Hey everyone! New chapter just for the hell of it. Hope you all enjoy. It's very important that I receive reviews on this one...love you all! - MJ123 :)
"Dammit, Norman!"
Dylan's voice broke throughout the large home. Norma had just gone out shopping with that girl from Arizona, Katie and left Ella with he and Norman. Two men and a baby...it was like that bad movie he'd seen late night on HBO.
Norman hadn't been helping at all, and the one time he tried was right now. All he had to do was get the glass jar of baby food out of the bag Katie left them and he'd already smashed it to the floor accidentally. There was nothing left now.
There Dylan stood, holding the little girl in his arms and trying to get her to fall asleep. Luckily she wasn't crying, she was fairly playful for a hungry baby.
Norman stared at him in hatred. "It's not my fault! You'd think the jars would be plastic! Babies can knock them off hair chairs anyway," he scoffed, preparing to walk away.
"Don't you leave me with her, man!" Dylan warned, moving over to set Ella in her high chair.
"Well," he snipped, placing his hands on his hips hastily, "What would you like me to do, brother dear?".
Dylan immediately rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to hit him with something heavy, "I'd like you to stop being a dick and help me find something to feed her."
"I don't know what they're supposed to eat!" he defended, walking to the fridge and pulling out an apple. "What if we blend this up?".
"Blend it u- Norman, what the hell are we supposed to do with a blended up apple?" Dylan asked, already frustrated with his new role as babysitter.
"Applesauce, Dylan. That's how it's made. They take the apples and mush them up," he explained, his most condescending tone fully on display making his older brother feel like a true moron.
"Whatever. Just toss the fruit in and we'll see if she'll take it," he sighed, walking to Ella and observing her still peaceful face. He already knew it was going to be the longest play date ever.
X
"What about ducks?" Katie asked, holding up one of the stencils to Norma.
They were in a nicely dressed department store, standing in the baby section looking at the perfect colors and stencils for Ella's room.
She twisted her lips in thought and shook her head after a few moments, "No. I feel like babies want something...softer? Like more comforting."
The young women nodded and put the duck stenciling down, her eyes widening when she looked up and saw something even better on the top shelf, "This. Bears are perfect for babies, right?" she asked with a smile, fingering the bear outline.
Norma nodded, "Absolutely! Paired with the right color we may have something brilliant brewing."
"Okay. What are you thinking about for paint?" Katie asked, tossing the bear stencil in the cart and moving down the aisle to the soft paint display.
"Hmmm...well she is a girl so what about the typical light pink?" she asked, pointing to a rosy pink shown on a paint chip in front of them.
"Really? I was thinking something a big more gender neutral..." she said, her eyes focusing on the blues and greens.
"Gender neutral?" Norma asked, she'd never heard of such a thing.
"Like not too boyish or girlish. No gender label. If I paint her room pink, she'll grow up thinking I want her to be girly," she informed, picking up a different color.
"Well...isn't she a girl?" Norma questioned, her eyebrow raised in bewilderment.
"That's what it says on her birth certificate but that's not her personal choice. She's not old enough to decide what she wants. What if she's 13 and tells me she's transgender? I would support her at all costs and I want her to know that. I wouldn't stick her with something too girly so young because I want her to know her options are always open," Katie said, confident that her parenting style would be great later in life.
Norma shrugged and walked further down, "You modern mommies are so insightful. In my day it was pink and blue,
you didn't have a lot of choices," she laughed.
"Well, the world is a big place. It's filled with new options, innovations, and ideas. Keep your eyes open. You never know what you may find," she said, picking up a yellow from the bottom shelf. "How about this?".
Norma smiled and wrapped an arm around the young women's shoulders, "I think she'll love it."
With that, they checked out and drove back to the Bates home. Katie brought the bags to her motel room as Norma went to the boys to see how they were handling the baby.
The moment she entered the home, she was met with disaster. The kitchen was a wreck. There was apple sauce all over the wall and Dylan was sitting at the table with a beer.
Ella was sitting in her high chair, shaking some rattling toy in front of her. Norma immediately picked the baby up and placed her on her hip.
"Dylan, what in the world-"
"Don't, Norma," he stopped her, taking a swig of his beer. "Just don't start. I'm not in the mood for bullshit."
She could tell he was burnt out just by the sound out his voice. "Where's Norman?".
"I have no idea, probably out with Emma or something. He left the second the lid flew off your blender and shit literally hit the fan," he sighed, standing up and going Norma a deadpanned look.
"So," she sighed, rocking the baby, "I take it your not cut out from babysitting?".
"Not a bit. I'm gonna head out and see if there's any work to do at the farm. I'm better at handling drugs than I am babies," he smiled, heading to the door.
"I'll see you when you get back," she called after him, mentally preparing herself for the mess she'd have to clean up.
"See ya, Norma."
X
The second Dylan was about to enter his truck, Katie left her room, walking the gravel to the house. She couldn't help but run up to him with a smile, she hadn't seen him since Norma lived in Arizona.
"You remember me?" she asked, her grin intensifying as she stared at him.
Dylan was shocked. She was gorgeous, right down to the brown hair and perfectly arched eyebrows. "Uh...no I'm afraid not."
"Katie, I'm Ella's mom. I used to live in Arizona. I knew your mom pretty well," she explained.
He shook his head and looked up to the sky, looking into her eyes only made him nervous, "Eh, I pretty much blocked everything from those days out but uh...it's nice to see you again."
"You as well. I look forward to living with you guys," she said, her cheeks growing pinker from smiling wide.
"Me too," he said, walking back to the truck, "It was nice talking to you."
She nodded and headed away leaving Dylan to grin in his truck. He was going to live right next door to a total babe. Today couldn't possibly get any better.
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