Charlie

Charlie awoke in the middle of the night to his newborn baby crying. He let out a groan and rolled over on his side to check the time. The clock radio read 3:13 AM. He turned back around to see if the noise had woken Jane. Thankfully, she was sound asleep, her mouth open just enough for Charlie to catch the glint of her teeth. Jane’s skin was like porcelain and her lips were a pale pink.  Charlie had always thought she was hauntingly beautiful.

Charlie gently slid his legs off the bed then slowly stood up, careful not to wake Jane. She had gone through so much during the pregnancy that he wanted her to sleep as much as she needed. Charlie grabbed a plain T-shirt from the top of the dirty clothes hamper and slipped on his plaid slippers. He tugged at his boxers, unbunching the fabric from around his crotch, then grabbed his special diaper bag and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door softly. During her first trimester, Jane had made Charlie his own bag with everything he’d need to change a diaper. Charlie felt better about daunting tasks when he was over-prepared, and Jane was happy to humour him.

As Charlie walked down the hall to Baby Aidan, the crying got louder. Charlie got to the end of the hall and opened the door. He walked over to his crying son and picked him up, rocking him back and forth in his arms.

“What’s wrong, little buddy?” Charlie whispered. “Are you hungry?” He was a brand new dad, so he had no idea how to tell what Aidan wanted. Jane had only given birth two weeks ago; they were still figuring all of this out. A strong smell began creeping up Charlie’s nose. He winced. “I guess you need a change, little guy,” Charlie said, laying Aidan back down. He walked himself through the process aloud.

“Remove dirty diaper, wrap in plastic bag, wipe bottom thoroughly, apply talcum powder, put on fresh diaper.” When Baby Aidan was changed, Charlie picked him up and rocked him in his arms for a few minutes before putting him back down to rest. Charlie crept back up the hallway and into his bedroom, quietly closing the door. He crawled into bed next to Jane and gave her a kiss on the cheek before closing his eyes and drifting off.

The next night, a crying Aidan got Charlie out of bed once again. Making sure Jane was asleep, Charlie grabbed his diaper bag and headed down the hall. He caught a strong smell off Aidan again, so he changed his diaper, walking himself through the steps like always. He picked Aidan back up and let him drift off in his arms, staring into his face with adoration. After what felt like hours, Charlie put Aidan back down and retired to his bedroom. He got back into bed and kissed Jane on the cheek.

“Where were you?” Jane whispered.

“Shh,” Charlie said. “Go back to sleep, sweetheart.” Jane put her hand on Charlie’s chest then fell back to sleep almost immediately. Charlie stared at her for a few moments, completely smitten.

The third night, Charlie woke to Aidan’s crying again. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, Charlie resolved to buy more absorbent diapers in the morning. The kind that makes babies sleep through the night. Don’t be mistaken, Charlie was more than happy to take the night shift so Jane didn’t have to, but he was beginning to lose too much sleep. He grabbed the diaper bag and crept out of the bedroom. When he got to Aidan, Charlie changed his diaper then picked him up and rocked him back and forth. Charlie was staring into Aidan’s sleeping face when he heard Jane’s voice behind him.

“What are you doing?” Jane asked, shivering. She tightened the ribbon on her bathrobe and crossed her arms tightly for warmth. She was standing in the doorway of the house, calling to Charlie in the back yard. Charlie turned around to meet Jane’s gaze and her mouth fell open. Charlie was covered in dirt; his shaggy, brown hair blowing in the wind. In his arms was the stillborn baby that he and Jane had buried two weeks ago.