And of course, I don’t own these characters and am not making any money off them. But isn’t it nice to know that soon someone WILL be making money off Trixie again? I hope Random House makes LOTS and LOTS of money with Trixie and they reprint all 39 and write more!!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!

Feelings

by Steph H.

 

I feel good. Warm, snuggled, happy.

"What time are we supposed to be at your parents for the party, Trix?"

"Um, six I think."

"Well, it’s just about six now. Do you want to walk or drive?"

"You’re kidding right?"

"Well, it’s not like it’s that far. . ."

"It’s snowing, it’s like 30 degrees outside, and I’m nine months pregnant. What do you think?"

"Sorry, sorry. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just get my—oof! What was that!?"

Oof! What was that?

"I don’t know. You tell me."

"I—I’m not sure. It was kind of—ow! Ohhh, that hurt!

Ow! That hurt!

"Move, move, I need to sit down! Damn it, why did we put this stupid dancing Santa here? Argh!"

"Trixie, what is it? Is it…?"

"Um, I don’t know. I’ve never done this before."

"Well, what did it feel like?"

"Painful."

"But what kind of pain?"

"The kind I don’t like."

"Stop joking about it. This is serious! You’re freakin’ me out, here."

"You’re freaked out? Oh, well excuse me. I’m over here in agony, but you’re freaked out, and that certainly takes top—oh God! Owwwwwwwww!"

Owwwwwwww!! What is that? I don’t like this.

"What?!"

"Get the car."

"Is it. . .?"

"YES!!!! GO GET THE CAR!!!"

"I’m going, I’m going! What about the party?"

"We’ll call my mother on the way. Just GO!"

*****

What’s going on? Ow. That hurt. I don’t like this.

"Ok, Trixie, relax. You’re doing great. Just a few more pushes and your baby will be here."

"Oh, God. I don’t think I can do it. I’m so tired."

"You can do it, sweetheart. Just a few more. I’m right here for you. I love you, honey."

"Ok, here comes the contraction, Trixie. Push now, push! Count of ten! Hey, dad, help her focus. Count for her."

"One, two, three. . .come on, Trix!"

 

Ow, ow, ow. What’s happening, what’s happening?

"Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Ok, take a breath, Trix, that was great."

"ARRRGGHH!!! That was more than ten!!!"

". . .Come, they told me, pah rum pa pum pum."

"And would someone please turn that @#&# radio off!!! I hate that song!!"

"I’m sorry, sweetheart, it’s my fault, I thought you might like to hear some Christmas music."

"Grrrrrrrrrrr."

"All right, Trixie, let’s focus. Here comes another one. Push. . .push. . .push. . .PUSH!"

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Good job, honey."

What is that? Why does it hurt so much? What’s going on? I don’t want to do this!

"I see the head, Trixie! You’re almost there! Now, I need you to really push this next time."

"I am pushing. I can’t push anymore."

"Yes, you can, Trixie. Come on, now. Here it comes, push, push, push!"

"Come on, honey, push. There it is. Oh my God! I see the head! Oh my God!"

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

What is that? It hurts my eyes. I’m cold. Ow, that hurts me. I’m so cold. I don’t want to be here.

"Congratulations, Mr. And Mrs. Frayne. You have a beautiful son. And he’s a big one."

"A son? Oh, Trixie, we have a son!"

"Where is he? I want to touch him!"

"He’s right here, Mrs. Frayne. Here’s your son."

"Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

"Oh, Jim, he’s beautiful."

What’s this? It feels kind of familiar, but I’m still cold and my eyes hurt.

"Not as beautiful as his mother."

"Thank you, sweetheart. So what time was he born?"

"The nurse said it was midnight exactly."

"Oh? Well, then, Merry Christmas. Your present’s at home."

"This is the best present any man could ask for."

*****

"Hello there? Ok to come in?"

"Sure."

"How’s the new mom?"

"Exhausted. But happy. Sorry we didn’t make it to the party, Moms."

"Well, I have a surprise for you, sweetheart."

"Honey? And Brian! Oh my goodness, you’re here! But it’s two in the morning!"

"You think I could stay away from my first nephew? Forget it! The others are here, too. Mart and Di made us promise to send them in next, along with Dan. Mother and Daddy said they’d wait until morning to come by to let you get some rest. But the rest of us just couldn’t wait. Can I hold him?"

"Of course. Just be careful of his head."

What is this? I still don’t like it here. I’m so tired but I can’t sleep for all this noise. I miss the place where I was. This place is so cold and whatever they put around me isn’t helping. And the bright thing hurts my eyes.

"Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

"Hey, are those the powerful lungs of my nephew?"

"Mart! Oh my goodness, it really is a party!"

"Yeah, when you couldn’t come, we brought the party here. And I was in charge of refreshments."

"Big surprise."

"Now, Jim, is that any way to speak to your favorite brother-in-law who worked so hard to sneak a certain something by the desk nurses. . .?"

"Oh my—is that a plate of turkey you’re hiding under your coat?"

"And all the trimmings! I’ve got turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry relish, and presto chango, in my pocket I have—two dinner rolls!"

"Holy cow, it’s been so crazy, I forgot to eat. Trix, do you want something?"

"Oh, heavens, no. You go ahead."

My tummy hurts. I’m hungry! "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"

"Oops, someone wants his mommy back. Here you go, Trix."

"Thanks, Hon. Hey, you guys, I really appreciate the little party, but. . ."

"We know, Trix. You’re exhausted. Brian and I knew we probably shouldn’t come, but we were all just so excited we couldn’t stay away."

"I know. And it’s not really that, it’s just that I’ve been trying to nurse him and we’ve been having some trouble, so I want to try again."

"Whoa! Say no more. That is one thing, as your almost-twin brother, I do not need to experience."

"I’m with him. Doctor or not, there’s just some things a man doesn’t need to see his sister doing, and that’s one of them. Bye, sis. We’ll see you tomorrow. . .I mean, later today."

 

Why can’t I stay in one place? I don’t like all these strange people. I want to go back where I was before. It was so nice there! I don’t like it out here in the cold, bright place.

"Bye, guys. Bye, Honey. Give me a kiss before you go, Moms. I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart. I just can’t believe it. My baby girl has a baby."

"Aww, Moms, don’t cry."

"I know, I know. You just try to get some sleep. Night, dear."

"Night, Moms."

*****

"They’re all gone, Trix. You can feed him now."

I’m hungry and cold and tired. "Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

"Do you want me to get the lactation nurse to help you?"

"No, not yet. I think the fewer people around the better. We need to just have some quiet."

"Do you want me to leave?"

I’m hungry and cold and tired. "Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

"Absolutely not! I need you here. I need the moral support. You’re not going anywhere!"

"Ok, then. I’m not going anywhere. Hmmmmmm. . .do you think we can fit two on this bed?"

"What?!"

"Let’s see. If I move this pillow just so, and put the head of the bed down a little, I think I can get. . .right. . .here. There. Now you’re surrounded by Frayne men."

"Hmph. If the nurse comes in and sees you sitting next to me on this bed, she’s going to give you grief."

"Bah! Let her. I want to be next to my beautiful wife and son and no one’s going to stop me. In fact, I think I’ll just put my arm right here around my wife while she feeds my son."

"Hopefully, she feeds him. He’s been so fussy about it. Let’s see how it goes this time."

What’s this? I was just getting to sleep. I don’t want to wake up again. What is this person doing? Don’t unwrap me! I get even colder when you do that! "Waaaaaahhhhhhh!"

"Oh, come on, Little Win. You can do it. Please eat. You make me feel like the world’s worst mother when you won’t do this."

"Come on, Win. You don’t know what you’re missing."

"Hush! You’re not helping."

Stop bothering me. I don’t understand this. "Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

"That’s it!"

"Oh, that was sneaky! A little bait and switch."

"Hey, he opened his mouth. I just took advantage of it. Come on, Win. That’s it. Yes! You can do it."

What is this? This person is familiar to me. I remember that I like her, but I don’t think. . .wait. This is good. Feels good. Tastes good.

"Look, Jim, look! He’s doing it!"

"Wow. Look at that! How do you feel?"

"Well, it’s definitely different."

"Good different? Or bad different?"

"Wonderful different. Look, he’s trying to get closer to me. He’s really doing it! Wow. He’s so beautiful and perfect."

"That makes two of you, sweetheart."

"Merry Christmas, Jim. I love you."

"Merry Christmas, Trixie. I love you, too."

This is good. I like this.

Warm, snuggled, happy.

The End

Happy Holidays IV