Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 64617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
It almost seemed as though everything Skyler had shared up until that point was laced with heartache and sorrow.
But why?
What happened?
Nothing made sense, and the more I tried to analyze the situation, the more I came up empty. These emotions were playing with my mind, and they were starting to give me whiplash. There was already this gravitational pull toward a family I hadn’t even met but felt a profound connection to.
“I’ll be right back,” Skyler stated, reverting my attention to the screaming baby in my arms.
“No worries, I got her. By all means, take your time.”
She gave us one last look before she turned and left the room. Slightly shutting the door behind her, leaving baby girl and me alone.
“Alright, Little Miss, no need to show off. I get it, you’re here, and you’re fierce and mighty,” I coaxed, gazing down at her adoringly. Immediately noticing how much she resembled her mother. “You are a beauty, Journey. Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? Even with all this crying and all those tears, you’re still a stunning baby.”
Her wails started getting louder and louder, rumbling out of her full force. If she didn’t stop soon, she was going to make herself sick.
“Alright, that’s enough of that … come on … you can do it… I know you can do it,” I soothed in a lulling tone, grabbing an old, worn down Ninja Turtle blanket from her crib. “You’re a girl. Why do you have a boy blanket? Hmm … maybe I’ll bring you back a new, soft, pink blanket if I get the job of taking care of you, Journey. What do you think? You like that idea?”
“Wahhhhh!”
“Okay, never mind. Ninja Turtle blanket it is.” Even though she was a little too old to be swaddled, I did it anyway. Seeing if maybe that would help.
It didn’t.
Her ear-piercing screams could wake up the dead.
“Phew … you got a set of lungs on ya, kid.” I moved around the vast room which was more like a suite than a nursery, still rocking and bouncing her.
My eyes scanned the space, noticing for the first time her room was something out of a magazine as well. The walls were a pale pink with white crown molding. The furniture looked vintage and expensive. Her crib was decked out in whites, grays, and pinks with Journey written in script on the wall.
The space was gorgeous. Black and white portraits lined the walls with two large book cases, and an old wooden rocking chair that had intricate designs on the back were situated in the corner by the bay window.
“Shhh, shhh, shhh. Look at all these books, Journey. Shhh, shhh, shhh. How about we try to read one?”
As if she understood what I was asking, she sucked back another sob.
“Okay, we’re onto something. What do you want to read? Hmm? Let’s see what we got.” I grabbed the furthest one in the corner. “Baby Einstein?”
“Wahhhh!”
“Definitely not that one.” I grabbed the one on the other end. “Goodnight Moon?”
“Wahhhh! Wahhhh! Wahhhh!”
“Alright, you definitely don’t like that one.”
Reaching for the book in the middle of her collection, my eyes caught a story hiding behind all the other books instead.
I gasped, “Little Miss, look what I found. This is my favorite book of all time. It looks like it might be yours too. Hmmm … is that why it looks like it’s been read hundreds of times? Is On the Night You Were Born your favorite too?”
She whimpered, sniffling.
“Ah, good choice.”
I sat in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, reading her the story, and with each turn of the page she cried a little less. Until finally…
She was calm.
Listening intently to every word that fell from my lips. Softly smiling and showing off the two tiny teeth she was cutting on the bottom.
Of course, that explained a lot. She was teething.
I didn’t have to spend hours with Journey to know that this baby girl would own my heart and soul.
I grinned, rubbing her soft cheek with the back of my hand. “Are we friends now?”
She cooed, kicking her chubby, little legs at me.
Smiling.
Drooling.
Squirming.
Being the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.
“Now what? What do you want to do? Should we go look for Skyler?”
“Wah!”
“Alright, alright, we don’t have to go look for her. I don’t want to share you anyway.”
She cooed again, and I swear she understood me. Already, we had this crazy bond, and I’d only been with her for maybe twenty minutes.
“You want to sing? How about we sing?”
She wiggled and giggled and drooled some more. Gnawing on her little fingers to sooth her gums.
“What should we sing? Oh! I know. How about this? The sun’ll come out tomorrow, bet all those dollars that tomorrow. There’ll be sun shining bright and happiness. Just thinkin’ about tomorrow.”