Amy was certain there had never been a more spoiled infant on the face of the earth. From the moment she and John came home, when she wasn't breast feeding him, someone seemed to be holding, playing with, or spoiling him. John's uncles bought him a new toy or stuffed animal at least twice a week so Amy finally had to cut them off, telling them they could only get him toys for his birthday, Christmas, and very special occasions. His aunties likewise had a habit of buying him new clothes and books and Amy had to give them the same restrictions; she was simply running out of room to put all of John's gifts. Seeing that John's entertainment and wardrobe needs were being more than met, Anne and George spoiled John simply by watching and playing with him any and every chance they could, which Amy found extremely helpful on weekends when she had homework she needed to finish or she needed to do laundry for John. Ricky was practically a permanent fixture at the Juergens house as well. He came over every day after work to spend time with Amy and John and spent a good chunk of his Saturday and Sunday at their home as well. Sometimes when Amy needed a much longer break, Ricky would take John to his house for the weekend, where his parents got the chance to spoil John too. All in all John was a much loved little boy.
By the time John had learned to control his motor skills and walk, he had plenty of toys to keep him preoccupied and plenty of playmates, so he was one happy little toddler. He had aunties, uncles and grandparents who kept him entertained and a mommy and daddy who would move mountains for him. Ricky and the boys gradually started becoming friends as they all realized they had an interest in teaching John about sports, and so their shared love for John and of sports gave them some common ground to stand on.
One Saturday afternoon the three families had a barbeque to celebrate a new supplier contract George had finally managed to secure for the store. As Amy, Madison and Lauren were reclining in the shade with glasses of iced tea, Amy looked out over her backyard and smiled at the sight. Their fathers were at the grill debating the best type of marinade for barbequed chicken, their mothers were sitting on benches under the tent that had been pitched for their barbeque discussing the latest recipes they had tried, and the boys, Ricky and Ashley were in the pool with John, who was sitting in a floating chair designed just for toddlers, and he was happily splashing about. Even though Amy knew her son was perfectly safe, and surrounded by five people who would never let him drown, she watched him like a hawk even while she chatted with her two best friends about what they planned to do over spring break. As Amy took a sip of her iced tea, she caught Ricky's eye and he winked at her with a smile. Amy snorted into her glass and broke eye contact. Madison and Lauren looked at her.
"Everything okay, Amy?" Lauren asked. Amy just nodded with a smile and Madison continued detailing her plans to volunteer at the local YWCA clothing drive because she'd seen a cute guy who worked there and hoped she'd have a chance to get to know him a little, before Simon found out about him and scared him off. Meanwhile Amy glanced back at the pool, locked eyes with Robbie and subtly shook her head at him with a smile. He had seen Ricky wink at Amy and he'd given Ricky a look of disapproval that Amy figured Robbie would have for the rest of her life. Robbie had never approved of any guy who had shown an interest in Amy and even now Robbie didn't fully approve of Ricky. Even though Ricky had turned over a new leaf; was being a loving, responsible father; and he and Amy, so far, had been successfully co-parenting their son, Robbie would only be happy if Amy went to her grave an old maid, obviously minus the being a virgin part. No guy would ever be good enough for his little gummie and while at times it irritated her, when it came right down to it, Amy would always love having a big brother.
THE END