Joneses – 3.4 Kaden

“Have a good day, my cute little maestro!” Asia wanted to bend down and kiss her son, but her third trimester belly wouldn’t let her.

“Ok, mom!” Kolby hugged her waist and ran out the door.

She followed him as he went to catch the bus. Sometimes she wished she could be a stay-at-home mom so she wouldn’t have to miss moments like those. She didn’t make much money at the moment, and if she quit, perhaps her salary wouldn’t be missed; but she couldn’t do it. She gave up on a dream once, and thank the Watcher she was given a second chance to fulfill that dream. Hopefully later on that day that dream would be realized.

“OH! Kolby, wait!”

He turned around to see what she wanted.

“When you get home, you’ll be a big brother! And you’ll be in your new room!”

This news widened his smile and gave him something to think about on his way to school.

Jared usually walked Kolby to the bus stop but let Asia do it because she was rarely awake at that time with her schedule. He was watching from the dining room window though and smiled at the tender scene between a mother and son. When Kolby disappeared, Asia came back inside and found Jared.

“Oh! There you are. I thought about it all night, and I think I’ve settled on a name!”

“Oooh, let’s hear it! I imagine this is another one of your unisex names, huh?”

“Of course! It’s too much work trying to settle on two names to choose from,” she said.

Jared disagreed, but it didn’t really matter to him. “So what is it?”

“Kaden!”

Jared’s face scrunched up just a little as he repeated the name a few times. “How will you spell it? There’s only a million and eighteen ways to spell that name.”

“You’re right, so let’s settle it. See…isn’t easier to decide on how to spell a name than choosing one?”

Jared disagreed again, but it wasn’t in his best interest to voice his opinion that day. She was carrying his child and would be in labor very soon. Asia could win all the battles as far as he was concerned.

She continued. “So, if it’s a girl, I figured we could spell it either K-A-D-I-N or K-A-D-Y-N”

“Hmmm, Y’s always seem to make things more girly.”

“Great! I like that one too. Ok, for a boy we could go either K-A-D-E-N or K-A-I-D-E-N.”

“Oooh, I like it with the I in there,” he said with excitement. “It stretches out that A and looks like it’s pronounced how it sounds and won’t be mistaken for KAH-din”

She was beaming. That was her only order of business that day. Now they were free to rest and wait for whatever variant of Kaden to arrive. The wait wasn’t long either. They watched a movie and was going to start a second when the contractions started. At first Asia was going to wait it out until the contractions were closer together to go to the hospital, but she knew they weren’t going to be able to enjoy the movie. And, with Jared being the doting husband that he was, he’d be checking up on her every 30 seconds. So, off to the hospital they went.

When they arrived, they were introduced to the doctor and her assistant who was also a surgeon. Asia was a little bit nervous because this was her first hospital birth. She knew it would be painless—which was a huge plus—but she felt like more things could go wrong. Speaking of things going wrong…

“WHERE’S THAT SMOKE COMING FROM??”

“JARED! JARED! WHAT’S HAPPENING?? I CAN’T SEE YOU!”

“It’s ok, folks. These little glitches happen all the time, heh…”

It’s my first day! Why did I have to get the Pruetts? My career is over.

Dr. Fyers got control of the machine and fetched the new little Pruett without any other complications. The parents, on the other hand, were still panicking and she didn’t quite know how to handle them. She gave pleading glance to her colleague across the room to take over. He was disappointed in her, but he was very experienced with these situations. He walked over to Jared while Moira let Asia out of the machine.

“Mr. Pruett,” he said to the panicking man with an authoritative tone.

“Mr. Pruett! Calm down. I will not speak to you in this state.”

Jared took a few deep breaths while he looked around the room and saw that everything was indeed ok. He watched his wife stand up and walk over to where the baby was and saw her face light up.

“Ok, doctor,” Jared said. “I’m ok now. I’m sorry for being such a child. This is new for us and—

“You and your wife have a healthy baby boy,” the surgeon said and walked away. Maybe there was a reason he’s been stuck at the surgeon’s level for so long! His bedside manner needs a bit of work, eh?

“A boy??”

Back home, Jared and Asia met Kaiden upstairs in his room. Asia scooped him up again and welcomed him into their lives in a way that only a mother can. Jared watched them and was grateful for another chance at the big, happy family they both always wanted.

He patiently waited for his turn to meet his son and gave her all the time she needed.

“I’m so happy you’re with us.”

Once they both were mildly acquainted with their new son, they took a moment to reflect. Jared stood there in that room with a happy wife and a happy baby. Could life get any better for him?

It was almost time for Kolby to be home, and Asia wanted to meet him at the door. She grabbed a book and sat on the porch—something she was rarely able to do.

“Kolby! Hello my darling!” She ran to him and wrapped her arms around him like she wanted to that morning. “I love you so much!”

“Can I see the baby now?

“Of course you can, handsome!”

They went inside, her arm draped around his shoulder, and met Jared who was still in the nursery watching Kaiden nap. He stepped aside so the brothers could meet. Asia picked Kaiden up, who immediately began to fuss, and facilitated the meeting.

“Ohhhh, Kaiden, don’t be rude,” she cooed. “You have to meet your big brother!”

“Can I hold him?”

“Maybe later. He needs to go back to sleep. Let’s get started on your homework!”