Chapter 9: Parenthood


Parenthood

Cast: Susie, Steve, Bob.

One-Shot: Susie and Steve try to raise their son one night, and it is during then that Susie is reminded of her own parents.


"Location: Modesto, California, April 12th 2022"

Whenever Bob would cry into the night, his parents would be ready for him in the span of seconds.

"Aw, don't cry, little guy! We're here for you!" Steve said.

He picked up his son from the crib and held him gently. He tried making funny faces, but Bob was not amused and just continued crying.

"Come on, those are my best silly faces!" Steve said.

Susie cracked a grin.

"You can't say that. You haven't even shown him your regular face yet." Susie said.

"Harsh, Susie!" Steve said.

"I'm just kidding! Here, let me hold him." Susie said.

Steve frowned in confusion.

"What are you going to do? If your going to show him that once face of yours, he'll never go to sleep again!" Steve asked.

Susie rolled her eyes.

"No, stupid, I'm just gonna help him relax." Susie replied.

"Oh. Yeah, that makes more sense." Steve said.

Steve gave the baby to his wife and rubbed his own neck. With full custody of the child, Susie sat down and started rocking him. She held Bob firmly, yet gently, and calmly hummed a tune. However, that did not seem to work. Steve tilted his head.

"Are you humming America's anthem?" Steve asked.

Susie glared at her husband.

"What of it?" Susie asked.

"Well, aren't babies supposed to hear really soothing songs or something?" Steve asked.

"It doesn't matter what song it is. You just have to sound relaxing." Susie replied.

"Wait, can I hold him again?" Steve asked.

Susie inhaled through her teeth.

"What are you planning?" Susie asked.

"I just remembered, we didn't burp him after dinner!" Steve asked.

Susie stared forward, blankly. She immediately tended to Bob's back, in an attempt to relieve him from gas. The baby did so, and finally stopped crying and began to snuggle closer to his mother.

"Aww. He has the cutest burp." Susie whispered.

Steve watched as Susie held their boy for a little longer, before putting him back in the crib. With their parenting taken care of, they could finally return to bed themselves. The sat back down in bed, and the father let out a large yawn.

"Goodnight." Steve said.

"Goodnight." Susie said.

She seemed a little distracted. She lied on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"I can't believe it was so simple. How could we forget to burp him earlier? This would be so much easier if he could talk, instead of just crying for everything." Susie thought. She then thought "I wonder if my parents had this much trouble with me.".

She looked outside and saw the moon. Or rather, she saw a lack of moon. It was a new moon that night. The sleepy mother gazed in wonder.

"Wow. I hadn't even noticed." Susie whispered.

She looked back up at the ceiling and smiled again.

"A new moon... except, I was sleeping just fine earlier. And I don't feel nervous now." Susie thought.

Then, at long last, Susie closed her eyes and fell asleep.