CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
Martha groaned lightly when she heard a small whimper coming from Laila's bassinet. She rolled over and looked at the bed side clock; it was 2 o'clock in the morning. This was the one part that Martha didn't like much; having to get up numerous amounts of time during the night to feed her daughter.
It was at times like this that she actually wished she hadn't decided to breast feed. If she had chosen to feed Laila formula milk, Jack could have got up during the night and fed her. But Martha really wanted to do things the right way; so she went with breast feeding.
Martha had been home for a week now, and most nights had been the same; only a few hours sleep.
Martha lay in silence; waiting and hoping that Laila's whimpers didn't turn into loud cries. After a few minutes Laila was silent again. Martha sighed happily and rolled over; closing her eyes. But she had acted way too soon. Laila's high pitched wail echoed through the room.
Martha groaned and jumped out of bed quickly. She reached into the bassinet and scooped Laila into her arms. "Shh, don't be too loud. You'll wake daddy," she cooed. Oh, who was she kidding? Jack was a heavy sleeper; a train could go through the room and he'd still sleep.
Martha snickered to herself before snatching up an extra baby blanket. She quietly opened the door, and walked out; closing it behind her. She made her way to the lounge room and flicked on the small lamp beside the couch.
She made herself comfortable on the couch; before latching Laila onto her breast for a feed. Laila's cries stopped almost immediately. "That's better, isn't baby? You were just hungry," Martha said softly.
Martha closed her eyes and rested her head back against the couch. She could feel Laila's tiny little fingers skimming across her bare skin. Martha had to admit that she quite liked breast feeding. For some reason it made her feel even closer to Laila; she felt that it gave them a stronger bond.
Martha heard a creak in the floor board behind her. She swung her head around and found Jack making his way across the room towards her. "Hey," he yawned as he sat down next to her.
Martha didn't talk; she just smiled at him. Jack reached a hand out; running one of his fingers across Laila's soft cheek. "How long have you been out here?" Jack asked Martha.
"Only about five minutes," Martha answered quietly.
Jack nodded and then rested his head on a cushion. "You can go back to bed," Martha told him.
Jack shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'll wait for you," he yawned again.
"Okay," Martha smiled at him.
How did she get so lucky? She had everything she ever needed.
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Jack was sitting out the front of diner at a table with Tony, Lucas and Robbie. He'd organized to meet Martha there for lunch. The boys were there aswell, so they offered to sit with him until Martha arrived.
"So, have you organized anything for the wedding yet?" Robbie asked Jack, as he sipped on a milkshake.
"We've looked at a few things. We're going to go over some other stuff during lunch today actually," Jack answered.
"Where is Martha by the way?" Lucas then asked.
"She's gone to Sally's to look at some bridal magazines," Jack told them.
Tony went to say something but stopped when Colleen came rushing over to them. "Are you boys ready to order yet?" she asked.
"I'll wait until Martha gets here," Jack said.
"The rest of us will have a burger and chips with the lot. Thanks Colleen," Tony told her.
Colleen scribbled the order down and then looked back at Jack. "Is Martha bringing little Laila with her?" she asked.
"Yep," Jack replied.
Colleen smiled. "She's such a precious little thing," she cooed before walking off.
"Oh, there's Martha," Lucas said. Jack looked up and spotted Martha walking towards them; gently pushing the pram along.
"There she is with a bridal magazine the size of a freakin phone book," Robbie exclaimed with a laugh. Robbie was right; Jack could see the magazine tucked under Martha's arm.
"Hey," Martha smiled when she reached them; leaning down and giving Jack a quick kiss. "Do you mind if we go and sit inside? The suns pretty warm out here today, and I don't want Laila getting too hot," she asked.
"Yeah, of course," Jack nodded and stood up. "You three coming?" he asked the boys.
"Yep," they all said at the same time.
They all started walking into the diner. "Oh, before I forget, Colleen's in one of her baby moods. She'll probably be all over Laila like a rash," Lucas laughed.
"She can't be any worse than Tony," Martha teased.
"Hey," Tony tried to sound offended; but then started to laugh.
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
"So, I think I've found the perfect dress," Martha exclaimed as she sat across from Tasha. She'd popped into Tasha's to say a quick hello, and to have a coffee.
"That's great," Tasha smiled.
"Do you want to come to the shops with me tomorrow? I really want to get another person's opinion on it before I order it," Martha said.
"Yeah, of course," Tasha nodded. "Hey, have you decided on how many bridesmaids you're going to have?" she then asked.
"We actually haven't decided on how many to have in the bridal party yet. We might just go with one bridesmaid and the best man," Martha answered. "You're definitely my bridesmaid, and Jack will probably ask Luc to be his best man. But who knows, we may decide to go all out, and I might have to ask Mattie and Cassie aswell," she laughed.
Tasha was nursing Laila; and she was starting to squirm in Tasha's arms. "I think she wants her mum," Tasha said, before passing her over to Martha.
"Actually, I should probably head off," Martha said. "She needs to be put down for a proper sleep and she'll probably want a feed soon. Not to mention Jack will be wondering where I am. I swear to you; he gets really anxious when we go away for too long. He's always worrying about Laila," she added.
"First time dad; of course he's going to be," Tasha pointed out.
Martha laughed as she strapped Laila into the baby capsule. "You ready to go home and see daddy. I'm sure he's hanging to see you," she smiled down at her daughter.
"I'll walk you to your car," Tasha offered.
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
PLEASE REVIEW
Sorry that chapter was pretty boring, but some more interesting stuff will be happening again soon.