Alan

"They blow me off!" she declared angrily.

"I just told them to try to be understanding" I sat down. Nat just wasn't herself lately. Being a new mother had been overwhelming for her. My mother and sister in law stayed with us for a few weeks, though there had been tension between them and the boys.

"I know they're your sons and they want to spend time with Rachael, Alan" Hannah told me "Nat needs space! That's all I told them. I gave Natalie the same warning, when her sister was a new mother."

"Why didn't you tell him anything???" she asked firmly.

"Nat…."

"Hey guys!" Don came in before I could reply.

"Hey….." Nat said simply.

"Hi honey!" he greeted little Rach affectionately, and then turned to Nat. "How's your ankle?"

"Getting better…" Natalie said.

"I see she got earrings!" Don smiled, and got the baby. It had pleased me that he and Charlie took a liking to her.

"Charlie bought them." I said in my best neutral voice.

"It must have been quite a surprise, huh?" he said.

"A little…" Nat remarked coolly.

"I'll uh…go finish dinner."

I would have preferred that Charlie consult us, but what's done is done. Besides, it's not like he took her skydiving or something. I've actually heard of parents taking their toddlers along for that! What the hell?? Now that's irresponsible, if you ask me. Then, they've got the nerve to say the kids enjoy it! Charlie screamed the first time his mother and I put him on a horse at Griffith park.

I had been very happy to learn that Rach was a girl. Truth be told, when Margaret had been pregnant with Charlie, I wished for one. In some ways, fatherhood this time around was easier. Knowing what to expect and having gone through it already, taking things in stride was much easier, though I didn't have as much energy. Rach is such a joy! I find myself enjoying her babyhood more than I did with the boys. She kind of reminds me of Charlie at that age in term of looks. Nat's a great mother, though over protective and in need of extra tender loving care.

After a bit, Don came in, with the baby in his arms.

"The dogwalker just came in to return the dog." He told me. Nat had hired one just before the baby came.

"Oh.." I did some dicing.

"Is Natalie upset about the earrings?" Don, because of his job, knew how to read people.

"She uh….would have preferred it if Charlie had consulted us" I explained.

"I would feel the same way" Don opened the fridge, got milk, warmed it up, and fed the baby. The boys had been really helpful.

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We had dinner in the living room on TV tables, while little Rach was in the swinger.

Around nine, Nat suggested., "Don, could you put the baby in her crib? It's getting late."

"She doesn't look sleepy to me" he said. Rach was in his lap fidgeting. Rocko and Layla were nearby.

" It's because of all the stimulation." She said.

As it turned out, Don soon got a call from work, and had to give me the baby. The fight continued when the door closed behind him.

"You never answered my question, Alan" she looked at me with annoyance."Would it have killed you to back me up?" my wife demanded. Talk about Déjà vu! I used to ask Margaret the same thing! The problem is that Nat doesn't understand Charlie. He had no intention of endangering his sister or undermining me and Nat as Rach's parents. The kid just wanted to do something nice. Knowing Charlie, he probably saw another baby with earrings, and asked a few questions. It hadn't been until recently that I truly understood my youngest son.

"I agree with ya, Nat" I told her. "He should have consulted us."

"Why didn't you tell him that, then??" she pressed the point.

"I was going to, but then we starting arguing, and he left"

"More like ran off" she rolled her eyes.

"Look" I moved and sat next to her. "Tomorrow, I'll go talk to him."

"Sure" she nodded.

"Do you want to take off the earrings?" I offered. "The holes will eventually close"

"That's okay.." she shrugged. "Her ears seem to be fine so far."

"I prosponed the meetings I had for tomorrow, so I'll be here all day." I promised. Worried about money,, I had taken more jobs than usual during the pregnancy. Natalie had gotten upset, and made me promise to moderate myself.

"Good…."

"I'll put her to bed" I said. "Say goodnight Rachael" I gave Nat the baby.

"Night sweetie!" She kissed and hugged the baby.

I put little Rach, in her crib, face up, which still looked weird to me. Margaret and I had always put the boys face down when they were babies, but apparently, the 'experts' say it's dangerous and makes infants vulnerable to a horrible condition called SIDS,which casues babies to die in their sleep.

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The next day, as soon as I made sure Nat and the baby were comfortable, I went to see Charlie to have that talk. He, wrote up equations in that chalkboard at his office.

"I uh…thought I'd stop by" I began, but he was deep in thought. "Charlie? Charlie??"

"Huh?" he stopped and looked around, soon seeing me. "Dad?"

"That's me!" I smiled. "I was uh…hoping we could talk?"

"Is this about the earrings?"

"Yeah…."

"Is she still mad?" he turned around and stopped his work.

"Parents like to be consulted, Charlie. That's all I wanted to tell you"

"She seemed mad at you" he remarked.

"We worked that out" I assured him.

"So uh…how long does this post partum thing last?" he asked casually, but I knew that Nat's behavior annoyed him a bit.

"A while, it depends." I replied. " Please be patient"

We talked a bit more, and I returned home. The baby slept on Natalie's chest.

"How'd it go?" Nat asked and put a blanket over Rach.

"Charlie understands" I told her.

"Good…"

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Before I knew it, my and Nat's first anniversary was a mere two weeks away! I swear, the older I get the faster time flies.!!

"Where do you wanna go to dinner on the big day?" she asked while feeding Rach my special chicken soup ,that had been put in a blender for easier chewing. "I was thinking maybe at Georgina's" That had been where we had gone on our first date.

"Sounds great!" I smiled. "I'll make the reservations tomorrow"

"See if you can get the same table" she requested.

"Can you wear the same dress?" I remembered it well. It went to her calves, was black, and accentuated the right places.

She laughed. "Doubt I can fit in it now"

"You're in great shape!" I assured her. It was true.

"I could barely fit into the dress before, but I'll try" she promised and was dismayed when the baby refused another spoonful. At five months, she was bigger, chubbier, cuter, and had more hair.

"Aah!"

"You 've hardly eaten and daddy worked hard to make this for you!" she tried to reason with the child.

"Aah!" she shook her head.

"Don must have bought her some junk food" she sighed. He had picked the baby up from the sitter, Carl's niece, who worked from home and had a daughter Rach's age. "I've told the boys not to give her so much sugar! Now she won't eat what's good for her!"

"Put it aside" I suggested. "Trust me, she won't be shy about telling us she's hungry."

"I know that! But it annoys me how they don't listen!" she complained.

"They have trouble saying no to her" I tried to explain.

"Then you and I are the ones who have to deal with the consequences!" she told me impatiently. "If they want to spoil a kid, they can get one from Guatemala"

"Rach could use a playmate or two" I said with a deadpan, but quickly added to avoid misunderstanding. "It'll be up to the boys to provide'm."

I put the soup away, while Nat put Rach in her playpen. Soon, we started to play scrabble. Now with the baby, I truly cherished any couple time we could squeeze in. Just as she and I tied in score, Don came in. While I had hoped for some time alone with Nat, my children came first.

"Hey guys!" he said somberly. Was work getting to him again? Donnie had circles around his eyes, which looked sad.

"Donnie!" I got up from the table.

"How are you?" Natalie didn't get up, and seemed to stare at her pieces.

He picked up the baby, and sat down with her.

"You okay?" I sat near him and asked gently.

"Hard day at work" he said.

Before my eldest could say more, Natalie gently said

"I've got a house call. I'll be back as soon as possible. She then turned to Don "I hope things go better for you."

"Drive safe" I told her.

"I will" she kissed me and the baby.

With that Nat was gone and I could focus on Don.

TBC