Chapter 16 Happy Puddles
'Take a nap for Papa, won't you, Bailey Bear?' Robby cooed soothingly to his three year old son. Naps these days were a little harder to come by for the growing toddler, but he kept to their routine so on days his son was especially tired, he would be in the best place to catch up on his rest. It also gave Belle a break from worrying over the little tornado and gave him time to sit and rock with him, and let Bailey be a baby as long as possible. The sweet mop on his head was getting longer, his cheeks less chubby and baby like, and his vocabulary increased exponentially seemingly every day. "The days are long and the years short", he saw on some sort of poster, but he firmly believed that both were too short for his liking. It wouldn't be too much longer and there would be another baby occupying this little room they had made for themselves when Belle decided that she couldn't stand to leave her little boy with anyone and decided to keep him here at the shop.
He had made a sort of a nursery that had a simple baby gate dividing between it and his work room. A mini crib sat at one corner, a relic of Bailey's newborn days, a pallet full of cushions and blankets gave Bailey a little nest for his nap-time segments, those he took, anyway, and nestled close by was a box of children's books that his mother had obviously curated just for him. Those were his companions on days when naps evaded him and his parents still needed him to have a restful period. On the other side of the room were a tall stack of blocks, a vintage rocking horse, and a box full of other random toys that occupied his room away from home. A rocking chair completed the inventory, and it's where Robby now sat, watching his little boy's brown eyes get heavier and heavier.
What a thing-to see a child, your own child, look exactly like you, yet believe they are so perfect in every way. Anyone who saw Bailey knew that he was his child. Tousy brown hair, just the shade of his, dark brown eyes, a small face and small build, every bit the tinier version of Robby Gold. When he and Belle dreamed of what their son would look like, he had inwardly worried that he might look just like him, and he had always hated the way he looked. He always felt his hair too stringy, his eyes too dull, his nose too jagged and pointy, his form too sharp and small. Seeing the same features play out on his son's face and he couldn't be more in love with the little man. He wondered how his next son, the one presently kicking away in Belle's stomach, would look like. Bailey looked like him, but had Belle's disposition. Quiet curiosity, strong, brave, loving people. Bailey probably was half the reason the shop had done so well over the past years. Bailey smiled and flirted with every person who came in, and beguiled them to buy their wares. Belle's smiles and words, intelligence and kindness was the other half to the success, he was sure.
If only her father had listened to half of what she said, his little flower business would have never been in trouble. Belle had acute money sense, and between the two of them, they had gotten the little bookstore and vintage goods store off the ground. They weren't millionaires or rich by monetary standards, but they were happy. The better they did, the more Robby's confidence grew. He loved tinkering around, and watching his son. Belle loved working the front-she loved her book club she hosted there every Wednesday, she loved scooping up Bailey and having him securely on her hips, chatting with customers who came by. She loved getting Robby to tell them both stories of where items came from and the history behind it. Bailey was much too young to understand any of it, but he laughed and smiled, and got into as much trouble as he could, as any three year old toddler ought to-and only a handful of things had been broken thus far, and so far no one had been injured along the way.
Bailey was asleep, thankfully, his little eyes had seemed like he needed the nap. Robby sighed, almost hating to get up and go out to his little tinkering workbench. He loved just looking at the sleeping babe-and as much as he enjoyed his energetic toddler, there was something to be said for the peaceful moments when they slept.
He stepped out, finally, and decided to find Belle first. She was seven months along and he could tell that her own short supply of energy was spent.
'Why don't you go and sit in the rocker for a minute, sweetheart? I don't mind taking over here.'
And he didn't. Back when he had owned his own little shop before, he had done everything virtually, or through private meetups, only managing to deal one on one if he must have contact. Now that Belle helped him, they had more people who simply came in to look around, to buy often, but there were those who weren't there to obtain something specific. He still sold the bulk of his wares through certain sellers, but the bookstore and the way that Belle had fixed up the shop, made sure that there were random customers daily. Though he still wouldn't classify himself as outgoing, or anything less than insanely shy, he could manage the sorts of conversations that needed to be had, and he could do it without having a panic or heart attack. He knew it was thanks to Belle's love, and encouragement, and well, just being there for him. She brought light into every part of his life, and it showed in how far he had come, in terms of being able to interact with his fellow man.
'Alright.' Belle sighed, as he bent down for a kiss, so she wouldn't be thrown off kilter by trying to tip toe up to him. 'Oh, um, Jeff said he's going to come by after he gets off work. Says he needs something special.' Her tired eyes sparkled with meaning.
'Ah, so the boy is finally going to pop the question, huh?'
'I sure do hope so. Emma has called me three times this month in exasperation.' She giggled. Robby nodded knowingly, as she went back to the little nursery.
'Hello there, Gramps!' The bell on the door and the annoying voice at least caused a chuckle these days. As much as he didn't mind his previous job, he was thankful to no longer work in a brace, and have his constant company be the chatter of a man child.
Jeff had hardly grown up over the last few years-Emma had tried to tame some of the more eccentric parts of his look. His hair fell closer to his head, instead of being tied up. It wasn't as long, thus no longer having a need for the 'man-bun', thank goodness. Emma had not been successful in getting him to exchange his looney tune t-shirts for something a bit more sophisticated, but he assumed there was only so much that could be done for the boy.
'I heard you were in search of something specific.' Was Robby's reply.
Jeff turned beet red for two seconds before pulling all his features into a laughing smirk. 'Well, the marriage thing has worked so well for you, I thought I would give it a go. As long as Emma doesn't object too much that is.'
'Marriage is a wonderful thing.' Robby said seriously, gesturing Jeff towards his glass case of rings. 'I can't imagine my life without Belle, and now Bailey, and soon, I'm sure little Gideon too. I hope you'll both be very happy.' Robby even gave him a genuine smile, something he didn't bestow to just anyone, nervous as he got and all-and normally especially not to Jeff, for though they had remained good friends after they stopped working together, it was more for Belle's desire to stay friends with both him and Emma, and not because Robby had found him any less annoying.
'Well, if I'm half as happy as you and Belle, I'll be more than content. You both are adorable. Emma and I aren't the look into each other's eyes and get lost kind of people-not the 'long walks on the beach' sort of romantic types. But I love her, and she loves me, and well-we're the fun ones.' His eyes were laughing. Bailey and Belle appeared at just that moment, little Bailey squealing and holding out his hands for 'Unckee Jeff'. Jeff picked him up, and spun him around, much to the trepidation of both parents, not just for the wild way Jeff was holding him, but for the hundreds of dollars worth of items that he was spinning him way too close to.
'See, I'm the fun uncle. Whenever Emma and I have kids, you both will be the responsible ones. He shrugged, and smiled over the hypothetical scenario.
'We'll never see you have kids, if you don't pick a ring, now here, what do you think about this one?''
Jeff finally got serious and studied the rings. Bailey toddled nearby, under the watchful eye of Belle. Bailey was used to the shop, knowing what was alright to touch, what wasn't. He liked climbing up and down the comfortable chairs in the reading area, and enjoyed hiding under the table used for the weekly book club.
The bell finally rang Jeff's exit and Robby sighed, happy with his quiet little shop, Belle giggling with their rambunctious son, and the feeling of completeness, of something like happiness. He couldn't imagine it getting much better than this, but he imagined in a few short months it would do just that.
'Watcha thinking, Robby Gold?' Belle's forehead was wrinkled in concern as she had gotten Bailey on her lap after a fit of giggles.
'I'm just happy, Belle, happy here with you, and Bailey, and our life here.'
Belle sighed in relief, probably glad that his thoughts were of the nicer variety than they could sometimes be. His thoughts during this pregnancy had been much better than they had with Bailey, though he suspected the negative thoughts and feelings would ever completely go away.
'Oh Robby.' She set Bailey down and came over to wrap him in a hug-well, as well as she could in her current state. 'It's not fair to say such nice things to a pregnant lady, you're liable to turn me into a puddle.'
'As long as it's a happy puddle, I'm alright with that.' He chuckled.
'A very happy puddle, Robby, very happy.'
Author's note: And there it is! I had some time on my hands (thanks to a headache, so hopefully the typos aren't too bad) so I thought I would go ahead and wrap things up!
I hope it doesn't upset anyone that there's a baby gate-as a parent, I know all the controversial items out there, lol. I personally have never used a gate, but it made sense that there would be some sort of separation between items where a toddler could hurt himself, and Robby or Belle would be in seeing and hearing range. I also made it obvious that he got to happily toddle around the rest of the shop-with supervision, of course. We know they are wonderful parents, so no little Bailey got hurt in the making of this chapter ;)
I have enjoyed writing this story very much. I already have another idea for a story, but I feel like it needs to be written and fleshed out a little before I share it, so it may be a while before you see anything more from me. If you are new to my writings and enjoyed this story, I would love it if you read some of my other works and left me a comment letting me know what you think of the stories. It makes my day to get comments from you all!
Until next time!