Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 21

“How does that one feel?”

“The same.” Jamie was doing his best to keep his voice even and his eyes from rolling.

“Okay,” Becky said as she picked him up and put him on the next one. She gave him an expectant look.

“Same.”

“Hmm,” Becky said as she tapped her foot. “You’re about to throw a tantrum, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘about.’ But definitely before we get to the end of this row.” He turned his head and looked across ten more changing tables. “They’re tables. They all feel the same.”

“Well,” Becky said, “is there one you like more than the others?”

“Not really. Just pick whichever one you think is most functional.” I just lay on it, Jamie thought, ya’ll are the ones who use it.

“Well, we don’t have to pick anything today. We got time. We’ll wait until Amanda can come with us. Are you hungry?”

“Yep,” he said as he sat up. “Where are we meeting Jane?”

“There’s a new taco place.”

“Ooo. That sounds good. Feels like forever since I saw Rosie.”

“It’s been a busy summer, hasn’t it? It’s only a few weeks old still. Walk or carry?”

“Walk, please.” Becky helped him down, and they walked back toward the entrance past the rest of the nursery furniture.

Jamie paused. “Can I try that?”

“A bed?”

“Yeah.” A little-sized bed.

“Sure,” Becky said hesitantly. Jamie got on by himself. “How is it?”

“Comfortable. Maybe wouldn’t want this mattress, but ...”

“Hmm?”

“I like that I can get in and out of it myself.”

The exact reason Becky didn’t like it. A small part of her worried about him falling out, but really, she just didn’t want her little boy graduating out of his crib.

“What if ...” And she had resisted this for four years. “What if we got you one of those instead,” Becky said, nodding toward a step stool designed to hook over the edge of a crib platform. “That way you can climb in and out whenever the railing is down.”

“That’s an idea,” Jamie said, though he sounded doubtful. “Could we, uh, keep the rail down during the day?” He just got lifted in and out, and they rarely thought to lower the rail. He hopped off the bed. “It’s just that sometimes I wanna get in there myself during the day. Ya know, just to lay there and read a book or something.”

“Okay. We’ll get one when we come back,” Becky said, hoping he’d forget. It was an acceptable compromise, but she still didn’t want to. Any way in which he needed her was, in her eyes, a good way, especially with her daughter soon moving out of the house.

The new restaurant still had that new restaurant look, with everything still shiny and the staff chipper. “Can I start you guys off with anything while you wait,” the waitress asked when Becky told her there’d be two more.

“We’d like a bowl of queso,” Jamie said before he caught himself, “if that’s alright.”

“Yes, please,” Becky said, smiling at Jamie.

“Sorry,” he said.

“For what? You can order whatever you want.” Jamie had been drifting in that general direction for a while now, asking permission more often. Becky assumed it was just a natural instinct as a little, but she hoped she never made him feel like he needed to ask for tiny things. It was a relief, really, that, while he needed her, he didn’t need her to manage the very minutia of his life. She loved taking care of him, but she was in no way jealous of people with infant-stage littles and all the work that entailed.

The waitress returned with their queso. “And for the young gentleman ...” Suddenly there was a paper hat on his head. He peered upward, grimaced, and plucked the hat from his head.

“He ...” Becky started to say.

“Thinks you should wear it,” he said to the waitress.

“You think I should wear it,” the young woman asked. “But I don’t think it will fit,” she said as she put it on top her head. “See? It’s for little boys.”

“I don’t like it when people touch me without permission,” Jamie said to her. He said it kindly but firmly. Amanda and Becky had spent a lot of time rehearsing scenarios like this with him, with Doctor Mary’s guidance, and it had paid off in the form of fewer angry outbursts. The sarcasm was something they just learned to live with, even appreciated at times, though Manda found it more amusing than Becky did.

“O, I’m sorry,” the waitress said.

“That’s okay,” Jamie said, “Now you know.” He looked across the restaurant at another little who was on the edge of a tantrum and considered that he could always respond that way. Most littles took things like this in stride, but a few, like him and the little over there, didn’t. Just because a dog doesn’t bite doesn’t mean he likes strangers hugging him, Jamie thought.

“Good job, Jamie,” Becky said when the woman left. “Very well handled.” She was always sure to offer praise at these times, like Doctor Mary had taught her to.

“Hey,” Jane said as she arrived with Rosie on her hip. “How’s my favorite guy?” Jamie liked that Jane always greeted him before greeting Becky. He knew it was silly, an affectation, but it made him feel special anyway.

“I’m okay. Hi, Rosie.”

“Where did you find that romper for her? It’s adorable,” Becky said.

“I found this craft website. I’ll send you the link. All these individual sellers make the cutest things.”

Jamie looked at Rosie and tried to discern whether she was going to be communicative today or not. She reached for a chip as soon as Jane sat down.

“So did you guys find anything good at the furniture store?”

“Got some ideas.”

“Did you enjoy it, Jamie? Getting to pick out your things?” Jane knew quite well Jamie didn’t like shopping, though she hoped this kind of shopping would be more fun for him.

“Kinda. Changing tables feel pretty much the same. It’s just the pad that feels different, and you can get those anywhere.” He liked the one he had and figured they could just order another.

“Mhmm. But what about the color and the design? What color do you want?”

“I don’t know yet. I guess the apartment walls will be beige. Everything goes with beige.” Apartment walls in every dimension are beige.

“We can paint them,” Becky said. Jamie had never painted an apartment. Why improve something he didn’t own and would have to undo when he moved out?

“I like painting,” Rosie volunteered. “I painted a picture yesterday.”

“What did you paint?”

“A piece of paper.” Perhaps Becky didn’t pick up the twinkle in her eye, but Jamie did. Becky chuckled at what she thought was a misunderstanding, not a joke.

“I meant what did you paint a picture of, silly.”

“Trees.”

“Rosie’s daycare is putting on a play soon. She’s gonna be the star,” Jane told them.

“I’m Forester Number 2.”

“And you’ll be the star,” Jane said. “You get to sing. She’s totally gonna upstage that new kid,” Jane explained to Becky.

“Whoa. Stage Mom over here,” Becky said with a laugh.

“Well, it’s true. That should’ve been Rosie’s part.”

“They’re just trying to make her feel special,” Rosie said. “She’s been sad. Plus, it’s a daycare play. Who cares?”

“I care,” Jane said. “I want everyone to see how terrific you are.”

“Are there such things as littles choirs,” Jamie asked. “Would you want to be in one?”

“Only if they don’t suck,” Rosie said as she reached for another chip.

Becky suppressed a grin. She liked that Rosie was regressed just enough to feel uninhibited but not so much she couldn’t express herself. The waitress came back and took orders.

“So how are you doing, Jamie? I heard it’s not been the easiest summer for you,” Jane said. Becky had caught her up on some but not all of the details.

“I’m getting by.” He had asked to make an appointment with Doctor Mary, and at the urging of her attorney, Stacy had decided to stop taking Ella to the Department of Human Affairs’ psychologist and start taking her to Doctor Mary, too.

“We’re all getting by,” Becky added. Taking care of Ella this summer was causing her a lot more stress on top of Amanda’s impending move. It wasn’t that Ella needed more care. It was just that Becky was worried about her and felt compelled to keep a close eye on her and Jamie, physically and emotionally, which meant more emotional labor for her. Stacy said again and again how grateful she was.

“I hope you guys are having fun, too. Not all furniture shopping.”

“We have plans with Lauren and Danny for this week. We’re going to Seven Pennants.”

“Any other fun plans?”

“Well, the beach, of course. And what else? Ooo, we’re going to do to Schneider’s one day. And we’ll make it up as we go along.”

“Apartment hunting,” Jamie added.

“What do you want in a new apartment,” Jane asked.

“That’s a good question,” Becky said. “We haven’t really talked about that.”

Jamie hadn’t really thought much about it. He figured there wasn’t much to consider, assuming Amanda had a pretty low price point and some amenities would be out of the question. “New carpet,” Jamie said.

“Why that?”

“Because I play on the floor a lot.”

“What about a pool,” Jane suggested.

“Do you think they’d let me swim in it?”

“Maybe.”

“Manda said we could go camping before she moved,” Jamie decided to say. He didn’t know if she had told Becky.

“That would be fun,” Becky said. “It would have to be just the two of you, though. I work very hard so I can sleep indoors,” Becky quipped.

“ … Not to mention his arrival day,” he heard Jane say.

“What about my arrival day?”

“Just talking plans. I thought we’d celebrate it next weekend.”

“O. I was wondering about that.”

“You’re still okay celebrating it late, right?” Becky had been so worried he’d be hurt because she had booked their trip for the same week as his arrival day. They’d celebrated it on their vacation, but she wanted to celebrate again with all their family and friends. It was more important to her than to him, but she never could let it go.

“I’m not,” Jamie teased, “But Kazoo is. He arrived at our house on the same day, too.”

“You should make him a cake,” Rosie said. “He likes cake.”

“How do you know,” Jane asked. Rosie blushed and tried to look innocent.

“Ooo, tacos,” Rosie changed the subject as though she had just discovered her already half-eaten lunch in front of her.