NOVEL NEXT 209: First Snowfall
SLYDAR
"I gotchu, little man, Daddy's here," I hummed to my six-week-old son. Sure, it was 2 AM, but he didn't know that. To him it was nappy-changing time, and boy did he need it. If I had a stink like that in my underpants, I'dve woken the house up cryin' too. I popped one of the "comfort bottles" of breast milk in the warmer while I rocked Switch against my shoulder, still cooing to him and heading for the changing table.
Oh yeah, super-raunchy. Where did it all come from? All he got was milk, and that grossness polluted the world? I didn't act like I was wantin' to run away in horror. No, I manned up and made silly faces while sending him popping bubbles telepathically. He pumped his little legs, happy as a clam to get his bum cleaned up, and we got him a fresh didy and a new onesie.
All clean, we made our way to the rocker by the living room window. Rory'd wanted the chair right there by the balcony doors because the view to the outdoors was the best way to calm everyone down and get nice and sleepy for the second half of the night.
Little Switch was a great sleeper, but he did tend to wake up once at night and need a little attention. Rory had a cold, so she'd pumped before she went to bed, and I demanded that she not get up 'cuz she had to keep the milk factory going no matter what she felt like, and the least I could do was look after our little guy while she got some rest.
"That's right, a nice warm bottle for ya. Not as good as mom. Tastes like rubber, but who's my good boy? Henh heh. No, little man, I can't sing like mommy. But I can talk and pretend like it's a sweet little song for your ears," I chuckled, really glad no one was watching me make a damn fool outta myself in the middle of the night just wantin' to get back in bed a close my eyes. . .
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It was then that I noticed there was a good reason it felt so cold by the window. Pretty fluffy flakes of white were slowly drifting from the sky and landing on the balcony.
"Switch, my man, look buddy. It's your first snowfall!" I stood, shifting him, knowing he couldn't see it, but letting the joy of the moment well in my heart and spill over, covering him in happiness just like the ground would be blanketed in white. In his mind, I showed him glittering lights falling from above, and one of his tiny hands reached up.
"That's right, Switch, just like stars in the night sky. Every single snowflake is a whole world of its own. Little shapes of miracle drifting down from above, landing on our hair, nose, and eyelashes. And when you get bigger, we'll put on coats and mittens and make a snow tunnel, crawling through it and pretending we're explorers. How does that sound, little man?"
But Switch had already drifted off, mind as quiet as Rory's. I nestled my nose against his kinky hair, and closed my eyes, inhaling the sweet miracle that was our son. He was a priceless treasure just like his mom, and I wanted to always remember that, no matter how tired I was or how much I wanted a day to myself without crying and endless chores.
Opening my eyes, I made a promise to myself watching my first snowfall as a dad, that I'd never complain, not once, about all the ways my life had changed since I became a father. I vowed to just love my son and his mom and take whatever came our way, then I put the empty bottle in the sink and the baby in his crib and returned to my sleeping wife.
The night was quiet, and I was tired, but it was first snowfall, and that always felt magical. I thought about all those flakes of white floating down from above, and it seemed I got kissed by a late-night breeze that smelled of acrid coffee. Maybe it was my dad, or maybe it was just me drifting off, I couldn't be sure. But I didn't much care as I joined Rory and Switch in oblivion.
