9.3 Recruitment

“Hello, babies. I am Emerson James Pruett, and I am your uncle. Your dad calls me Emmy J. You may call me…Emerson James Pruett!”

Sasha came in to meet the twins as well. “Hey, Em. Talking to the babies?”

“I’m introducing myself.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea…hello, Juliette and Janessa! I am your aunt, Sasha, and I am going to teach you all about Llama Man and the fight against evil.”

Emerson felt threatened and acted quickly in order to recruit the twins for #teamUnicorn.

“Uhhh, no…you don’t want to be on that team, girls,” he said. “You want to root for Unicorn and his band of merry mates!”

Juliette and Janessa cooed in their bassinets as they enjoyed the show produced by their aunt and uncle.

“Really, girls,” Sasha said. “Do you really want a pack of animals to be in charge of your safety? We need a man! A man with superhuman abilities will defend us. And…don’t forget about his better half, Llama Woman who makes Llama Man everything he is.”

“Ugggggh,” Emerson groaned. “Nobody wants a girl superhero!”

Sasha took offense to that “Excuse me? Everyone should want a girl superhero! Girls run the world! We make everything work! Behind every powerful man there is a powerful woman he cannot function without, thank you! Remember that, girls.”

Janessa began to fuss, and Sasha tried to appease her. “Shhhh! It’s ok. I wasn’t yelling at you! Shhhh…I’m sorry, ok? I was just making a point!”

“See, Juliette,” Emerson said. “Girls always end up crying. You don’t have to worry about mood swings with the animals! Vote for #teamUnicorn. They’ll never let you down.”

“Arrrrrg! Why won’t you stop crying,” Sasha said to Janessa.

Viviana was near and heard the crying and came in to see who needed what. She didn’t know her younger children were in there though. “What does she need?”

“I don’t know! She won’t stop crying,” Sasha said frantically.

Juliette began to fuss as well. Viviana came over to Janessa’s bassinet and picked her up. “They’re just hungry.” As soon as she put the bottle in her mouth, the crying stopped. “Do you want to try feeding Juliette?”

“Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm…ok?” Sasha had never been around babies before and was very nervous. When Emerson was born, she was just a child and wasn’t allowed to hold him. When her teenage birthday came around, Emerson was just about ready to age-up as well. She bent down and picked Juliette up. She was so afraid, her arms were like stilts, rigid and protruding away from her body. Viviana laughed and saw that she needed a little coaching. “She’s not gonna bite you! Ok…take it slow. Put her on your shoulder like you’re going to cuddle her.”

Sasha slowly brought the baby to her bosom and cradled her. Gosh, they’re so soft, she thought. Viviana smiled at this precious moment; it was her baby girl’s first experience with a baby. She saw that like enjoyed it. “Now,” she continued, “use both your arms and lower her away from you and let her head rest in your arm joint…like this.” Sasha did it ever so carefully. “Now…when you feel like she’s secure, remove your other arm so you can feed her!”

Emerson was quietly watching all of this in the corner of the room by the window.

“I did it,” Sasha yelled. “I’m feeding her!”

“Good job,” Viviana said. “Do this a couple more times, and you’ll be a pro by the time you have your own.”

“My own?”

She had only been a young adult for one day, and starting a family wasn’t on her mind although she also gained the family oriented trait. Between the busyness of the wedding activities, Callie leaving, and the sadness of Brady’s death all occurring within the same week, she did not have the time to think about what she really wanted in life outside of her music.

They fed the babies, and there was a refreshing silence. The twins were sleepy and were knocked out as soon as they were back in their bassinets. Viviana patted Sasha on the shoulder and said, “Your own. You’ll be a great mother.” Then she left. Sasha stood there slightly confused but somehow feeling like she should be flattered.

Emerson was acting a bit strange though. He was standing in the corner like he had done something wrong, or he was hiding.

“What’s wrong, Emerson?”

“Nothing,” he said with a tremble in his voice.

“You’re crying? Why are you crying, Em?”

He turned around to face her seeing as how she called his bluff. His eyes were wet and puffy. “I don’t want you to go!”

She was confused yet touched. “Where am I going?”

“I don’t know…away! Like Callie…”

She was deeply touched at that point. She didn’t realized he loved her that much. “Awww, Em! I’m not going anywhere…at least not right now. Why do you think I’m leaving?”

“Mommy said you’re going to have a baby!”

She thought this was hilarious. “I’m sorry…I’m not laughing at you. I’m not having a baby! She meant when I’m older…and ready. There are no babies in my immediate future, and I’m not leaving you, ok?

He dried his tears and smiled. “Promise?”

“Promise!”

“Come here…you little goober,” Sasha said and bent down to embrace him.

Within the hour, the family began dropping in little by little to feast their eyes on the new darlings of the Pruett Estate. First there was Anthony, Allen–Jeannette’s brother–and Callie. She thought seeing the babies would cheer her up, and initially they did. But, being back in the place where her father died brought on sadness.

“Hey…cheer up,” Julian said. “I know dad is gone, and I miss him too…but he wouldn’t want us to be all weepy and mopey about it. It’s terrible how it happened, and I hate that the Grim Reaper didn’t listen to us and crashed Sasha’s party, but dad lived a very full life. He got everything he wanted, and then some…and he lived an extra long time just to be around with us longer. It was way past his time.”

“That doesn’t help! It’s not fair! He’s not here! I don’t care about when he was supposed to go and how many extra days he had. He’s not here right now! I want my daddy back!” She was sobbing uncontrollably, and he put his arms around her and held her tightly. Meanwhile, outside, the sadness seemed to be spreading.