Chapter Summary: Shaun has a special gift for Nell for her first birthday.
AN: I'm not sure if I got Lea and Shaun's facial features right. I had to google dominant and recessive traits and analyze close-up pictures of Shaun and Lea.
Today was May 30, 2022, Nell's first birthday.
For Shaun, it was hard to believe that she was already one. Although Shaun and Lea did not enjoy the newborn stage, it felt like it was only yesterday that she was just a tiny blob of cuteness fresh out of the womb.
Now, she was already walking and getting into everything, and she had enough hair on her head for it to be put in a ponytail. She wasn't talking or even babbling just yet (she was mostly quiet), which could or could not mean that she was autistic like Shaun, but unlike many other parents, Shaun didn't fret about that. He didn't say his first word until he was six, so Nell probably wouldn't start talking this early as well. However, Shaun figured that since autistic females usually didn't have delayed language development, Nell would probably start speaking earlier than he expects whether she is on the spectrum or not.
Nell was also starting to look more and more like Lea, and everyone agreed with Shaun on that. She had her father's blue eyes and probably his lip and mouth shape as well, but she had her mother's curly dark brown hair, attached earlobes, and straight nose. And speaking of Lea, that was the most painful part about this day; she wasn't there to be celebrating their daughter's birthday. Besides not being a big fan of parties and being too busy, that was the reason why Shaun didn't want to throw a big party for his child's first birthday like most parents would.
Nell had gotten a few gifts (unwrapped, at Shaun's request because he didn't like wasting wrapping paper or paper) of clothes and toys from Dr. Glassman, Debbie, and Donnie, but Shaun had one special gift in particular for her...which was neither a toy nor an article of clothing.
It was 7:00 in the evening and Shaun had seven hours left before his shift would start and one hour left before Nell's bedtime, so he decided to go ahead and present Nell's special birthday gift.
"I have one last gift for you, Nell," he said to the little girl, who was in the middle of the living room, sitting on her woodland animal playmat and playing with her rubber blocks. Shaun scooped her up into his arms and then walked into his room to retrieve the gift before sitting himself and Nell back on the couch. "I saved it for last."
Shaun hoisted Nell into his lap so she could perfectly see her birthday gift: a memorabilia photo album of her mother (although she didn't know it yet). The album contained photos of Lea and other things of hers. They were all sent in a package by Donnie a week or two ago.
Shaun explained each photo and its significance to Nell.
Three of the photos in the album were just formal family portraits of Lea, Donnie, and her parents. One of them was taken in 1992 and another was taken in 2001. The third one was a Christmas card photo from 1994, where Lea was holding a Care Bear.
"That's your mom, your Uncle Donnie, your Grandpa Donald, and your Grandma Virginia," explained Shaun, pointing to each and every face.
Seven of the photos were school portraits of Lea. Two of them were from elementary school: her Kindergarten portrait from 1997 and her 2nd grade portrait (where she was missing her two front teeth) from 1999. One of them was from middle school: her 6th grade portrait from 2003, where she was wearing braces. The rest of them were from Lea's high school years. She still had her braces in her freshman year photo, making her mouth and smile slightly different. Her hair was styled in face-framing layers with piecy bangs. Her braces were gone in the other three, where she had her hair in the style of a zigzag part. In her senior year photo, she was wearing a red off-the-shoulder dress.
Nine photos were just pictures of Lea and her brother. One of them was of a three-year-old Donnie sitting on what was probably the sofa in the hospital room, holding Lea as a newborn. He was not smiling in the photo, so he probably didn't like having a baby sister. He told him he once punched Lea in the face when she was a baby. Another photo was a picture of a five-year-old Donnie dressed as Spiderman and a two-year-old Lea dressed as a bunny. Donnie was smiling straight into the camera while Lea looked away from it and stared at something else as she chewed on her fingers. In the one dated 1995, Donnie and Lea were sitting on a bench on their grandparents' back porch, smiling happily. In the picture dated 1996, Lea and Donnie were dressed up in their Sunday bests inside their church. Another picture displayed the two siblings in their bathing suits on the edge of the dock of their lake house on the fourth of July. Lea, who was four, was standing while Donnie, who was seven, was sitting, dunking his feet in the water. There was one picture of a five-year-old Lea and a nine-year-old Donnie on their first day of school. Lea definitely looked cute in that pink sweater, that navy cardigan skirt, those white and black Mary Janes, and that pink bow in her curly short hair with her Care Bear lunchbox and Care Bear backpack. The rest of the three photos of the two of them were taken when they were teenagers. In one of them, they were both at the table at Thanksgiving in 2004; Donnie's arm over Lea's shoulder. In another one, Lea (who was a freshman) and Donnie (who was a senior), were posing in formal attire for the 2006 homecoming dance. Lea was in a long black dress. The last photo was a professional photo of a 15-year-old Lea and an 18-year-old Donnie posing in front of a solid background.
"That's your Uncle Donnie, the person who gave me these pictures," Shaun pointed out. "He's your mommy's older brother. Unlike your Uncle Steve, your Uncle Donnie is still alive."
There were six photos of Lea and her father. Four of them were taken when Lea was a baby. One of the pictures was dated the exact day Lea was born, September 13, 1991. Donald, who was dressed in scrubs, was smiling under his paper mask as he held a wrapped-up newborn Lea. There was another photo of a four-week-old Lea was being cradled in Donald's arms as he sat in a comfy armchair. In the photo that was dated New Years Eve of 1991, Donald was wearing a bathing suit with Lea in his arms. Shaun assumed that this was their annual New Years Eve polar bear plunge at their lakehouse. In the picture that was dated February 11, 1992, Lea sleeping on top of Donald's chest as he slept on the couch. There was a photo of the two of them from Christmas of 2003, where they were standing in the kitchen with an arm around each other. There was also a photo of them that was taken in 2002.
"That's your mom with her father," said Shaun. "And that is the woman who you are named after," he explained when he showed Nell the photo of Lea and Donnie with their grandparents that was dated October 12, 1991. Rod and Ellie were sitting on the couch with their grandchildren; Donnie in Rod's lap and Lea in Ellie's lap. Right next to that photo was a picture of Rod holding a two-month-old Lea somewhere in the outdoors.
There were three photos of Lea and her grandmother. In the picture dated November 4, 1992, a one-year-old Lea was happily holding up a pink Care Bear with a rainbow on its white belly, showing it to the camera as Ellie was kneeling down next to her. In one photo, an eight-year-old Lea was helping Ellie with some Thanksgiving dish. In another photo from Christmas, a 16-year-old Lea was in her pajamas with her hair in a messy bun as she sat next to Ellie on the couch, reading something; probably a card.
Another three photos were of Rod, Donnie, and Lea together going on adventures. There was a picture of Lea on her first trip to Alaska with Donnie and her Grandpa Rod, dated January 3, 1994. The three of them were sitting on a giant log (Lea in Rod's lap and Donnie right next to them) and looking up at something in the sky. In another photo from 1998, the three of them were at a car show, standing in front of a car that was probably from the 1970s. In the third photo from 2002, the three of them were all on a camping trip, sitting around the campfire.
14 of the pictures were just close-ups of Lea. One of them was a 1997 close-up of Donald, Donnie, and Lea in life jackets on a boat. Shaun assumed this was at the lake house. Another one of them, which was snapped in 2000, was a close-up of Lea in a white t-shirt. In another picture, a 14-year-old Lea was carefully holding a baby chick, smiling at it the way she would smile at a baby. Another was a photo of Lea in a jean jacket, smiling as she stood right by the mailbox. There was another close-up of Lea in a black cap and a black t-shirt, posing on a ladder in some kind of room. There were also close-ups of a ten-year-old Lea posing in a black fedora, a 12-year-old Lea dying Easter eggs, a 15-year-old Lea in a white shirt with her backpack on her back and her hair pulled up, Lea at age 16, a 17-year-old Lea at church in a nice dress, a 17-year-old Lea playing pool, a 17-year-old Lea sitting on her bed, an 18-year-old Lea at a baseball game, and an 18-year-old Lea in her high school graduation dress.
Seven of the photos were Lea with some friends. One of them was an 11-year-old Lea and her friend Kaitlyn (according to the back of the photo) posing together dressed as Zombies for Halloween. In a photo taken in the summer of 2005, a 13-year-old Lea was posing on a rock with her friends Kaitlyn and Brittany. Shaun thought they almost reminded him of the Plastics in Mean Girls. Three of these photos (one from 2007, one from 2009, and one from 2010) were just close-ups of Lea and Brittany. Two of the photos were Lea and Brittany on prom night, minutes before Lea's heart got shattered by her ex-boyfriend. They were sitting next to each other on the couch in one of them and posing with their backs against each other in the other. In both of the photos, Lea was wearing a long dark green prom dress with a corset and an open back. She had a face full of make-up and her hair was in a curly bob.
Besides her prom photos, there were six photos of Lea in nice dresses. Two of them were from Easter. She was wearing a purple dress in the 2000 photo. In the 1993 photo, Lea was wearing a fancy frilly white dress, shoes, and socks, holding her Easter basket as she searched for eggs in her backyard. Two of the photos from 1998 were of Lea at church. In the one with her at communion, she was wearing a frilly white dress and a veil, looking like a mix between a bride and a flower girl. In the other, she was wearing her purple Sunday best. In the photo dated December 28, 1996, Lea was in a nice blue formal dress (probably at a Christmas party), making a funny face at the camera while she played with her Care Bears. In another photo, Lea was in a backless red dress with her hair done up nicely. She was looking in the mirror, putting on lipstick as she was getting ready for the 2007 homecoming dance.
There were 11 casual photos of Lea alone. In one photo from 1992, an eight-month-old Lea was standing up inside her crib and leaning against the rails, smiling at the camera. There was another photo of a 13-year-old Lea in pajamas on her bed, holding a phone in her hand. She almost looked like Lizzie Maguire if she were a brunette. There was also a photo of Lea standing by the door of her house on her first day of high school. She was wearing jeans, a black short-sleeved shirt, and a necklace. Two of the photos were from a time when Lea went rock climbing somewhere during the summer of 2008. In both of the photos, she was wearing a green camouflage tank top and beige hiking shorts with her hair in a ponytail. One photo was of her sitting on the grass and the other was of her actually rock-climbing. There were also pictures of a six-year-old Lea swinging on the swings at a park, an eight-year-old Lea was cuddling a puppy close to her, a nine-year-old Lea building a snowman, an 11-year-old Lea relaxing in a giant chair somewhere, a 15-year-old Lea relaxing on the couch, and a 17-year-old Lea proudly holding a fish she just caught.
Four photos were of Lea doing gymnastics-related things. The first one was taken in October of 1998, where a seven-year-old Lea was trying to do the beginner-level splits. The second one was taken in May of 1999, where Lea was doing something on the balance beam. The third one was taken in May of 2005, where a 13-year-old Lea was doing the uneven bars. The fourth one was taken in May of 2006, where a 14-year-old Lea was doing a floor exercise.
"Your mommy did gymnastics for seven or eight years," shared Shaun. "She even won two championships."
Five of the photos were Lea celebrating her birthday. One of them was an adorable picture of Lea on her third birthday, wearing a Care Bears t-shirt. She was happily holding a brand new stuffed Care Bear, a yellow one with a smiling sun on its belly. In the picture from September 13, 1999, Lea was celebrating her eighth birthday, about to take a big bite out of the cake. There was one photo of Lea on her ninth birthday where she was standing right outside of her door and a picture of Lea excitedly opening a present on her tenth birthday. The last birthday picture was of Lea on her 13th birthday, wearing a special tiara that said "Birthday Queen". She looked so happy in this photo as well as the rest of them. She would be celebrating her 31st birthday in September of this year and she would have gotten a marriage proposal on her 30th birthday.
Three of them were portraits of her posing in her sports uniforms in high school. In one of them, she was posing with a baseball bat and wearing a ponytail and a baseball cap. In another one, she was posing on her stomach with her legs up, wearing long sleeves and short shorts with her hair down, holding a volleyball. In the third one, she was posing in her long-sleeved cheerleading uniform with pom-poms; she had a huge bow in her hair (to be honest, he thought she looked horrible in that bow). She was smiling in all of them.
The rest of the four photos were just professional solo pictures of Lea. In the professional photo dated December 2, 1995, a four-year-old Lea was posing in a red holiday dress in white tights, black Mary Janes, and a red ribbon in her hair, sitting next to a display Christmas tree surrounded by displayed presents. Three of the photos were taken when Lea was a teenager. She was posing in front of a river backdrop in one of them. In the other one, she was posing on a fake rock in front of a fake forest; her jacket tied around her waist. The fourth one was a portrait of Lea in her graduation gown and cap holding her high school diploma. Her hair was down and she was smiling.
"Happy Birthday, Nell," granted Shaun as he kissed his daughter on the forehead. "But, it is time for bed now. You can always look at this photo album when you're older so you'll never forget your mother. You look just like her in some of these photos."
Once Nell was tucked in for the night, Shaun could tell that Nell was going to grow up to look just like Lea. In about two months, it was going to officially be Shaun's first year without Lea, and it was always going to be hard, and so was every single one of Nell's birthdays in the future.
To Shaun, all of these photos reminded him of what he and Steve were deprived of: a happy childhood. He was going to make sure that Nell had a happy childhood she deserved. It's what Lea also would have wanted for her.
AN: The photos of a younger Lea are supposed to symbolize her life and how happy she was. In the next chapter, Shaun and Nell will be getting a cat.