1.3 - The smell of fresh baby

Labor was long and torturous. Kerry wonders how there are so many siblings in the world; she sure as hell wouldn't go through that ever again. All the women in the world who had given birth to a baby once and then consciously decided to have another one must either be utterly crazy or have suffered some kind of sweet, sweet memory loss.

But despite all that it was love on second sight. Not on first sight because her daughter looked a bit like a bright red potato when she came out, with an oddly shaped head after hours of labor, wrinkly and with puffy swollen eyes; initially a shock for Kerry who has never seen a newborn. But once she had "unfolded" Kerry's motherly instincts took over and it was clear to her that Ruby was the most beautiful baby she has ever seen. Not that she has seen a whole lot of babies in her life, but still.

She gave her daughter the name Ruby because of her deep red lips and hair. And of course Kerry stayed true to her word and gave Mr. Snugglez away as a birth-day present.

A furball touches Kerry's legs. "Prrr?"
"Oh hey, Richie, you're awake. Do you like the smell of new baby?" Carefully she puts the swaddled Ruby down on the floor so Richie can smell her.

He takes his time and lets his nose wander all over the new cat-sized human. Then he closes his eyes in content and rubs his head against hers, marking her with a label invisible to humans: Part of Lord Richie's territory.

The doorbell rings and Richie hurries away angrily. That must be Ramona.

Kerry opens the door and Ramona immediately storms in, a waterfall of words coming out of her mouth.

"Heyyy, how's our freshly baked mom doing? How is Ruby? Can I see her? Is she sleeping? I have some of Derik's old clothes in the car, he's too big for them now because he's growing like crazy and I thought you could use them. Oh, and diapers, I brought diapers, you'll need lots of them whether you like it or not!"

***

The first weeks are the hardest for Kerry. Ruby is so unbelievably helpless, she can't even lift her head with her tiny neck muscles. Kerry finds it hard to believe that she was a newborn once too; surely she must have come out of her mother's womb at age 5 or something.
She can't wait until Ruby is old enough to talk, play, do anything with her. Caring for a newborn is no fun.

On some days Kerry doesn't even change out of her sleepwear. She just falls asleep on the couch next to the crib and waits for the crying to wake her up, then she caters to Ruby's various needs and returns to the couch once she is quiet again. As long as Ruby doesn't sleep through the night there will be no relaxing sleep for Kerry, only naps.

One morning, about 8 weeks after Ruby's birth, Kerry is feeling so miserable about her new life that she can't even come out of her bed.

She's bored. Bored and stressed out at the same time. It seems that once you have a child you cease to be an individual yourself, you are no longer the protagonist of your own life. Kerry doesn't work and she can't go out and see friends as she would like to because she can't afford hiring a nanny for Ruby. It's all about Ruby. And it will take years until she can finally take care of herself some more.

Things would look different if she had a partner at her side to help her raise Ruby or supportive parents to love their grandchild but Kerry is alone.

Well, not entirely. She does have a best friend.
"I think I deserve one night off...", she mutters to herself while trying to force her sleepy body out of bed. Before she goes to her little daughter she dials Ramona's number.

The voice coming out of the phone sounds even sleepier than Kerry's.
"Eh? ... it's 9 in the morning, Kerry..."
"Yeah, most people are already up at this time."
"You know very well that I am not most people! Why did you call?"
"... I'm lonely."

"Really? That's why you wake me up at this hour?"
"Who else would I call if not my best friend?", Kerry asks sweetly.
"Ugh... uh, lets see. Yeah, I think I can reserve some time for us tonight. How 'bout a movie? Cineplex at 8?"
"Awesome!", Kerry exclaims with new enthusiasm. "See you later!"

Now all she needs to do is empty her starving wallet to pay for a babysitter and a movie ticket and of course find someone to stay with Ruby for a few hours.
Luckily Bridgeport is a big city full of teenagers who are willing to look after other people's babies for a little bit of pocket money. She doesn't have to search long to find someone who's available tonight.

Kerry greets the teen who introduced herself as Peyton Suzuki and invites her inside. "She will likely sleep most of the time, I just want you to be here and call me if anything happens."
"Okay, Ms Harris."
"Uh, just call me Kerry... please." She sighs. This girl is 3 or 4 years older than her at most.

But of course Richie has the last word as the reigning landlord. A quick sniff will decide whether Peyton is allowed in the house or not. 

Luckily Peyton has cats too, so she can bribe him with some fish treats she's always carrying in her pockets...

 Good babysitter, 10/10. She can come again as often as she likes.

***

At 8 Kerry and Ramona meet in front of Bridgeport's Cineplex, ready to have some mom time.
"Hey, what's up, Kerry? Could you find someone for Ruby?", Ramona asks while giving Kerry a hearty hug.
"Yeah, a teenage girl that Richie approved of quickly. Who's with Derik?"
"Oh, I managed to convince my new boyfriend to stay with him... It's not like he's doing anything productive anyway", she shrugs. "So, have you decided what to watch tonight?"

They watch Dogs in Prison, a comedy about a rehabilitation program for dogs in which puppies who commited crimes like chasing the postman or stealing the christmas roast were put in a boot camp to become good boys again. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it was good enough to get Kerry's mind off of crying babies.

Of course Kerrys can't afford an outing like this too often with her meager funds but it feels good to get out of the house again. And Ruby is in good hands in the meantime. 

Ninety minutes later Ramona and Kerry come out of the theater again.
Ramona laughs uncontrollably, hand on her stomach."And that one pug who kept falling on his face, hahaha! That was the best one, right?!"

Sure, the movie was amusing, but Kerry smiles more because of her friend's laughter than the movie itself. Ramona has the loudest laugh Kerry has ever heard. "Aw man, I need a dog too...", Ramona sighs once her laughing fit is over.

***

Another rainy day. Kerry checks her mail as always, not expecting anything of importance because the government still pays most bills for her due to her personal situation. She's grateful to live in a place where she can rely on financial support in times of crisis.

But today there is one important looking letter among the usual ads and newspapers. "Hm, job center?" She quickly glances over the letter. Career counseling... appointment next month... and the usual bureaucratic threats of lower payments if she doesn't attend.

Kerry smiles. It would have been perfectly understandable if she felt angry, frustrated, anxious, or stressed out over this letter, but she doesn't.

As much as she loves Ruby, Kerry would probably go crazy as a stay-at-home mom. 

Having more social contacts besides an infant and one good friend would sure benefit her mood and mental health, not to mention that she would finally have more money!
The only problem is: who is going to hire her with no finished school education and a little baby?