October, 1953
In which James really does not understand how babies work.
Peggy pushed herself back up from where she'd been kneeling in front of the toilet with a groan, having expelled the last of this bout of morning sickness. She stood up and flushed the toilet, turning to the sink for a drink of water, and saw James standing in the doorway looking at her with big, worried eyes.
"Are you okay, Mommy?" he asked.
She smiled at his concern, picking up the glass from beside the sink and getting some water. "I'm better now, love." She took a long drink and set the glass down. "You remember how we talked about knocking on doors?"
James's little brow furrowed in confusion. "But it wasn' shut?"
"It's still good manners to knock on the bathroom door if it looks like someone's there."
"Okay." He held up his arms for her to pick him up, and she did, kissing his forehead. "Are you sick, Mommy?" he asked, nuzzling his head into her shoulder. "You frowed up a lot."
"My stomach has been bothering me," she admitted, carrying him into the living room.
"You wanna popsicle?" he asked. "I gets popsicles when I don' feel good."
Peggy smiled warmly, touched by his concern. "You know, I think a popsicle would help."
James wriggled toward the ground and she set him down. "I get you one," he said. "You go sit onna couch." He took a few steps toward the kitchen and paused. "What color you want?"
"May I have an orange one, please?"
"Okay." He marched off to the kitchen where she knew Steve was washing dishes. "Daddy, Mommy frowed up, an' she don' feel good, an' she wants a orange popsicle," she heard him declare. "I need to get her one." Peggy could almost picture the little frown working its way across his face as he paused. "I can' reach dem."
Steve chuckled and she could hear him lifting James off his feet, followed by the sound of the freezer door opening. There was a rustle of plastic, then, "Can I have one too?" in a whisper that wasn't very quiet at all.
"Sure, buddy," Steve said.
James made a happy little noise and there was another rustle of plastic, then his little feet came pounding across the floor, his arms filled with frozen treats. "Here you go, Mommy," he said, rushing to her side and handing her the orange one.
"Thank you, James," she said with a smile.
"Daddy said I could have one too," he explained, holding up a purple one. "An' dis one is for Daddy," he added, gesturing at the red one.
Steve came in from the kitchen carrying a tea towel. "Hang on a minute there, Little Buck," he said, crouching down in front of James. James craned his neck up so Steve could tie the towel around it. "There. Good to go."
"How comes Mommy doesn' hafta have a towel?" James asked, holding up his popsicle for Steve to unwrap. "She's not eating at de table too."
Steve laughed. "Because Mommy knows how to eat without getting food everywhere."
James tilted his head as if conceding the point, then turned his attention to his snack. Peggy chuckled and patted the sofa cushion next to her, inviting Steve to join her.
"You feeling okay?" he asked, sitting down next to her. He pulled a couple of ginger candies out of his pocket and offered them to her.
"Better now. Not dizzy, just a little queasy," she said, smiling and taking the candies. Her morning sickness was still just as unpredictable as last time, but it wasn't as severe this time around. Not yet, anyway.
They sat there for a little while and enjoyed their snacks, then James looked up curiously from where he was sitting on the floor, his little face and most of the towel stained with purple. "Do you feel better now, Mommy?" he asked.
"I do," she said. "Thank you, love."
He nodded. "Do we has to take you to de doctor? You frowed up yesterday too."
Peggy tilted her head curiously. "How did you know that?" she wondered. She had thrown up yesterday, but she'd been at work.
"I heard you tell Daddy," James said. "Is everyfing okay?"
Peggy and Steve exchanged glances. They hadn't told James she was pregnant yet, and she wasn't far enough along to start showing. "Well," she said. "Mummy has been feeling a bit sick lately, but there's nothing wrong." She rested a hand on her stomach. "Mummy's going to have a baby."
James's little nose wrinkled in confusion.
"The baby's in Mommy's tummy," Steve explained.
"Why?" James wondered, his nose scrunching up even more.
"That's how babies grow," Steve said with a smile. "They grow inside their mommy for a little while, and then they come out."
James took a minute to absorb this. "How'd it get in dere?" he wondered.
"Um…" Steve blushed a little and Peggy chuckled, even though she wasn't exactly sure how to put it so a two and a half-year-old could understand either.
"A mummy and a daddy make a baby together," she told him. "And they put it inside the mummy so it can grow."
James stood up and walked over to the sofa, staring at Peggy's stomach. Peggy reached out and lifted up one corner of the towel around his neck to wipe his face. "Dere's a baby in dere?" he asked skeptically, poking a finger at her stomach.
"Yes," Peggy said. "She's very small right now," she added, guessing at what was running through his head. "But she'll get bigger."
"An' de baby is making you frow up?" he asked, clearly uncertain if he was getting it right.
"Well," Peggy allowed. "Sort of."
James frowned in the direction of her stomach. "Dat's not very nice," he declared. "Don' be mean to Mommy like dat!" he said sternly, pointing a warning finger at her stomach.
Peggy bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling to keep from laughing, and Steve chuckled and pulled James up into his lap. "The baby's not trying to make Mommy sick," he told him. "Mommy's tummy just has to get used to having the baby in there is all." He ruffled James's hair. "She got sick when you were in there too, you know."
James's eyebrows shot up into his hair. "I was in Mommy's tummy?" Steve nodded. "An' I made you sick?" he asked, turning to look at Peggy, his little hazel eyes watering. "I'm sorry, Mommy," he said sadly.
"No, no, it's alright, love," Peggy assured him, kissing his cheek. "Mummy's not angry with you. You didn't mean to do it, did you?"
"Uh uh," he said, shaking his head vigorously.
Peggy smiled warmly and patted her stomach. "That's right. And she doesn't mean to either. It's just something that happens."
James took a moment to consider this. "Okay," he decided at last.
"And it's not so bad, being sick," Peggy went on. "Daddy knows how to take good care of me, and now I've got you looking after me as well. And it'll stop soon."
"Okay," James decided again. "Can I play wif de baby when it comes out?"
"Of course you can," Steve said. "You're going to be a big brother. You'll get to play with her and help take care of her."
James beamed. "When's she comin'?"
"Oh, it will be a little while yet," Peggy said with a laugh. "She's got to get a lot bigger first. It won't be until after your birthday."
James sighed. "My birfday's far."
"It'll be here before you know it, love," Peggy assured him.
James didn't look convinced, but he nodded. "I can share my room wif her," he offered. "If we needs a place for her to go when she gets out."
"That's very kind of you, James," Peggy said, ruffling his hair. He smiled.
"What's she called?" James wondered.
"Well, we don't have a name for her yet," Steve said. "Maybe you can help us come up with one."
James sniffed thoughtfully. "Marshmallow," he suggested.
This time it was Steve looking up at the ceiling and laughing. "An interesting thought, love," Peggy said with a smile. "We'll keep it in mind."
