Chapter eight
"Okay guys. Come on inside and get cleaned up." Salene came into the yard where Patsy and Paul stood around dejectedly. "What's wrong?"
Patsy looked up solemnly. "Lex kicked our ball over the fence and your parents said we can't go near the ravine. He yelled at Paul. He's horrible." She finished to make her point.
Salene nodded. "Yes he is and I'm glad you two didn't go looking for the ball. We'll find it later." She gave Patsy a sympathetic smile. "But I need you two to wash up. Bray's coming to get us." Salene looked around curiously. "Where's Cloe?"
Patsy shrugged. "I dunno. Where are we going?"
"To see Trudy." Salene explained as she ushered the children inside, glancing over her shoulder.
"Yay, we're going to see the baby." Patsy was delighted as Paul and Bob followed her into the kitchen. "I think Trudy is lucky, don't you Salene?"
Nodding, the older girl directing them to the sink. "Yes she is. Now wash your hands."
Humming a quiet tune, Paul laughed as his sister splashed soapy water at him. "I heard your Mom say Bray and Trudy are too young to have a baby." Patsy announced. "Is that true?"
Salene shrugged lost in thought. "I suppose."
"I think Bray is cute." Patsy giggled. "Don't you Salene?"
"Uh huh," The teenager answered absently staring out the window for any sign of Cloe.
Eyes wide Patsy signed this new information to her brother and both children laughed loudly. It was then that Salene saw Cloe skipping into the yard.
"There you are." She spoke sternly as the little girl let herself in the back door. "Where were you?"
Cloe shrugged with innocent eyes. "No where."
"What have I told you about sneaking off?" When she was answered with silence Salene sighed with resignation. "Never mind. Come get cleaned up."
Watching their caregiver leave the room Cloe stepped up to the sink next to the others. "What's going on?"
"We're going to see the baby." the other girl told her, drying her hands. "And Salene says Bray is cute!"
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"Where is he?" Trudy whined as she stared out the window in frustration. Brady was still screaming after an hour of trying every conceivable way to comfort the infant. "He said he'd be here today."
Her mother rocked her grandchild with learned patience. "He's probably getting himself some much earned sleep. After all he was here until almost two am last night. And I believe he had to work this morning."
"But he should be off by now." Trudy continued her bellyaching, taking no notice of her mother's hints. "He can't expect me to do all this on my own."
Trudy's mom sighed and kissed Brady's forehead. Despite her initial doubts about Bray, the young man had spent nearly every moment at their house helping with the baby. She'd always known him to be a good kid and felt guilty for judging him so readily. After having a talk with his over opinionated mother she knew the poor boy had a lot on his plate. Between school, work, Basketball and now fatherhood, it was a wonder how he would juggle it all.
"Do you think you could try feeding her again hun?" She asked her exhausted daughter to which Trudy moaned.
"I can't. It hurts too much."
After more than three days of bad latches, Trudy's poor nipples were bruised and just allowing Brady to suckle for a few minutes was agony. It didn't help that Brady was gassy and ate in small but frequent intervals. Now the young mother was determined that the little mite would never touch her breasts again. Laying the screaming infant in the bassinet Trudy's father brought, her mother gave her a small smile.
"I'll call your Dad and tell him to bring home some formula."
Trudy nodded though she would have been more comforted if her mom had taken Brady and her unrelenting noise with her. In the kitchen, Trudy's mother was pleasantly surprised when Bray came through the side door with Salene and her pseudo siblings in tow.
"Thanks hun." She hung up the phone with a smile. "Hi Salene. You're back again?" She greeted the girl with a kiss to the cheek. "You really are a good friend."
"Thanks," Salene blushed and ushered the children inside.
"Bray," The older woman sighed at the dark circles under his tired eyes. He looked about ready to sleep on his feet. "You poor dear. How was work?"
He gave her a nod. "It was fine. Busy but fine." He pulled out two cases of baby formula from his nap sack. "Thought you could use these. Trudy said she couldn't stand to try breast feeding anymore."
Smiling, the young grandmother kissed his forehead and took the formula. "You sweet thing. You're right. It looks like Brady is going to be bottle fed."
"Is Trudy upstairs?" Salene asked.
Nodding, Trudy's mother gestured toward the stairs. "Just follow the crying baby."
She offered each of the younger ones a cookie before they followed Bray to the second floor armed with a warm bottle of formula. Trudy was more than happy to have visitors and gladly allowed Salene to feed Brady. Though she was all ready to assault Bray with questions of his where abouts, the presence of others stopped her inquisition.
"She's always hungry." Trudy moaned as she lay back on her bed. "I don't know where she puts it all."
Salene smiled. "Well you won't have to worry about her taking it from you anymore. She likes this formula enough."
"That's good." Sighing, Trudy closed her tired eyes. "It felt like she was sucking the life out of me."
Bray chuckled from the chair in the corner where he was starting to doze off. Soon both teen parents were asleep and Salene and the children happily entertained the small wonder. After Brady's feeding, Salene brought the four children downstairs so the other two could sleep in peace. They stayed talking with Trudy's mother until long after her husband came home from work. By now, even Brady had gone down for a few hours.
"You really shouldn't let Trudy leave you with taking care of her responsibility." Trudy's mom chastised gently.
"I don't mind, really." Salene smiled as she helped with dinner. The kids were quietly watching T.V. in the den. "I love babies and Brady is just a doll. You must love looking after her."
The older women smiled widely as she chopped an onion. "She is adorable though I don't think I like being a grandmother just yet."
Both of them laughed as Trudy and Bray came down the stairs in a groggy state. "Salene, you shouldn't have let us drop off like that." Bray rubbed his eyes. "It's not fair for you to have to look after Brady."
The red head shrugged, stars in her eyes. "It's okay. You two needed to rest. Besides, now Brady's down and you can have some peace and quiet for a couple hours."
"Oh, I love you Salene." Trudy hugged her best friend. She leaned over her mother's shoulder. "What's for dinner?"
"I'm making spinach quiche. Salene, you and the kids are welcome to stay and eat."
"Thank you but Mom has a lasagna waiting for us in the oven." Salene apologized with a smile as she spotted the clock. "Speaking of which we should get home."
"Okay, I'll drive you." Bray yawned.
Spying an opportunity Salene bit her lip. "If you want, you can eat with us before you go home." She offered him innocently.
"Bray, I thought you were staying here awhile longer." Trudy spoke up quickly.
There was a slight pause as Bray looked from one girl to the other, not sure how to answer. On one hand he had a responsibility to Trudy to stay and look after Brady. On the other, he really wanted to get home early tonight. Not only did he have homework to finish but he also wanted to avoid another argument with his mother. Struggling for the right thing to say, Trudy's mom came to his rescue.
"Absolutely not. Bray you go on. I want you to get some sleep tonight. We can help with Brady just fine. You kids are the ones with school in the morning, not Trudy." She looked at her daughter pointedly.
"Thanks," Bray smiled at his quasi mother in law and avoided Trudy's eyes as he and Salene gathered the children out the door.
With a small wave, Trudy watched them go before turning to her mom with exasperation. "Mother!" She couldn't believe her own mom had encouraged Bray to have dinner with Salene. Who's side was she on anyway?