturday morning, with the first feeding of the day done at 6:30, Venus quickly showered and got herself ready for the day. After the usual morning ablutions, she selected a flowery Maxi Dress from her closet, and carefully slid it over her head.
As she made her way to the kitchen, she could hear Amelia stirring. She quietly walked into the room to find Gertie, who had made her way onto the bed in the middle of the night lying next to Amelia, who was starting to wake.
Venus sat on the edge of the bed , and whispered softly,
"Good morning, lovebug. "
Amelia squinted and yawned.
"Hi, Mama."
Venus stifled a chuckle at the sight of Amelia's bed head. Her hair was wild as Tig's, curls going every which way.
"Did you have a good night's sleep?" Venus asked,
"Yes."
" It sure looks like you and Gertie did. She kept you company all night, didn't she?"
"Uh huh. Puppy slept with me all night."
"Are you ready to start your day, Darlin?"
Amelia sat up, nodded her head, and gave Venus a big hug.
"Well all right. Let's get you cleaned up, and then we'll make you some breakfast, ok?"
"Ok."
Venus dressed Amelia in no time flat in a sundress she and Brooke had picked out during one of their shopping sessions. Fixing her hair took a little longer.
"Ok, baby. Can you be a good girl and stay still while Mama fixes your hair?"
"Yes, Mama."
"Good. Why don't you sit down here. Mama's beauty parlor is open for business."
Venus assessed the situation and grabbed some supplies from the bathroom. Using the spray bottle she used on Tig when his hair was out of control crazy, she wet Amelia's hair and gently started to comb through the tangles.
"You let me know if I'm hurting you, ok, sugar?"
Amelia didn't utter a peep.
Once all the tangles were attended to, Venus took some leave-in conditioner and worked it through the little girl's curls, twisting them , to bring them back to life. She finished the look with a small pink bow, which she clipped to the front section of hair and swept to the side.
Standing back to survey her work, Venus smiled, and said, " Perfect."
"Ok, Baby. Go and show Daddy how pretty you look. I just need to clean up, and I'll be there in a minute."
Venus heard Amelia running down the hall, calling out to Tig. "Daddy! Look! I look pretty like Mama!" She smiled, widely, as she straightened up the bed and tidied up the room.
" Memaw, I hope I do you proud." She whispered to herself, as she worked.
Chibs , Happy, Rat and Brooke dropped by later in the morning.
"We come bearing bagels, donuts and coffee, figured you two could use a boost." Chibs said when Venus opened the door.
"Thanks, Filip, you are always so thoughtful." Venus said, and quickly kissed him on the cheek.
Chibs looked down at Violet, wrapped once again in Venus' baby sling and smiled.
"Goin for the earth mother look, eh darlin?"
"Something like that. " Venus said.
" Well, it suits you. This wee one is a beauty." Chibs said, as he looked at Violet, whose stretchy pink headband matched her sister's bow.
"Why don't you boys come on in, and Miss Brooke and I will go set this up?"
Chibs nodded, and Happy and Rat followed.
Amelia, who was in Tig's arms, took one look at the three men standing before her, and buried her head in Tig's shoulder.
"Are you being shy?" Tig said. "It's ok, baby, these guys are Daddy's best friends"
Amelia looked up again, and set her gaze on Happy. She waved at him, and he stuck his tongue out. She threw her head back and laughed.
"Daddy! He's silly!" she giggled.
"He can be, honey. That's for sure." Tig said, shaking his head.
Venus and Brooke called everyone into the kitchen, where they demolished the array of pastries and bagels in short order.
After breakfast, Chibs made his way over to Venus, who was cleaning up the kitchen.
"Hey, Mom. Could you spare Tiggy for a few hours so he could take a ride with his brothers?"
Venus turned to him with a smirk on her face.
" Let me see if I understand you correctly Filip. Y'all are taking off for who knows how many hours and leaving me here with a newborn and a toddler who's on the precipice of a sugar crash?"
She pointed in the general direction of the living room, where Amelia was being swung around by Happy, crying out, "Again, Again!"
Chibs mumbled, "umm uhh"
Venus poked his arm. " I'm just messing with you, Filip. I think Alexander would welcome some time with the boys. Just bring him back to us in one piece, ok?"
"Will do, darlin."
Venus walked into the living room where the men were getting ready to head out, and made her way to Tig.
"Baby, have fun and ride safe." She said, kissing him softly.
"You gonna be ok?"
"I don't see why not. Brooke's going to keep us company while you're out. I don't anticipate any issues."
"All right baby. I'll see you later." Tig placed both his hands on either side of Venus' face and pulled her in for a kiss.
"To be continued." He said as he walked out the door.
"I can't hardly wait." Venus said, smiling as the door closed.
