One slow Friday afternoon, Robert sat at his desk. Anne had called in sick, his meeting had been cancelled, and it was pouring down rain. This day sucked.
He heard Elizabeth's voice, sounding frantic, outside his office. Getting up to see what the trouble was, Robert opened the door and stood in the doorway. Elizabeth was talking on her cell phone to somebody. "Fine, bring her here," she said as she hung up. Elizabeth shook her head, trying to figure out what to do.
"What's up, doc?" Robert asked.
"Ella's nanny got called to a family emergency so she's dropping her off here. But I've got a procedure to do in an hour and it's going to take all afternoon. And for some reason, Ella doesn't like the day care center. I don't think she's used to being around so many people," Elizabeth explained.
Feeling uncharacteristically generous and bored, Robert volunteered to take care of Ella. If for no other reason than absolute desperation, Elizabeth accepted his offer. Ella had met him a few times, so hopefully she wouldn't be too scared of a somewhat new face.
An hour later, Robert heard a knock on the door. Opening it, he saw Elizabeth carrying Ella in one arm and a bag the size of a suitcase in the other. Grabbing the bag, Robert helped them in the door.
"Thank you so much, Robert, I should be done by 6:00, is that a problem? Everything is in the bag: clothes, diapers, juice, crackers, toys, books. She's had her nap but she could use a snack soon and usually has dinner around 5:00. Can you handle all of this?" Elizabeth asked, looking concerned.
"Yes I can handle this. Go, we're going to be just fine, aren't we Ella?" Robert said, waving at Ella. She smiled a giant smile and held her arms out to Robert, which surprised him.
"Ok then, I'll see you at 6:00. Mommy loves you, Ella! Bye bye!" Elizabeth waved and left, shutting the door behind her.
"Hello, Miss Ella, how are you today?" Robert had always been quite fond of children. They were so much more real and honest than adults were. Of course he could never show it when others were around, he had his image to maintain. But now he was alone, and could have fun.
Setting Ella down, Robert opened up the huge bag to see what was inside. He pulled out all the books and toys and found the juice and crackers. Pouring the juice into her bottle, Robert handed it to her along with a graham cracker. Robert kept looking through the bag for something to clean her up with when she was done. Finally he found some wet naps.
Ella walked around his office, apple juice dribbling down her chin, mixing with cracker crumbs to form a disgusting, slimy paste. Stopping at a chair, she looked at Robert, pointed to it, and said, "Up". Robert placed her in it carefully and watched her eat the cracker. The paste had traveled to her hand, from which it then got smeared all over the chair. He began to wonder what he'd gotten himself into.
When she was finished with her snack, Robert wiped her face and hands thoroughly and then cleaned off the chair. It wasn't stained, but it was still sticky.
Ella looked through her toys, picked up a doll and started playing with it. Robert sat down on the floor next to her and looked through the toys too. He found a little bottle when, if you turned it on its side, the milk disappeared. "Huh, cool," he said. "Hey Ella, does your dolly want a snack too?" He asked, holding the bottle out to her. Sitting down next to him, Ella took the bottle and began feeding the doll. Her hand-eye coordination was still a little off and she was actually feeding it through her nose, so Robert grasped Ella's hand and helped her put the bottle in the doll's mouth. Turning back to the toys, Robert saw a stuffed lion, another stuffed animal, something Disney: it was red and looked like a lizard, but he couldn't tell what it was. There was a little toy that looked like the front part of a car. It sat on your lap and had a tiny steering wheel, speedometer, odometer, blinkers, a tiny horn that actually honked, and gears that could be shifted. "We didn't have toys like this when I was growing up," Robert told Ella, placing the toy in his lap. He proceeded to push all the buttons and make all sorts of sound effects. "Get out of the way, road hog!" Robert shouted. He was happily driving along when Ella got tired of feeding her doll and found a package of crayons in the pile of toys.
Robert glanced over his shoulder to make a lane change when he noticed Ella from the corner of his eye. She was drawing on his wall with crayons! "Augh! Ella no! We don't draw on walls!" Robert cried running over to her. "Let's find some paper to draw on," He said, pulling Ella away from her masterpiece. Taking a handful of paper from his desk, Robert sat back on the floor with Ella and colored with her until she got bored of that.
"What do you want to do now?" Asked Robert. "Do you want to read? Let's read a book." Picking up the first one he found, Robert opened it and started reading her a terribly sad story about a baby bird that couldn't find his mother. He went all through town asking things if they were his mother. Finally he found her. Then he read a book about these dogs that wore crazy hats and had parties and went skiing. It didn't have much of a well-developed plot, but Ella seemed to like it. "Doggy!" She shouted, pointing at the picture, bouncing up and down.
"I like dogs too, Ella," Robert told her. Looking at his watch, it said "5:00". "Are you hungry for dinner?" He asked. He was, even if she wasn't. "Do you want to go to the cafeteria for dinner?" He asked. Gathering her up in his arms, Robert carefully picked his way through the sea of clutter on his floor.
The one thing he hadn't thought of was how he would carry her and get their food at the same time. As he walked down the hall to the elevator pondering this, Shirley the OR nurse walked past him, staring. Shouting over his shoulder, he said, "What, haven't you ever seen a man with a baby before?"
Together Robert and Ella rode the elevator to the cafeteria. He was in luck because Dr. Carter was standing just in front of them in line. "Carter, help me out, will ya?" He said to John. John turned around; looking surprised as Robert thrust Ella into his arms and then cut in front of him. Robert got a tray and put a plate of spaghetti and a carton of milk on it. Paying for the food, Robert made John carry Ella to a table and stay with her while he got a high chair and set it up. "Thanks; you should get back in line before it gets too long," Robert advised John, sending him on his way.
Twirling a single strand of pasta on a fork, Robert held it to Ella's mouth. She ate it, getting sauce all over her chin. He fed her and gave her sips of milk from the carton until she got full, then finished the rest of the meal himself. Wiping her mouth off, he lifted her out of the high chair and carried her back to his office, leaving their mess for somebody else to deal with.
It was 5:50 when they got back to Robert's office. He couldn't help but notice it was time for a diaper change. He considered waiting until Elizabeth got back, but decided to try it himself. Laying a blanket on his desk, Robert laid Ella down and unbuttoned her jumper. He undid the diaper and folded it up; Ella kicked her legs in the air happily. It took a long time and effort with only one functioning hand, but somehow Robert managed to get a clean diaper on her and button her back up. As he lifted her to the ground, Ella laughed and said, "Dada!"
Stunned, Robert realized how much he must look like Mark did to her. "No Ella, Robert, Uncle Robert."
He heard a knock at the door and a head poked in. Ella cried, "Mama!" And ran to the door where Elizabeth picked her up and gave her a big hug. Entering the room, she saw how trashed Robert's office was. Setting Ella down, she started picking things up and putting them in the giant bag. Noticing the wall, Elizabeth said, "Oh I'm so sorry about that, I'll pay to have it cleaned."
"Don't worry about it, I'll have a janitor clean it up," Robert replied. He told Elizabeth all about their afternoon, carefully leaving out the fact that Ella thought he was her father.
Ella waved goodbye, grinning wildly at Robert as she and Elizabeth left for home. Elizabeth had seen how good he was with children and knew that he would be a great dad some day.
He heard Elizabeth's voice, sounding frantic, outside his office. Getting up to see what the trouble was, Robert opened the door and stood in the doorway. Elizabeth was talking on her cell phone to somebody. "Fine, bring her here," she said as she hung up. Elizabeth shook her head, trying to figure out what to do.
"What's up, doc?" Robert asked.
"Ella's nanny got called to a family emergency so she's dropping her off here. But I've got a procedure to do in an hour and it's going to take all afternoon. And for some reason, Ella doesn't like the day care center. I don't think she's used to being around so many people," Elizabeth explained.
Feeling uncharacteristically generous and bored, Robert volunteered to take care of Ella. If for no other reason than absolute desperation, Elizabeth accepted his offer. Ella had met him a few times, so hopefully she wouldn't be too scared of a somewhat new face.
An hour later, Robert heard a knock on the door. Opening it, he saw Elizabeth carrying Ella in one arm and a bag the size of a suitcase in the other. Grabbing the bag, Robert helped them in the door.
"Thank you so much, Robert, I should be done by 6:00, is that a problem? Everything is in the bag: clothes, diapers, juice, crackers, toys, books. She's had her nap but she could use a snack soon and usually has dinner around 5:00. Can you handle all of this?" Elizabeth asked, looking concerned.
"Yes I can handle this. Go, we're going to be just fine, aren't we Ella?" Robert said, waving at Ella. She smiled a giant smile and held her arms out to Robert, which surprised him.
"Ok then, I'll see you at 6:00. Mommy loves you, Ella! Bye bye!" Elizabeth waved and left, shutting the door behind her.
"Hello, Miss Ella, how are you today?" Robert had always been quite fond of children. They were so much more real and honest than adults were. Of course he could never show it when others were around, he had his image to maintain. But now he was alone, and could have fun.
Setting Ella down, Robert opened up the huge bag to see what was inside. He pulled out all the books and toys and found the juice and crackers. Pouring the juice into her bottle, Robert handed it to her along with a graham cracker. Robert kept looking through the bag for something to clean her up with when she was done. Finally he found some wet naps.
Ella walked around his office, apple juice dribbling down her chin, mixing with cracker crumbs to form a disgusting, slimy paste. Stopping at a chair, she looked at Robert, pointed to it, and said, "Up". Robert placed her in it carefully and watched her eat the cracker. The paste had traveled to her hand, from which it then got smeared all over the chair. He began to wonder what he'd gotten himself into.
When she was finished with her snack, Robert wiped her face and hands thoroughly and then cleaned off the chair. It wasn't stained, but it was still sticky.
Ella looked through her toys, picked up a doll and started playing with it. Robert sat down on the floor next to her and looked through the toys too. He found a little bottle when, if you turned it on its side, the milk disappeared. "Huh, cool," he said. "Hey Ella, does your dolly want a snack too?" He asked, holding the bottle out to her. Sitting down next to him, Ella took the bottle and began feeding the doll. Her hand-eye coordination was still a little off and she was actually feeding it through her nose, so Robert grasped Ella's hand and helped her put the bottle in the doll's mouth. Turning back to the toys, Robert saw a stuffed lion, another stuffed animal, something Disney: it was red and looked like a lizard, but he couldn't tell what it was. There was a little toy that looked like the front part of a car. It sat on your lap and had a tiny steering wheel, speedometer, odometer, blinkers, a tiny horn that actually honked, and gears that could be shifted. "We didn't have toys like this when I was growing up," Robert told Ella, placing the toy in his lap. He proceeded to push all the buttons and make all sorts of sound effects. "Get out of the way, road hog!" Robert shouted. He was happily driving along when Ella got tired of feeding her doll and found a package of crayons in the pile of toys.
Robert glanced over his shoulder to make a lane change when he noticed Ella from the corner of his eye. She was drawing on his wall with crayons! "Augh! Ella no! We don't draw on walls!" Robert cried running over to her. "Let's find some paper to draw on," He said, pulling Ella away from her masterpiece. Taking a handful of paper from his desk, Robert sat back on the floor with Ella and colored with her until she got bored of that.
"What do you want to do now?" Asked Robert. "Do you want to read? Let's read a book." Picking up the first one he found, Robert opened it and started reading her a terribly sad story about a baby bird that couldn't find his mother. He went all through town asking things if they were his mother. Finally he found her. Then he read a book about these dogs that wore crazy hats and had parties and went skiing. It didn't have much of a well-developed plot, but Ella seemed to like it. "Doggy!" She shouted, pointing at the picture, bouncing up and down.
"I like dogs too, Ella," Robert told her. Looking at his watch, it said "5:00". "Are you hungry for dinner?" He asked. He was, even if she wasn't. "Do you want to go to the cafeteria for dinner?" He asked. Gathering her up in his arms, Robert carefully picked his way through the sea of clutter on his floor.
The one thing he hadn't thought of was how he would carry her and get their food at the same time. As he walked down the hall to the elevator pondering this, Shirley the OR nurse walked past him, staring. Shouting over his shoulder, he said, "What, haven't you ever seen a man with a baby before?"
Together Robert and Ella rode the elevator to the cafeteria. He was in luck because Dr. Carter was standing just in front of them in line. "Carter, help me out, will ya?" He said to John. John turned around; looking surprised as Robert thrust Ella into his arms and then cut in front of him. Robert got a tray and put a plate of spaghetti and a carton of milk on it. Paying for the food, Robert made John carry Ella to a table and stay with her while he got a high chair and set it up. "Thanks; you should get back in line before it gets too long," Robert advised John, sending him on his way.
Twirling a single strand of pasta on a fork, Robert held it to Ella's mouth. She ate it, getting sauce all over her chin. He fed her and gave her sips of milk from the carton until she got full, then finished the rest of the meal himself. Wiping her mouth off, he lifted her out of the high chair and carried her back to his office, leaving their mess for somebody else to deal with.
It was 5:50 when they got back to Robert's office. He couldn't help but notice it was time for a diaper change. He considered waiting until Elizabeth got back, but decided to try it himself. Laying a blanket on his desk, Robert laid Ella down and unbuttoned her jumper. He undid the diaper and folded it up; Ella kicked her legs in the air happily. It took a long time and effort with only one functioning hand, but somehow Robert managed to get a clean diaper on her and button her back up. As he lifted her to the ground, Ella laughed and said, "Dada!"
Stunned, Robert realized how much he must look like Mark did to her. "No Ella, Robert, Uncle Robert."
He heard a knock at the door and a head poked in. Ella cried, "Mama!" And ran to the door where Elizabeth picked her up and gave her a big hug. Entering the room, she saw how trashed Robert's office was. Setting Ella down, she started picking things up and putting them in the giant bag. Noticing the wall, Elizabeth said, "Oh I'm so sorry about that, I'll pay to have it cleaned."
"Don't worry about it, I'll have a janitor clean it up," Robert replied. He told Elizabeth all about their afternoon, carefully leaving out the fact that Ella thought he was her father.
Ella waved goodbye, grinning wildly at Robert as she and Elizabeth left for home. Elizabeth had seen how good he was with children and knew that he would be a great dad some day.