Chapter 4
"Oh, Amanda, I'm so glad we thought of this store. They have everything!" Dotty exclaimed as they wandered down one of the aisles of baby clothes in Maggie and Tuck's. "Look at all these cute little outfits! The girls will be adorable in these matching dresses!" she gasped as she held up two pink, frilly, lace dresses.
"Mother, I'm not sure I even want to dress them alike. I mean, if they are identical don't you think it's going to be hard enough to tell them apart in the beginning?" Amanda groaned.
Dotty rolled her eyes, "Oh, where's the fun in that? What about the holidays? And family pictures?"
"Mother, no. I really think I want the girls to have their own identities and putting them in matching outfits all the time isn't going to do that. I never put the boys in the same shirt for pictures, why would I do that now?" Amanda reprimanded her mother as Dotty held up another matching set.
Dotty's face fell as she returned the hangers on the rack and she turned away, "I just thought it would be cute. We've never had twins before in the family so I just thought-"
"It's okay, Mother. I thought that it would be fun at first, too, but the more I read and the more I think about it, I don't want them to feel like they don't have their own…. Oh, I don't know how to put it. They're going to be twins their whole lives, but I want them to be individuals too," Amanda sighed.
Dotty raised her hands and agreed, "I understand. I may not like it, but I do understand, Darling." Looking around at the clothing racks, Dotty had an idea, "How about matching outfits but different colors? You know, one baby has pink and the other has purple, that kind of thing?"
Amanda thought for a moment then nodded, "Sure, that would work. As long as we stayed consistent."
Dotty pressed her hand to her chest happily, "This is going to be so perfect! So two of everything, only different colors. Now, what about blues and yellows and greens? How should we handle those colors?"
Amanda smiled at her mother's enthusiasm, "I think the same way. Each of the girls will have the same combination of colors. And tell you what, we can even make a little chart or something to help everyone."
"Well, we should start making a list of all the things you're going to need for your baby shower too, Amanda! That'll be here before you know it," Dotty rambled as she walked away, leaving Amanda alone in the aisle.
With a shake of her head, Amanda followed Dotty, while she rubbed her belly. Quietly, she whispered, "Don't worry, girls, your grandmother just gets a little excited. Everything will be just fine." She lost sight of Dotty when she ducked down another aisle. A little louder she called out, "Mother? Where are you going?" She stepped into what she thought was the aisle Dotty had disappeared down but all she saw was a row of highchairs. "Mother?" Amanda called again. She stepped into the next aisle and scanned the area for Dotty but was unable to locate her again. "Mo-ther?" she called again, slightly frustrated.
"Amanda? Where'd you go?" Dotty called from another aisle. "I'm over here!"
Amanda rolled her eyes and headed back in the direction she came from, "Where? I don't see you."
"Down here," Dotty called out.
Amanda walked past three more rows and exhaled loudly. Under her breath, she muttered, "Down where, Mother? I'm really getting tired of this game." She got to the end of the row and sighed when she found her mother staring at the row of baby carriages. "There you are," Amanda gasped.
"I've been right here all along, Amanda. There's no need for you to get so upset," Dotty reprimanded her.
"Mother, I've been walking up and down…" she trailed off and sighed, "Never mind. What did you find?"
Dotty looked from one end of the carriages to the other and shook her head, "Well, I was thinking. We'll have to have two separate carriages for the girls, right? That's going to make shopping difficult for you, isn't it?"
Amanda thought for a moment and scanned the different styles of strollers and buggies. At the far end, she noticed a small section of double strollers. "Look, Mother," she said as she pointed to the collection. Dotty followed Amanda and they spent the next twenty minutes moving each one, folding and unfolding the different types before Amanda finally cried, "This is so overwhelming. It was so much easier with the boys."
"Darling, don't get so upset. We'll figure it all out. Let's go look at car seats. Now those shouldn't have changed all that much and we know they each need their own seat," Dotty tried to soothe her.
Amanda wiped her eyes and followed Dotty into another aisle. She took one look at the twelve different infant car seats and shook her head. "I can't do any more today, Mother. This is too much for me right now," Amanda whimpered.
Dotty put her arm around Amanda's shoulders and hugged her tightly. "Well, we do know one thing we definitely want to get and we even know what kind," Dotty stated with conviction.
"What's that, Mother," Amanda sighed.
"We are getting two of the tot loc booster seats like Charlie uses. We know how they work and they'll fit on the counter without a problem. And I'm going to buy them today!" Dotty insisted. She steered Amanda into the aisle and handed her one of the two boxes.
Amanda checked her watch, opened her eyes wide and gasped, "We've got to get moving, Mother. I need to be at work soon. Shoot, I'm not going to have enough time to go home and get my car."
Dotty laughed lightly as she assured her, "Don't worry, Darling, I'll just drop you off at work and Lee can drive you home. Problem solved." She stopped at the register where a young girl wearing a bright red smock waited. "We'll take these please."
The clerk looked at Amanda and smiled, "You look like you're ready any day now."
Amanda grinned politely, "No, not for another few months."
Dotty leaned close and patted Amanda's swollen belly and whispered, "She's having twins."
"Ohhh," the clerk replied. She pressed a button beside her register and scanned the first box. "Were you able to find everything you were looking for?"
"It's a little overwhelming. My boys are so much older and I don't know how we're going to get through all of this," Amanda admitted.
"You have older children? I take it this pregnancy was a surprise then," the clerk commented politely.
Dotty rolled her eyes, "Surprised is putting it mildly. I never expected to have any more grandchildren, never mind twins!"
The clerk nodded several times, "That'll be one hundred, ninety-three dollars and forty-seven cents." When Amanda's eyebrows shot up, she added, "Babies can be so expensive."
"Mother," Amanda began but Dotty waved her hand and gave the clerk her credit card.
"Don't give me any nonsense, Amanda. I told you I wanted to do this and I was going to help every way I could," Dotty insisted.
The clerk eyed Amanda once more and said, "Over there are pamphlets for different programs that can help if you're interested."
Amanda glanced off to the side at a small sitting area and noticed a clock on the wall and stammered, "Mother, I really need to get going or I'm going to be late for work." She turned back to the clerk, "Thank you so much for your help. I'm sure we'll be back." Amanda and Dotty gathered up the two boxes and hurriedly left the store.
The clerk plastered a smile on her face as the next customer walked through the doors. "Welcome to Maggie and Tuck's. Please let me know if you need any help."