Chapter 3
Merle walked into the store with his brother tucked under one arm and the five-dollar bill tucked away in his tight fist. He found a can with the baby on the front, he opened it and looked in removing the shiny foil from the top. He smelled the powder and with a disgusted face coughed to the side. "This don't smell to good bro, but it will have ta do." Merle said as he put the lid on the now open can. He walked to the register, meeting the clerk with his brother starting to fuss from under his arm. He put the can on the counter and released the five-dollar bill from his fist. "This is what you feed a baby like him right?" Merle looked hard at the woman behind the counter, noticing her bright red lipstick and purple eye shadow. She looked too old to be painted up like that, but Merle wouldn't tell her that just yet. She looked at his brother and then at him.
"Yes. This is what he should eat. You got a bottle and some water to mix it?" Merle looked away from her then. He had hoped his brother just chewed on the powder a bit.
"No. I don't got no bottle, the water we get comes from the creek." Merle said keeping his eyes on the woman, waiting for the judgement and sneer that usually followed.
"Well, that won't do well. He is much too little, that creek water if not boiled could cause him diarrhea. Hold on a second." The woman moved toward the aisle from which he just came. She grabbed a four pack of bottles and a four pack of nipples and a gallon jug of water. She walked back to the register and set everything on the counter. Merle felt his cheeks flush as he looked at the bottles, nipples and formula. The woman opened the packages and traded out the nipple on one of the bottles for one in the pack. She opened the gallon jug of water and peeled off the lid on the formula can.
"Now watch me. You put one scoop in like this, and water up to here. Shake it good so it mixes well. This nipple is made for babies like him, when he gets older you will need to widen the hole. For now, he is little and needs it to come out slowly or he could aspirate it, which means suck it clean into his lungs. That can cause an infection and he could die. Very important that he drink proper. Go ahead, give it to him. He is flailing around because he's hungry." Merle did as the woman asked and put the bottle to his brother's lips. The baby gripped the nipple tightly and Merle smiled as he eagerly sucked on the bottle, working the formula into his belly.
"Now when the bottle is half gone you put him to your shoulder and pat his back. Don't be too gentle, he will need help to burp. Once he burps, let him finish the bottle. You will change him after, probably every few hours or so. Keep him clean and dry or he will rash up. You understanding all this?"
Merle nodded, seemed simple enough. He smiled gently at the woman, as he noticed the bottle half drained.
"Burp him now you mean?" Merle said as he lifted the baby to his shoulder as the woman stated. The babies head fell to the side, causing the woman to jump.
"Now hold on there, you can't let his head fall around like that. Hold his head all the time, till he can do it on his own. Look, let me show you." Merle handed his brother to this woman who seemed like she must be a mother herself. "See, see how I hold him. Now watch me hold him upright. See how I pat his back, none too gentle, but not too hard. You can rub circles too if he seems fussy." She handed the baby back to the boy.
"What's his name?" The woman asked, watching Merle put the bottle back into the baby's o shaped lips. "They ain't named him yet." Merle said embarrassed by not having a better answer.
"Some folks wait, in case the baby don't survive. No reason to waste a good name. I had a son, didn't make it. I had already named him. It was a family name, passed down. Can't use it again. Always wished I wouldn't have wasted it." The woman smiled, brushing the baby's blonde wispy hair with her fingertips.
Merle couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw his brother smile. "What was the name?" Merle asked, looking down at his brother's blue eyes that were beginning to flutter closed.
"His name was Daryl." The woman cooed down at the baby as the last of the bottle disappeared and the infant's eyes drifted closed. Merle thanked the woman, as she bagged the items that she gathered for the baby. She put in a small pack of diapers and a few burp clothes, a few packs of wipes and some diaper cream. She explained how to use each item and asked that Merle understood before moving on to the next lesson. Merle nodded eagerly, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the task a newborn seemed to be. The woman shooed Merle out of the store as more customers entered, bags in hand with instructions to return when supplies got low. Merle found himself somehow outside of the store the door closed behind him when he realized he only had left the five dollars bill behind, sure that wasn't near enough to cover all these supplies. He started to reenter, when the woman met his eyes and shook her head no, shooing him with her hands back out the door. It wasn't until Merle reached the cabin, hiding the supplies under his special board in the small shed behind the house that he found his father's five-dollar bill tucked into a diaper. Smiling broadly, Merle turned to the cabin and sunk the five dollars back into his father's jacket pocket. His little brother finally sleeping soundly in the crook of his arms. "Daryl." Merle smiled, the baby's lips forming a smile with his as gas passed from the baby's body and Merle frowned.