The Birthday Portrait by Phyllis Clark Nichols

Author:Phyllis Clark Nichols [Nichols, Phyllis Clark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Southern Fiction
ISBN: 9781734452204
Publisher: Phyllis Clark Nichols
Published: 2019-08-19T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Monday morning, March 27, 1989

The night sky disappeared into morning. As Mama used to say, the sun was doing chin-ups over the horizon. The smell of bacon frying followed Daddy up the stairs right into my room. “You’re already up so early on this first day of spring break?”

I met Daddy just inside the door and hugged him. “Yes, sir. Hard to sleep with phones ringing and a baby being born.”

“You’re right. Joseph Harrison Baker is ready to meet his cousins.”

“They’ve already named him?”

“Now, what do you think? You know your Aunt Susannah Hope. She’s had a name picked out for months. Named for both of his grandfathers, and they’re planning to call him Harry so he’ll have a heritage and be his own person.”

“Guess we won’t be calling him Dumplin’ anymore.”

“That’s right. I’m headed to the shower, and breakfast is almost ready. Hurry up so you can help Uncle Luke.” He was out the door, his boots clopping on the wooden floor.

Daddy announced at breakfast he was going in to work for a few hours since Granny had ridden with Uncle Don to Lexington. He was headed there after work to pick her up. I asked to go with him, but Daddy said I couldn’t today.

Uncle Luke planned to spend the morning studying and needed some peace and quiet, so Daddy made arrangements for Chesler to go play with Ben. He just lived down the street, and he had a tree house. I was instructed to keep myself quietly entertained until Aunt Lisa arrived with lunch.

Uncle Luke told me after Daddy left what the neo-natal unit was like—how the baby would be on a breathing machine and there would be lots of tubes. It made me sad to think that nobody could hold him for a few days. When Chesler was born, Mama held him all the time, except when she let Daddy and me hold him. She said holding the baby was important so he would feel safe. I didn’t know how safe Harry would feel in a plastic bed with tubes all around him, but I knew Aunt Susannah Hope would be there, sitting next to him and talking to him.

After our talk, Uncle Luke spread out his books on the dining table while I washed the dishes. I wished for the red bird in the cedar tree, but no show this morning. I finished in the kitchen and headed upstairs. I had my own quiet place I wanted to be—sitting at my desk with my drawing pad.

With the baby coming early, we didn’t have his welcome-to-the-world presents yet. I knew Daddy had been thinking about that because he mentioned it, but he thought we had a few more weeks. I knew what I could do for a present, so I got out the family pictures I took on Christmas morning. That was the day Aunt Susannah Hope told us she was having a baby.

There it was, a picture of my aunt and uncle sitting on our sofa, looking at each other and smiling.

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