The elevator dings and Waylen protectively steps in front of the sliding doors. Leilani chews her lip and wonders how she can persuade him to relax. If his grandfather sees him acting like this, he’ll go mad with anger. Instead of a threat, two young girls in candy striper uniforms try to hand them shiny leaflets.
Waylen ignores them, so they turn to Robert and Leilani. Leilani politely accepts the leaflet, ready to toss it into her bag as soon as the volunteers stop looking at her.
“It’s a great opportunity,” one of the volunteers said. “Expectant mothers and fathers can really benefit from these classes.”
“Expectant mothers and fathers?” Waylen asks.
“Yes, many young fathers and mothers don’t actually know that much about caring for a newborn,” one of the volunteers said. “When the baby comes, they feel overwhelmed. You’d be surprised how much work goes into caring for a little baby. This class helps teach you the essentials, so you’re prepared when the time comes. In addition, we can use a state of the art software to predict what your baby will look like. Lots of mothers and fathers are eager to see.”
“Can we go?” Leilani asks immediately.
She doesn’t care that much about the class, but she wants to see the photos. She desperately wants to see what the baby will look like. This might be my only chance to see my child’s face, she thinks.
The walls of the classroom are painted pink and blue, like a nursery. Drawings of cartoon characters hang from every wall, and colorful mobiles dangle from the ceiling. Several couples are already sitting at tables throughout the room. They look up curiously when Waylen and Leilani come in with their team of bodyguards.
The lights in the room dim, and a projector flickers to life. A doctor in a white coat explains the way a fetus develops in the uterus. She goes through each stage of development and explains the different effects it might have on the mother: morning sickness, exhaustion, weird cravings. Then she lists the most important nutrients and suggests different meals and supplements for expecting mothers.
Robert stands behind Waylen, frantically scribbling notes. Leilani turns to look at Waylen, and she sees that he’s staring at the projection with deep fascination. She’s never seen him look so focused.
The doctor begins to explain the ways a couple can prepare for the birth and lists the different birth options available. Then she begins to explain how to care for a newborn. A nurse brings her a model baby, and the doctor raises the doll above her head.
“Crying is a newborn’s the only way to communicate,” the doctor says. “They will cry when they are hungry and sleepy. They will cry when their diaper is dirty, and they will cry when they’re uncomfortable or in pain. After a few days, most parents will learn to recognize the different types of cries. For example, when a baby cries in pain it sounds different than when the baby is tired.”
Then the doctor demonstrates the correct way to feed a baby. She provides tips to help the baby latch and explains the different benefits of b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding and bottle feeding. Then she takes the doll and demonstrates the correct way to hold it.
“There are different ways to hold your infant,” she explains. “But you must always protect and support the baby’s head and neck. The baby’s head is the heaviest part of its body, and its neck muscles are not developed enough to support that weight. If you don’t support the baby’s neck, it can suffer serious spinal damage.”
She looks around the room. “Any questions?” she asks. “No? Okay, now it’s your turn to try.”
The nurse reenters the room wheeling a cart of model babies and passes one to each couple. Leilani takes the baby in embarrassment. The doll feels awkward in her arms, and it makes strange sounds when she holds it. Its eyes blink, and its lips move like a real baby. Leilani shudders—the thing is creepy. Waylen gently adjusts her posture, guiding her hands to support the doll’s neck and bottom.
“It should be more like this,” he says.
The doctor catches his eye and smiles. “You’ve listened very carefully,” she says. “I can see that you’ll be a good father.” She raises her voice and addresses the entire room, “In fact, the first few months after birth are incredibly difficult for the mother. If a supportive and attentive father can help her, both she and the baby will benefit,”
Leilani passes the doll to Waylen. “Alright, Daddy, how about you feed the baby?” she asks.
Waylen smiles slightly and tenderly takes the doll in his arms. Leilani’s heart flutters in her chest as he smiles down at the doll. It’s so easy to imagine that the plastic and fabric bundle is a real baby—their real baby. He rocks the doll gently, and she realizes she’s never found him more attractive. She passes him the fake bottle, and he grabs her wrist, expertly shifting the baby to one large hand.
“If I feed it, will you feed me?” he whispers flirtatiously.
Leilani pinches his arm. “Be serious,” she says. “You need to know how to take care of our child. What if I’m away?”
“What if you’re away?” Waylen asks with a frown. “Where would you go?”
“I mean, what if I’m busy with something,” Leilani says quickly. “There might be times when I need you to take care of our child.”
“We’ll have a nanny,” Waylen says.
“But it’s our child,” Leilani says, hearing the panic creep into her voice. “You can’t abandon him or her to a nanny.”
“I won’t be abandoning him,” Waylen says.
His forehead creases and he looks meaningfully at Leilani. She squirms and looks away, unable to meet his searching gaze.
“We’ll raise him together,” Waylen says. He lifts her chin and turned her head towards him. “Promise me,” he whispers.
“I promise,” Leilani says, trying to keep the tears from her eyes.
Waylen looks at her questioningly, but the doll in his arms begins to cry. The speaker inside it wails just like a real baby. Waylen gently puts the rubber n.i.p.p.l.e in its mouth, and the crying sound stops. After a few minutes, it begins to cry again.
“What’s going on?” Leilani asks. “Why is it crying after you’ve fed it?”
“Maybe it peed,” Waylen suggests.
He gently pats the diaper and then lifts the baby to show Leilani a wet spot on the fabric. Waylen lays the doll on the table and expertly unfolds the diaper. He lifts the baby’s legs and slides a clean diaper underneath. Leilani looks around the room. No other father is handling the situation as calmly as Waylen. One man has accidentally put the diaper on backward, and another has dropped the baby.
“Waylen,” Leilani whispers.
“Yes?”
“You really will be a good father,” she says, tears slipping out of her eyes and down her cheeks.
“I’d rather be a good husband,” Waylen says, gently wiping a tear from her cheek.
“You are,” she sobs.
“I can do better,” he whispers. “And I promise, I will.”
The nurse comes around the room and collects the dolls. Leilani tries to stop crying, but she can’t stop imagining Waylen with her baby. If I die, at least I know that the baby will be cared for, she thinks. Waylen will do everything he can to protect and love our child.
The doctor clears her throat. “In the room next door, we have a photo composite technology. Our software can scan images of the mother and father and predict what your baby may look like. If you’re interested in trying it out, please head that way now.”
Leilani wipes her eyes and stands, taking Waylen’s hand in hers. She knows she should pretend to be cold and uninterested, but seeing him with the doll has completely destroyed her self-control. She looks around the room and sees that several other women are in tears. Good, she thinks. Hopefully, Waylen will just think it’s the pregnancy hormones. I don’t think I could answer any questions right now.
She leads him to the room, and they stand in front of a camera. Instead of taking a picture, it scans their images directly into the computer.
“Oh, you’re a beautiful couple,” a nurse gushes. “I bet you’ll make the most precious baby.”
The computer blends its features together and makes two babies: one boy and one girl. Leilani squints at them. They look exactly the same to her.
“They’re adorable,” the nurse says. “Of course, this is only a guess. We’d have to look at your DNA and determine your dominant and recessive genes in order to provide a more accurate image, but in our experience, our technology is usually pretty accurate.”
The nurse prints the photos on glossy paper and hands them to Leilani. Leilani gently traces the baby’s chubby cheeks.
“Can you age the baby too?” she asks. “For example, can you show me what he or she will look like when they’re three or five or eighteen?”
“Of course,” the nurse says. “I’ll print the photos and bind them in an album for you.”
“Thank you,” Leilani says, beaming.
“Our system has a mobile phone app, too,” the nurse says. “You can download it and compare the photos yourself.”
Waylen grabs his phone and immediately downloads the app. Leilani watches as he scrolls through his photo album. She turns away when a nurse hands her a pink and blue cloth-bound book. She pages through, looking at the photos of their child, watching him or her grow up.
When she looks up, she sees that Waylen has selected a photo of Andrew and what appears to be a chimpanzee. He uploads them to the app and smirks at the results.
“Send it to Andrew,” Waylen says to Robert.
Robert takes the phone and emails the photo to Andrew.
“Wait a minute—send this one too,” Waylen said, pointing to the photo of the child he’s having with Leilani. “I want him to compare them.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply