Chapter 7 – Babysitters
Beca and Chloe take care of McKenzie while Benji and Aubrey go to Hawaii for their honeymoon.
It's almost 4 o'clock and Aubrey and Benji will be arriving soon to drop off McKenzie. Aubrey and Benji planned their honeymoon around spring break at Barden so that Benji wouldn't have to take any time off school in senior year and Beca would be available to help Chloe watch her. Aubrey and Benji's parents all still work, and besides Aubrey was reluctant to leave her child with her parents for a week anyway.
"Hey Beca, there's something I forgot to tell you about this week," Chloe said with a guilty look in her eyes.
"What's that, babe?"
"Well…there's this major project at work and they called me this morning to let me know I can't have the week off. I know I said I would be around to take care of McKenzie, but I promise I'll rush home every evening," Chloe tried to reassure her.
"You mean I'm going to be taking care of a baby all day, alone, for a week? That's, I just, I can't do that," Beca couldn't believe the bombshell Chloe had just dropped.
"Beca you can do it. Aubrey's at home with her all day alone, and babies sleep most of the time anymore. You'll do fine," Chloe wanted her girlfriend to know she had faith in her.
"I am not Aubrey, she's a natural and it's her kid. I've never taken care of a baby for more than half an hour. I can't do this, not alone," Beca was seriously flipping out and Aubrey would be there in less than 10 minutes.
Chloe grabbed Beca's hands and pulled her in close, placing her hands on Beca's face.
"Beca I love you, and I believe in you. I know you can do this. You know how to dress her, feed her and change her, and you can definitely sing her to sleep. That's all you really need," Chloe stroked her girlfriend's hair and gave her a reassuring kiss.
The doorbell rang and the two women made their way down to the door to greet Aubrey and Benji.
"Hey there married lady, how's life as Mrs. Applebaum so far?" Chole asked her friend.
"Aca-mazing, of course," Aubrey smiled, giving her husband a peck on the cheek. Benji blushed as he walked into Beca and Chloe's living room.
Aubrey put the car seat down on the coffee table, and took a seat on the couch.
She then started giving them all the crucial info for the week, "so, I wrote down all our emergency numbers and how we can be reached at the hotel in Hawaii. Any emergency and call Benji's mom first, she has the most flexible work hours and she's the closest. I brought formula that you can use for this week, we tried it with her all ready and she's fine with it. I think I brought enough diapers, but if you need more there's cash in the diaper bag. I brought her favourite blankets, her favourite toys and her favourite CD. We brought her playpen, which converts into a crib. Remember nothing in the crib with her at night. Other than that, I think you should be okay. Oh but if she cries, she loves to be tickled, and that ridiculous purple stuffed animal in the bag calms her down. The car seat is on the table, I trust you know how to install that in a car Chloe?"
"Yeah, I've done it a few times before," Chloe assured her.
"Beca, Chloe told me she can't get the week off, and while I was slightly more nervous at first, she assured me you'll take good care of my baby girl."
"I will, I promise," Beca was surer of this after her conversation with Chloe earlier.
Aubrey picked up McKenzie and Beca could see tears start to form in her friend's eyes. Benji leaned in to give his daughter a kiss goodbye.
"Awww, Aubrey honey, she'll be fine. She'll have a great time with Beca and Chloe and we'll be back in less than a week. We can even pay the outrageous hotel phone rates to call here every night and listen to her breathe and spit into the phone," Benji wiped away his wife's tears.
"Okay," Aubrey took a deep breath and handed McKenzie to Beca, giving the little girl one last kiss on the head. "Mama will miss you so much baby, but we'll be back soon and Beca and Chloe will take good care of you."
Benji took Aubrey's hand in his and guided her out Beca and Chloe's front door. She looked back once and Chloe gave her a reassuring smile.
"Enjoy Hawaii!" they yelled out the door as the newlyweds got in their car.
It was now Sunday evening and Aubrey and Benji would be back Saturday morning. Now all Beca needed to figure out what exactly it is you do with a baby. McKenzie must have slept all morning because she was wide awake now. Beca looked in the bag Aubrey had packed and pulled out a tiny stuffed bear. She waved it in McKenzie's face, and tickled her nose with it. The tiny baby laughed at Beca's gesture.
"You like that?" Beca asked her, obviously not expecting an answer.
Beca continued to play with the bear toy, and tickle McKenzie, much to the child's amusement. Chloe watched them from the other chair, her smile growing wider every time Beca made her laugh.
"What do you want for dinner?" Chloe finally asked.
After 45 minutes of playing McKenzie started to yawn. Beca had put her down in the car seat, and she quickly fell asleep.
"I dunno, pizza again?"
"That's fine with me, pepperoni, bacon and mushrooms?" Chloe asked, already knowing this was Beca's favourite combination.
"Obviously, order some coke too, and breadsticks," Beca hadn't eaten lunch and she was feeling pretty hungry.
"Umm, Chloe, how are we supposed to know when to feed her, Aubrey didn't really say if she had a schedule, and what the hell is formula?"
Chloe finished placing her delivery order and sat next to Beca on the couch.
"You'll know," she said, "she'll cry, and then you just check if she's wet, if not she's probably hungry. Make up a bottle and if she doesn't take it then, she'll have it later," Chloe could tell her babysitting days were going to come in handy this week.
"and formula, is that like milk?"
"Yeah, it's a powder; you just mix it with water and heat the bottle. Make sure you test the milk on your arm first though, you don't want it too hot for her."
McKenzie continued to sleep while Chloe and Beca ate their pizza. She woke up just as Chloe was putting on a DVD for the two of them. After a few moments she started to cry.
"See, now see if she's dry, and I'll show you how to make up a bottle."
Beca picked up McKenzie and followed Chloe into the kitchen. Chloe had a bottle and the container of formula. She showed Beca how much formula to use mixed it and then put it in the microwave. She squeezed a little on Beca's arm.
"See, that easy," Chloe quipped.
Chloe took McKenzie from Beca's arms and walked back into the living room. Beca sat down next to Chloe on the couch and watched her feed McKenzie. Beca couldn't help but think about a time in the future when this exact scenario might play out again, except this time it would be their own child.
After the movie was over it was getting late and Chloe wanted to get to sleep. She had to get up early in the morning for work and she knew it may not be the most peaceful night. Aubrey told her that McKenzie would now sometimes sleep through the night, but she would still have nights where she was up after 4 hours. Chloe figured she needed to get used to this if she ever wanted to have 6 children.
Chloe carried an already sleeping McKenzie up the stairs, and Beca followed behind her with the crib.
"How the hell does this thing work?" Beca remarked.
"I think you just put the shell around the structure, and then put the crib part on the top," Chloe watched as Beca put the crib together, laughing as quietly as possible.
When it was ready Chloe laid the baby in the crib, giving her a kiss goodnight. Beca and Chloe stood over the crib watching for a minute to see if she'd stir now that she was no longer in Chloe's warm arms. When they were sure she was down they climbed into their own bed and turned out the lights.
"So, do you want one of your own yet?" Chloe said, only half joking.
"We'll see after tomorrow," Chloe smirked and gave her girlfriend a kiss goodnight.
When Aubrey woke up she was in Hawaii, the beach could be seen from the window of their room, and the view was absolutely stunning.
"Hey there, beautiful," Benji said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Good morning, husband," Aubrey just really liked the sound of this, she addressed Benji in this manner at every opportunity she got since the wedding.
"Want to go down to the beach and take a walk before breakfast?" Benji asked his wife.
Aubrey reached over to the nightstand to check her phone.
"Baby, they'll call if there's a problem. I'm sure everything is fine, the girls are taking good care of her," Benji assured her.
Benji was right; their friends were taking good care of their baby. Chloe had taken a picture of McKenzie sleeping this morning and sent it to Aubrey before she went to work. All is well, your sweetheart is sleeping soundly, and she sends her kisses it read.
Benji read the text message, "See, she's fine."
Aubrey got up, and got dressed for her walk on the beach. She gave Benji a big kiss. His constant reassurance was helping Aubrey cope with being away from McKenzie. She wanted to enjoy her honeymoon, she just missed her baby, but Benji's confidence helped her focus on the week of fun ahead of them. It helped that she had such good friends she could trust.
Back at home Beca was just walking up, Chloe had let her know that she fed and changed McKenzie before she left for work and that she'd probably sleep for at least another hour or two so Beca could sleep in. She didn't want Beca to miss out on the best part about a school break. McKenzie was starting to stir in her crib, so Beca went over with the purple stuffed thing that Aubrey said she liked.
"So, what do you want to do today squirt?"
Beca hadn't really planned anything and she still didn't know what babies did all day, besides sleep. She figured she'd take her for a walk in the park and then maybe read her one of the 25 books Aubrey had brought over. She didn't really understand reading to a baby but she knew they read to her a lot and figured she'd like it.
Beca dressed McKenzie in one of the pink outfits Aubrey had packed and attempted to put socks on her little feet. McKenzie must hate socks, as it took Beca 20 minutes to get a pair on the squirmy baby's feet. Beca could relate, she had hated socks ever since she was a small child. Her father would always make her wear them, telling her it was for her own good. Beca wouldn't have forced them on her, but she didn't need Aubrey's baby catching a cold on her watch.
She put her in the stroller and threw in the purple thing, whatever it was. McKenzie cooed and laughed a little when the stuffed animal tickled her nose.
Beca walked around for a while, checking every so often, she didn't know why but it comforted her to make sure McKenzie was still okay. Beca decided to sit down on a bench in the park for a while; she figured they could watch birds, or ducks or whatever the heck those things were. There were a few kids on the playground equipment, and a few mother moms, and a dad with strollers in the vicinity. It was weird to Beca to be out in the middle of the day like this, she was used to sitting in a lecture hall, or watching a movie in Jesse's dorm. A few more minutes passed and a woman with a large stroller sat down next to Beca on the bench.
"She's adorable," the blonde woman motioned to the stroller, "she has your eyes."
Beca laughed, "Actually, not mine."
"Oh, does your husband have blue eyes too?"
"No, no husband. I meant she's not mine," Beca informed her.
"Oh dear, well I don't want to pry into your personal situation," and the woman walked away.
Beca just gave the woman a weird look. For one thing McKenzie had blue/green eyes like her mother, and a few curly blonde locks, so the woman was obviously just saying that to say it, and for another, had she never heard of babysitting? People are bizarre Beca thought. Beca did wonder though what the woman thought her personal situation was.
Shortly after her first encounter with what Beca would now refer to as "Park People," a man walked over to her.
"Hey there, do you mind if I sit?"
"Sure," Beca moved over slightly.
"Nanny?" the man asked.
"No, but I'm babysitting her for friends of mine," Beca replied.
"Good," he said, "I would have felt weird asking out a new mom."
Beca had noticed the man glance at her hand earlier, but had forgotten that she hadn't put her engagement ring on this morning.
"Would you like to go for…" the man started, but Beca stopped him.
"I'm actually spoken for, sorry."
"Oh, well then, he's a lucky guy," the stranger looked disappointed.
"Girl actually, and I'm the lucky one," she told him, suddenly feeling guilty for not wearing her ring.
"Well, she's lucky too. Congrats," this park person unlike the strange woman continued to sit on the bench. He pointed his daughter Chloe out to Beca after a few minutes; she was 5 and playing on the monkey bars. It made Beca laugh that his daughter had the same name as her love, and it also made her wish she were there.
She had now been sitting in the park for a few hours and figured it was time she took a now sleeping McKenzie home for a bottle and a diaper change. As Beca walked home from the park she wondered what it would be like when she and Chloe were taking their own baby to the park. Presumably she would get to avoid weirdoes like the first woman, and she probably wouldn't have single fathers trying to pick her up.
When she got home she changed McKenzie, and got a bottle ready just the way Chloe had showed her. She fed McKenzie and then laid the little one down for a nap. Beca expected babysitting to be more tiring but Chloe was right, she pretty much slept all day.
When Chloe got home around 5:30, Beca had managed to cook some chicken breast, rice and veggies for the two of them, which impressed Chloe.
"Smells good Beca, I have obviously made an excellent choice for a wife," Chloe teased.
The week passed by without issue, by the end of the week Beca was a little tired of the early mornings and changing smelly diapers but she did really enjoy her time with McKenzie. The little girl had even spit on Beca's cheek a few times which Beca interpreted as kisses.
Aubrey and Benji showed up at their house early Saturday morning, as soon as they got off the plane. Aubrey practically knocked her over trying to get into the house to see McKenzie. McKenzie squealed with joy at the sight of her mother.
"So how was the sex on the beach?" Beca asked jokingly.
"Goo..." Benji started before Aubrey elbowed him. Aubrey was pink, she didn't discuss her sex life with them often but she had drunkenly told Beca one time that she wanted to do it on the beach.
Aubrey thanked them for keeping her baby alive, and left a bunch of typical, Hawaiian souvenirs on their coffee table. Aubrey explained that they were jet lagged and that they'd love to meet up for dinner later this week to thank them for watching McKenzie, and to show them trip photos.
"See you on Tuesday night," Chloe shouted out the door.
Beca and Chloe sat on the couch, after Chloe threw on a DVD. They hadn't watched anything over a PG-13 rating all week while they were with McKenzie. As they cuddled on the couch Chloe breached the subject of kids again.
"So, now do you want to have one of your own?" she prodded.
"I hope you're up for more than one," Beca was excited she could finally talk about this with Chloe without feeling terrified.
Chloe's eyes lit up when she heard this. She had been waiting for a while for Beca to come around to the idea of having children in the future, and to hear that she wanted more than one made Chloe so happy.