8: Carried Away (On Our Way, Chapter 5 - Home for the Holidays)

When they were settled in a kitchen chair, my nephew looked seriously at Harry and said, "Couldn't wait for you to get here. Now I've got one too."

"One what, honey?" Beth asked.

"A friend. Aunt Rhi has Uncle Darren. You've got Aunt Kelly. Dad has Uncle Chuck. The grandmas and grandpas have each other. Mrs. D has Grandma Criss. Even Eliza has Abby. Everyone had a friend in our family, except me. And now I have Harry!" he finished triumphantly.

The adults were all shocked into silence, and I turned my face into Darren's shoulder so no one could see the tears rolling down my cheeks. "Dare..." I choked out. "Harry's got...I never had..."

He rubbed my back, crooning, "Shhhh...it's okay, honey. Just like you always wanted...Billy is Harry's first friend."

Then Darren excused us and led me to our room for some privacy while I pulled myself together.

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My husband rocked me ever so slightly as I sniffled into his shoulder.

I finally quieted down, whispering, "I'm such an idiot, Dare."

"I'm not going to even dignify that with a response, Rhi. Billy just...caught you off guard. We both know this is a...sensitive issue for you."

Pulling back so I could look directly into Darren's eyes, I began to vent.

"I don't want Harry to ever feel alone like I did. I don't want him to have to sit by himself at lunch like I did, or play on his own like I did..." Rising to the subject, I started pacing and my voice got more insistent - and louder. "I want to sign him up for some sort of baby movement classes...and PLAY DATES! Surely there are some other babies in our neighborhood...maybe they have baby story times at the library and..."

Darren cut me off and pulled me back to sit beside him on the bed. "I completely understand why you want to get him involved in activities, and I agree that one or maybe two things would be a good idea, but he's barely four months old, honey. We don't want to schedule him to the point where he needs his own secretary."

Nodding tiredly, I replied, "You're right, Dare. I got carried away."

"We'll investigate our options when we back to LA, love. For now, lay back and let me carry you away...to dreamland."

Stretching out beside me, my husband gathered me in his arms, and sang quietly to me until I dropped off to sleep.