Chapter Twenty

After Rex left the hospital at nearly eleven at night, Jayme spent the night with Bella in her room. She slept in numerous naps throughout the night, while Bella slept. Jayme fed her several times during the night, feeding a few hours apart, a little at a time. Jayme knew it would be like this for the first several months. Although this was her first child, she’s had many friends with small children and even babysat a few times to earn extra money while in college.
It was just after nine when Rex walked into Jayme’s room. Both her and the baby were awake and nursing. Rex smiled and sat on the edge of her bed. He felt like he would burst out the secret he held but he wasn’t ready to ask her yet. They engaged in light conversation as she nursed.
Before releasing Jayme, they secured her nursing room which contained only a twin bed and a crib, along with a private bathroom with a shower. However, there was a TV. After moving her things into the small room, Rex excused himself, knowing he needed to get breakfast and stop by her parents house. Just after Rex left, Jayme took a shower, soaking up the comfort of the hot water.
Being Saturday, Rex had the day off. He knew Simon would be home and so would Paige. Knocking on their front door, Paige answered and greeted Rex, inviting him in. “I am here to speak with Simon.” Rex said.
“Oh, he’s in the living room.” Paige said and led the way. “Would you like anything, coffee, pop?”
“Coffee would be great, thank you.”
“Sure.” Paige responded and disappeared from the living room.
Sitting in the chair beside Simon’s chair, Rex was nervous. With shaky hands, he pulled the small box from his pocket and waited until Paige returned to the room. She handed him his coffee and sat on the other side of Simon.
“I know that Jayme has been married before and with great misfortune, she has become single again. With a newborn baby. And I probably should’ve located her and done this years ago, but…” Rex said and handed the box to Simon.
Looking at Rex and his nervousness, Simon already knew what was happening as he took the box from Rex’s hand and opened it. “I would very much like your daughters hand in marriage.” Rex asked.
Simon smiled and handed the box to Paige. “What do you think?” Simon asked Paige.
“Oh, this is so beautiful, Rex, you did a great job with this set.” Paige remarked. “I would have to say yes.”
“Me too.” Simon said. “You absolutely may marry our daughter.” Simon said, handing the box back to Rex.
Rex stood up, although he felt like jumping up and down. He put the box back in his pocket and shook Simon’s hand. Then he leaned down and gave Paige a hug. “I swear, I will never make you regret your decision.” Rex said.
“Have you been up to see Jayme yet today?”
“Yes, I was up there this morning, I left just as they moved her to a private nursing room. She’ll be staying at the hospital until they release Bella.” Rex informed them.
“Yes, she was saying something about that.” Paige said. “She called me this morning, I think before you got there. She said they wouldn’t release her to go home until she was five pounds.”
“That is correct.” Rex confirmed. “Because she was born prematurely.”
“Have you thought about when you might ask her?” Paige asked.
“Well, I would rather wait until she’s home… she’s moving in with me, we think it would be safer than staying here. Jim already knows where this house is. She’s an easy target here.”
“Oh, good. That’s a relief. Simon and I were just talking about that. Neither of us can just up and leave our jobs to stay here and protect her from Jim.”
“That’s why I asked her to stay at my house. In fact, I want to pick up the crib while I’m here, I want to put it together before they get there.”
“I’ll get that for you.” Simon said and stood from his chair.
“No, Simon, please, allow me…” Rex said and went toward the stairs.
Climbing the stairs, Rex went to Jayme’s room. Looking around, he found the box with the crib along with the mattress. Before leaving the room, he saw the other baby item. Grabbing the other large, bulky item, he struggled down the stairs with all the items.
Seeing Rex coming down the stairs with his hands full, Simon went to him and took the large bulky item from him. Then Simon went to the door and opened it. Following him out to the truck, Simon helped him put the items into his truck. Shaking Simon’s hand, Rex thanked him and said goodbye.
Driving directly to his house, Rex went into his bedroom and began cleaning and re-arranging the room to fit the items in. Constructing the crib in the corner of the room, just feet from the bed, it took Rex forty five minutes to build. But now, he also understood completely how it worked too. After showering and dressing in clean clothes, Rex left his apartment and went to Jayme’s favorite restaurant to pick up take out that he had already ordered.
It was nearly six when Rex walked to Jayme’s nursing room and knocked on the door. “Come in…” He heard Jayme say.
Opening the door, Rex saw Jayme sitting in the rocking chair feeding Bella. Jayme smiled at Rex and he knew that it was the most beautiful view he had seen all day. Rex smiled back and approached her. Leaning down, he kissed her on the forehead then sat in the chair beside her.
“I brought us both some dinner.” Rex said.
“Oh? It smells really, really good.” Jayme said as she re-positioned Bella to burp her.
With her successful attempt, Jayme took Bella to her small crib and laid her down, swaddled in her blanket. Returning to her chair as Rex began to remove the Styrofoam containers from the plastic bags. Handing her a container, he also handed her a small packet containing plastic silverware and a napkin.
“Oh… where did you go?” Jayme asked.
“To The Country Diner.” Rex answered.
“Oh, my favorite.” Jayme said as she opened the container. “Ooh, you got me a cheeseburger, deluxe, and an extra large order of fries… you spoil me.” Jayme smiled. “Thank you, Rex.”
“You’re welcome, Jay…” Rex said.
“Jay? You haven’t call me that in so, so long. I thought you’d forgotten.”
“Of course not, I just wasn’t sure how you’d respond, being all grown up.” Rex admitted.
“You’re the only person allowed to call me that.” Jayme said as she unwrapped her silverware.
“That makes me feel special.”
“Rex… you have no idea how special you are. Especially to me. You were there for me last night. I can’t thank you enough for that.” Jayme said, her eyes filling with tears.
Rex reached out to her, brushing his thumb across her cheek to catch a tear that had fallen. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Rex said.
With more tears falling down her cheek, Rex wondered if she was feeling the effects of postpartum depression already. Grabbing a box of tissues from the counter beside him, Rex handed them to Jayme. With a smile, Jayme took them and wiped her eyes. Rex reached out and took her hand. “Please don’t cry, I promise everything will be alright.” Rex said.
“I know…” Jayme said and wiped her eyes again.
In an attempt to distract herself, Jayme picked up the large cheeseburger and took a bite. As the two of them ate, they watched some TV. After throwing her empty container away, Jayme stood up and waddled to the bathroom. She was still sore and could hardly move her hips. Jayme’s breasts were twice the size and they felt hot. Jayme couldn’t control the leakage from her nipples.
Coming from the bathroom, Jayme gathered some clothes and went back into the bathroom. Jayme told Rex that she was getting into the shower. Rex relaxed in the chair, keeping his ears and eyes open for Bella. Before Jayme got out of the shower, Bella began to fuss.
Rex went to the infant and picked her up. Immediately, he could tell why she was crying. She was smelly. And he had never changed a diaper, especially a soiled diaper. But he laid the child on the bed, laying a changing pad beneath her.
Unsnapping her outfit, he pulled it out of the way. Finding the tabs on the side, Rex pulled them open to expose the unpleasant contents. Using the diaper wipes, he cleaned her completely. But it took him a minute to put the clean diaper on correctly and close the tabs. Then he snapped her back up and tried wrapping her back up. It was more complicated.
Coming from the bathroom, Jayme saw him sitting in the rocking chair, holding Bella. As Jayme walked closer to them, She realized that Bella was asleep. With a smile and no words, Jayme sat in the chair beside him and just observed him with her. Jayme’s heart felt full. She’s not sure how he managed to completely shatter the anguish she felt from Scott’s murder, or the anguish from the danger of Jim, but he did.