Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 82282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
He squeezed his eyes so tightly that his forehead wrinkled before taking a step back.
“Follow me.” He instructed and started striding away quickly.
I followed behind him dutifully, and those pesky butterflies turned back into those bats again.
***
“She’s just so perfect!” I squealed as I looked down at my little niece. “What’s with all this black hair?”
Today was a good day for my eyes, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect time. I was ecstatic to be able to see my niece, and to see my twin sister with so much love in her for her new daughter was icing on the cake.
“She is perfect...and what do you mean what’s with all of that black hair. How do you even know about her hair?” My sister thundered.
My eyes snapped up from my tiny niece and her perfection to lock on my little sister.
“W-what?” I stuttered.
My heart was pounding.
I hadn’t wanted to say anything. I mean what if my vision decided to go away again leaving me permanently blind? Would I have to endure even more pity?
“Everybody out.” She snapped.
The room slowly emptied of people, leaving just me, Adeline, and baby Saylor.
“You can see.” Adeline said calmly.
Not a question. A statement.
Not seeing any reason to lie anymore, I nodded slowly.
She looked at me for nearly a minute before she burst out crying.
“How could you not tell me that?” She cried.
I walked slowly over to the bed and sat down on the miniscule amount that Adeline didn’t take up before explaining.
“I didn’t want you to worry. My vision,” I said shaking my head. “My vision isn’t that great. I’ve only gotten to about two thirds of the way on my outer eye. I still have a huge blank spot from my nose to a third of the way across my eye until about mid-morning. I didn’t want you to worry. I was planning on telling you after you had the baby.”
She looked at me intently before dropping her head. “That’s the best news I’ve ever heard. I thought it would never come back.”
I smiled slightly. “Dr. Morris thinks it’s all in my head, that I’m doing it to myself. He said there’s no medical reason that I shouldn’t have any vision.”
“He really said you were doing it to yourself?” She questioned with a raised eyebrow.
I shook my head. “Not in so many words, no. But he believes that with time and reduced stress that it could come back. He doesn’t know if it’ll ever be what it was, but it’s possible that I can gain full use back one day. He doesn’t really know.”
She harrumphed. “So you can see me?”
The whispered words tore at my heart, and I nodded as a tear welled in my eye and spilled over the brim of my lid, trailing down my cheek. “Yes.”
“I’ve felt so guilty that I did that to you. So goddamned guilty.”
“You shouldn’t curse in front of your baby.” I chided. “But I love you, and you shouldn’t feel guilty. I had just as much a part of our accident as you did.”
“Yeah, but mine’s just a scar compared to your sight.” She said gravely. “I wish sometimes that it would’ve been me.”
“Yeah, well I’m a bitch. I wouldn’t have done all those nice things that you’ve done for me. It was better for it to happen to me, so I could have you to take care of me.” I teased.
“You do have a resting bitch face that I would hate to have to give up.” She laughed.
“Hey!” I said indignantly.
She burst out laughing before looking down at the newest girl in our family.
“She’s perfect, isn’t she?” Adeline asked, running her finger along her daughter’s cheek.
The tiny girl turned her mouth toward the finger, rooting for something that I most definitely didn’t have to offer her.
“Oops, looks like you started something that I can’t finish.” I said as I held the tiny baby out towards her mother.
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know what to do.”
Taking the small girl into her arms, she looked down at the now crying infant helplessly.
“Don’t you, just, ya know, pop that boob in her mouth or something?” I asked.
She shrugged and started to pull down her shirt. “Uhh, sure. I should’ve taken one of those goddamned breast-feeding classes. Maybe I should just do formula.”
“Just pop that sucker in there. I bet she’ll do the rest.” I guessed.
Awkwardly she let her shirt slip off her shoulder and placed the baby to her breast.
I laughed as the baby just practically motor boated her. “Here,” I said holding the baby’s head towards my sister’s boob. “Put your boobie in her mouth.”
She did, and then yelped as the baby latched on with ferocity.
When I tried to take my hands away from the baby, she popped off and started screaming uncontrollably.
“Shit,” I said, putting my hand back on the baby’s head and the other on her boob where it had been. “Now what?”
My sister had the same grip going on with her boob, with the other placed underneath the bulk of the baby’s body. “I don’t know. It shouldn’t really be this hard.”
Not knowing what else to do, I called for help. “Kettle!”
He came in seconds later, and then looked at us with surprise. “Not that I mind that you’re touching my wife’s breasts, but this is the hospital after all, and you shouldn’t be doing it in front of my baby.”
His eyes were filled with mirth though, so it was obvious he was kidding. “We don’t know what to do. Maybe you should stuff some pillows underneath her arms or something so I don’t have to hold her boob.”
Kettle rolled his eyes and went to collect some pillows.
“The nurse recommended a Boppy, but I don’t know what that is, nor do I have one of those, so she gave me these.” He said as he shook the pillows at us. “Where do you want them?”
After much maneuvering, I finally got to take my hand off my sister’s boob and sit back down.