Chapter
8
Two days later, Brian came to the hospital to pick up Alexa and baby
Brianne. He had proudly fastened the new car seat into the backseat of his BMW
that morning.
He walked up to Alexa's room first. She had finished packing and was
ready to go home. A nurse put her in a wheelchair and wheeled her down to the
main entrance. Another nurse was waiting there, holding Brianne. She gently
handed the baby down to Alexa. Alexa smiled, tears glistening in her eyes.
Brian bent and kissed her first, then Brianne. Then he wheeled Alexa out to the
car. They got Brianne in the car first. It was awkward getting her into the car
seat for the first time, but they eventually got her in right. Then Brian
helped Alexa into the car, and they drove away.
Once they got home, they took Brianne upstairs to the nursery. The
nursery was decorated in pale yellow. It had been AJ's idea, since yellow was
his favorite color. It was a good idea too, since they hadn't known whether the
baby was going to be a girl or a boy. Yellow would work for either.
The crib sheets were decorated with little yellow ducklings. Brian had
gotten the idea from his mother's old nickname for him, Babyduck. He planned to
use the nickname for Brianne. There was a mobile with little ducks holding
umbrellas. The walls were painted light yellow with a duck border. The floor
was made of light wood, but had a soft yellow rug on it. All of the furniture
was white, the crib, the changing table, rocking chair, dresser, and lamp. The
curtains were also white and lacy.
The room was beautiful. Alexa lay Brianne down in the crib, while Brian
turned on the mobile. They smiled as they watched Brianne. She stared in
fascination at the ducks spinning around.
"She's gonna be real smart," Brian said. "Look how alert
she is."
"I know," Alexa said, smiling. They watched Brianne until she
fell asleep. Then they crept downstairs, trying not to wake her up.
***
