Chapter 38- Afterbaby

"They have been in there for hours, Mom. What if something is wrong?" Riley nervously asked her mother, rubbing her own baby bump. Topanga looked at Riley and smiled, knowingly.

"Having a baby is not instant, honey. It takes time. You'll find that out soon enough." Topanga replied, glancing at Cory who was falling asleep in the waiting room chair. Josh came bursting out from behind the metal doors, breathless but smiling from ear to ear.

"It's a boy, of course." He joked. "He is perfect, healthy, 10 fingers, 10 toes. 26 inches long and 8 pounds, 10 ounces. Official birthday is February 3, 2020." Everyone stood up and gushed at the picture that Josh showed them from his phone. He had a full head of dark hair and his blue eyes were wide open.

"He is adorable, Josh. But how is Maya?" Riley asked, worried. Josh smiled down at her.

"She is tired, but she is so happy. In fact, she is asking for you back there." Josh replied. Riley, surprised, followed him back to the recovery room, where they had moved Maya. She was laying in a bed, big enough for 4 adults and the baby was feeding from her breast. When Riley walked in the door, Maya's face lit up. With her free hand, she waved Riley over to the bed and patted the space beside her.

"Come here, Riley." Maya whispered. Riley sat next to Maya and watched her baby suckle.

"He is beautiful, Maya. So beautiful." Riley remarked, watching with adoration as he got his fill of milk and fell asleep with his mouth still at Maya's breast. Every so often, he would suddenly wake up and start suckling again, just to fall asleep moments later.

"Do you want to hold him, Riley?" Maya asked as she readjusted and covered herself with her gown. Riley was unsure if she should.

"Oh, Maya. I don't know. This is your special time with your family. I don't want to interfere." Riley replied.

"Don't be silly, Riley. You are family. Go wash your hands and hold him." Riley did as instructed and washed her hands, drying them thoroughly. When she came back to the bed, Maya had almost fallen asleep with the baby in her arms. When Riley gently sat on the bed, Maya startled herself awake.

"Sorry about that, Riley. I am just exhausted. Come here. I'll show you how." Riley scooted closer to Maya and she instructed her how to hold the baby while supporting his head. Riley could not explain it, but when Maya placed the baby in her arms, Riley was overcome with a feeling of love and adoration. His baby skin was so soft, and he smelled so good. He made soft whimpering noises while he slept, and his mouth made a suckling motion every so often. Riley's eyes filled with tears and suddenly she could not wait to see her baby and hold it just like this. She sniffed back a tear, so it wouldn't fall on the baby. When he started getting fussy, Riley handed him back to Maya, who smiled at Riley, knowingly.

"Can't wait, huh?" Maya said, nodding toward Riley's belly, which had gotten a lot bigger in the last few weeks.

"I suppose." Riley replied, her face turning red. "I just see you with him and I wonder how. How can you have all this love for someone you literally just met." Maya sighed.

"You know, I have been asking myself that for the last couple of hours, wondering the same exact thing. But I can't explain it. You just see this face, with these chubby cheeks and this tiny hand grabs your finger and grips so tight that it feels like he has a hold of your whole entire heart. And that is it. End of story. I have known him for 2 hours, but I already feel like I would stop a train or jump in front of a bullet for him." Maya paused to dab at a tear forming in the corner of her eye. "I can't wait for you to feel this feeling too, Riley. There is nothing like it in this world."

Josh came in to take over baby duty so Maya could sleep. Riley took that opportunity to excuse herself and leave the room. She walked around in a daze, all the way back to the waiting room.

"So, how did he look, Riley?" Topanga asked, excitedly. "Was he absolutely gorgeous?"

"He looked perfect, Mom. Absolutely perfect 50% Maya and 50% Josh. Perfect." Riley gushed.

"So," Cory teased, "apparently he was perfect?" Riley ignored that comment.

"He smelled like Heaven. And his skin is so soft. He made me want to see what mine looks like in a few months." Riley looked down lovingly at her belly and rubbed her abdomen. Topanga and Cory exchanged a glance.

"Riley. A baby is more than just squishy cheeks and soft skin." Cory explained. "They are hard work. Remember that."

"I know Dad, but can't I enjoy the good parts too?" Riley replied. Just as Cory was about to open his mouth to chastise Riley, Topanga put her hand on his shoulder to silence him.

"Of course you can Riley, as long as you know and realize how much work it actually is to have a baby. Do you know how hard Maya worked to bring that baby into the world? And that was the easy part. Now its 18 years of work." Topanga explained. "It isn't all bad, but it is definitely hard work." Riley scoffed.

"I'm sure it won't be that hard, Mom. We were not that hard to take care of when we were babies, were we?" Riley asked. Topanga looked at Riley and raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Riley replied, confused. "How? I thought we were easy babies." Topanga and Cory both laughed loudly at that.

"Easy? Right." Cory said, sarcastically. "Auggie, yes. He was a relatively easy baby, considering his rough start. But you, my darling Riley? You were a terror." Shocked at this revelation, Riley pressed Cory for more details.

"Let me take this one, Cory." Topanga interjected, smiling. "Let me give you an example Riley. When you were 5, we got a call from the kindergarten. Apparently, when the teacher wasn't looking, you swiped a box of watercolors and snuck out of the classroom while everyone was distracted with their own artwork. I guess the canvas that your teacher provided was not big enough for you, so you decided to paint up and down the halls of the school. On doors, on windows, and all over the floor. It took weeks to get the paint out of your hair." Riley did not recall this event.

"Okay, but that was when I was older. I am sure that when I was a little baby I wasn't that bad. Right?" Riley asked, hopeful. Topanga raised her eyebrow again and Riley sighed.

"You were stubborn from the day you were born. Always wanted to do things your own way. I remember when you were about 3 or 4 months. For about a month straight, you refused to be held by Grandma. Everyone else was able to hold you, but when Grandma even went near you, for some reason, you would cry. And you were loud, Riley. Like, we were able to hear you halfway down the block. That was hard to explain. You know how sensitive Grandma can be. Eventually, you got over that, but that was a difficult month." Cory nodded in acknowledgement.

"I remember that. Mom was so hurt, I was afraid she was going to cancel Christmas that year." Cory added. "I also seem to remember a certain daughter of mine at about 6 months old. She would not sleep in her crib. At all. We tried everything. Stuffed animals, blankets. We even took turns sleeping in the rocking chair next to the crib. We would rock you to sleep in the chair and you would be fine. Then it was like you could sense the feeling of the crib, before you even touched it. You would wake up and throw a tantrum. Eventually, we put a pack-and-play next to our bed, because that was the only way any of us were getting any sleep." Wide-eyed, Riley sat silent and just listened.

"So, you see Riley," Topanga explained. "Babies are not all fun and games and newborn smells. They are not always the cooing diaper commercial babies. They are work." Seeing that Riley appeared to be offended, Topanga continued. "They are not all bad, though. When you said your first word, I cried. 'Mama'. And when you took your first steps, right to your dad." Recalling fond memories, Topanga put a hand to her chest, as her eyes welled up with tears. Cory handed her a tissue and she dabbed the corners of her eyes.

Riley had a lot to think about. Being only 15, it would be hard to find a job. She was willing to do whatever it took, however. She thought about what her mother had said about her stubbornness. She preferred to call it tenacity. She planned to talk to Evan about their plans for the future, among other topics.