"Oh for fuck's sake," James mumbles as he rolls out of bed yet again and stumbles for the bassinet.
The baby screeches up at him, her tiny face scrunched up and a deep shade of red. He bends down and lifts her into his arms, rocking her how he's seen his brother do with his own kids. Until now, he's never held a newborn baby this much. Maybe once or twice with Emma and Neal when they were this small, but he mostly smiled from afar until they were big enough to play with. Now, this little…alien never wants to leave his arms. She's so attached already and he doesn't know half of what he's doing.
"I will buy you a Lexus for your 16th birthday if you just let me sleep," James begs her. That only seems to insult her. "Okay, a Bentley. A Tesla. Whatver the fuck you want. Please just go back to sleep."
The shrieking continues, like a tiny pterodactyl. How can someone this small be this loud?
Through the crying, he hears three loud taps to his door.
"Great," he mutters. "You got us a noise complaint."
Adjusting the baby, he heads out of the dark room and flicks on the living room light. He blinks a few times to adjust himself to the brightness and lets out a yawn. The little dinosaur is still letting her anger be known. James makes it to the door and opens it. Instead of his balding landlord, he finds his petite neighbor on the other side. Her chestnut hair is pulled back into a messy bun and she's still in her pajamas, an oversized t-shirt that reads "Sweet Dreams" above a nauseating picture of Winnie the Pooh eating from a honey pot, paired with white gym shorts. Bright pink bunny slippers sit on her feet. He hasn't known his neighbor very long, but this is exactly the get up he'd expect from Belle.
She doesn't say anything, rather stares at the baby. James rolls his eyes.
"I'm sorry if she's keeping you up but I recall your son doing the same to me when you first brought him home," James snaps.
The moment he saw a very pregnant Belle moving in, he had groaned in anticipation of what was to come. Shrieking baby, dirty diapers clogging up the trash shoot, a stroller being jammed into the already tiny elevator. It ended up not being as bad as he thought, but there were nights he could hear the upset child through the paper thin walls. That had died down after a few months and the only time he ever saw evidence of him was the rare times he and Belle crossed paths getting mail or the elevator.
Belle's eyes breakaway from the baby, rolling in the process. "Who in the world would let you babysit?"
"Excuse me?" James raises an eyebrow, moving the shrieking baby closer to him. "I am plenty responsible."
"There is a new girl over here every night. Not to mention the parties you throw."
"So because I don't hide in my apartment all day, I can't possibly be a decent caretaker?"
"You don't know me."
"And you don't know me." He looks down at his daughter. "Please, please just stop."
Belle frowns, folding her arms over her chest. "They're yours, aren't they?"
James groans. Why is she still here? "Well as you pointed out, no one would let me babysit. Is there something you wanted? I'm a bit busy, if you couldn't tell?"
"Wait here."
Belle walks back into her own apartment. James is tempted to shut the door but instead lowers himself into his black leather recliner, continuing to rock the baby. He fed her only an hour ago (and for once, she didn't spit it all up), her diaper was fine. The only thing wrong was him. He's the problem. She's stuck with him.
"I'm sorry, I'd be pissed too," he mumbles.
Belle returns a moment later, a tiny radio contraption in her hand. She shuts the door behind her.
"I need an outlet."
James points towards the end table. Belle reaches behind and plugs it in. After fiddling with the knob for a moment, it roars to life-literally. Loud yet comforting static takes over the apartment. The shrieking stops and turns into shaky whimpers. He stares at her in wonder. Whatever this magic box is, he wants twenty.
"Pacifier," Belle instructs.
James wordlessly points to one of the many Target bags on the floor, his eyes still on the baby. Her chubby cheeks are stained with tears and she's still slightly red, but she's calm now. Belle appears at his side and hands him one of the smaller pacifiers he purchased, the torn packaging in her other hand. James pops it into his daughter's mouth. It nearly falls out.
"You have to hold it for her, so she learns to latch."
James nods and does as instructed. Soon, she figures it out and is calmly sucking, her big blue eyes closing. James relaxes against the chair, looking up at Belle.
"Thank you," he whispers.
She smiles. "I've heard the two of you all night. Figured you could use some help." Belle drops onto the couch next to the chair. "So…I didn't see any pregnant people around here."
James rolls his eyes. "If that's your coy way of asking, I didn't know she existed until two days ago."
Belle nods. "And her name?"
"The girl? Jack…"
"No, I mean your baby."
"Oh."
He's stuck with calling her "alien" or "dino girl". She has a name, but he has yet to find himself saying it aloud since the hospital.
"Serafina," he whispers, as if it's a secret. "Serafina Jane Spencer."
"It's pretty."
"It was my mother's." He shrugs. "They asked me what to name her and it was the only thing I could think of."
Emma's middle name was Ruth, after their biological mother that barely had a chance to raise them. James never had to name anything before outside of his bookstore. And yet, Serafina came so easily.
James rubs at his eyes with his free hand. "I'm sorry if she kept you up," he says behind a yawn.
Belle shakes her head. "As you pointed out, you were in my shoes a year ago."
"Where is, uh…" James cringes, realizing he never bothered to learn her son's name. He only knew Belle's because she had introduced herself upon moving in.
Belle just smiles. "Gideon. And he's with his dad."
"Oh. To be fair, I never see a guy around."
Belle's smile slightly falters. "You probably won't. He doesn't live here." James raises an eyebrow. "We're divorced. Recently, actually. Just got finalized last month."
"Oh…"
That would explain why the tape next to her buzzer downstairs went from reading "B. Gold" to "B. French".
James chews on his lip. He's never been great at comfort, thus why he couldn't get the baby to calm down. What is one supposed to say to that?
"That sucks," he offers. Belle snorts. "What?"
"I've gotten a lot of 'I'm so sorry' or 'What happened'. Can't say I've heard 'that sucks' until now."
James rolls his eyes, checking to make sure Serafina is still asleep. "Well, I'm glad to be original."
"Anyway, it does. Kind of. I thought he was my forever person. I was wrong." She shrugs. "But I got Gid out of it, so can I really be upset?"
James nods, staring down at the baby. Will he think that about this situation one day?
"So…where's her mom?"
James looks up, seeing the curiosity on her own face. "You ask a lot of questions."
"I just saved your ass. You can answer."
He stifles back a smile. "What is this thing anyway?"
"A sound machine. White noise is good for babies. It keeps them calm."
"It's like magic."
Belle laughs and James is unsure why that sound soothes him more than the machine. "There are several baby products that will soon be your best friend."
"Oh really?"
"Tomorrow I will introduce you to the Brezza. It's like a keurig for formula."
James tries to picture making a bottle as he fixes his morning coffee. Lord knows they'll need both.
"Her mom was a friend with benefits," James admits, changing the subject. Belle nods. "We'd hook up every so often. Then she went to New York for an internship. She came back heavily pregnant and went into labor the next day."
Belle raises an eyebrow. "Damn. So you've had no time to adjust."
"Not really. She had the baby, said she didn't want her and I could figure it out."
"Seriously?"
"She's 22, headed for a master's program. A baby doesn't fall into her plans. Didn't exactly fit mine either but I guess because I'm 30, she thinks I have my life together."
"Do you?"
James snorts. "Fuck no. I keep my bookstore alive but that's with my sister-in-law doing the accounting and shit. As you so charmingly pointed out, I've got a parade of girls walking through here on the regular. I don't know the first thing about raising a baby…"
He sighs, shaking his head. Belle is frowning at him and he inches back, not wanting her pity.
"She said I could give her up for adoption, she'd sign whatever."
"So why didn't you?"
James stares down at the sleeping baby, watching her chest rise and fall. "I was adopted. My bio mom died when me and my brother were 4. Our adoptive mom was great. But our father…" He trails off, not wanting to think of George. "I couldn't risk it. I know I'll probably fuck this up but I still couldn't do it."
"You're going to make mistakes. We all do. But I don't think you'll fuck her up."
"I didn't know that babies like white noise. The nurse at the hospital had to teach me how to make a bottle and change a diaper. That seems pretty basic. If I can't figure that out…"
"You think I gave birth and knew everything? No. I had help, because I asked for it. You can too."
James thinks of his brother and sister-in-law. They took the kids to Disney and will be back by the end of the week. He still doesn't know how to tell them. This seems more than a phone call. No way in hell is he calling George.
"Gideon's with his dad until Thursday," Belle continues. "I can come by tomorrow with breakfast and help."
"You don't have to…"
"I want to. I have the day off."
"All the more reason to not help your jackass neighbor who never even sent flowers when you had your baby."
Belle smirks. "Well," she says. "I hate flowers and I probably wouldn't have taken help from the town bicycle." James' mouth drops open. "But, now I have experience and you have none. I'll be by tomorrow. You can keep the noise machine, Gid doesn't use it anymore."
She heads for the door and he watches her in amazement.
"What if I don't want your help?" He finally manages to get out.
She turns back around, narrowing her eyes. "Do you or don't you?"
James looks down at the baby. She's fine for now but who knows how long that'll last.
"I'll have coffee ready for you."
She smiles. "That's what I thought."