I Am a Crying Baby

Mom was the one that least slept. I wasn't completely recovered yet, and she didn't seem to want to wake Dad up to help her. I woke up a few times crying, and she took me to the kitchen until I calmed down. Mom also had to help Dad to get ready for work because of his hurt leg. She helped him change the bandages and clean the wound. Jonathan also needed help to get ready to leave with Dad. So, Mom was definitely tired.

"Clarice, we are heading to work", said Dad walking to the front door, but limping on his hurt leg.

"Are you sure you don't want a walking stick?", suggested Mom with me in her arms.

"Johnny and I will walk slowly, right?". Dad patted Jonathan's head, who nodded in agreement. "Please, go back to sleep, Clarice"

Dad didn't want to show it to Mom, but he was in pain, and Mom knew that. Some of the few times I had woken up were because of him. He was in pain and couldn't find a good position to sleep. Dad and Jonathan said their farewells and went to work. It was still early and the sun was barely at the horizon. Mom and I went back to sleep in the bedroom. Mom used to go to work around the second bell, and Dad left right before the first time. We still have plenty of time to sleep, or we thought so.

Mom noticed I was feverish when we got back to the bedroom. She bathed me in cold water to lower my temperature and breastfed me. I was tired from waking up so many times at night that I slept while she was feeding me. I am not sure if she slept or did anything else afterward, but when I woke up, we were already walking down the path to the village.

Mom was carrying me in her sling. My head was covered with a cloth to protect me against the sun. I couldn't see much, but I heard them talking about the day ahead of them.

"Mom, I want to stay with Gigelda today. May I? She told me she will teach me new methods to improve my embroidery"

"I'm sorry, Alice, but I'll need you to stay with me today. Henry is still unwell"

"But, Mom… Can he not stay in the daycare with the other children as Jonathan did when he was younger? He stayed with them even when he was sick"

"While Henry is unwell, you are the only one I can trust to stay with him, sweetheart. It's only for today. He will be better by tomorrow"

They kept a conversation going about threads, fabrics, and colors until we reached the village. The same noises from the day before were there, horses, wagons, people shouting, kids running all sorts of sounds and noises. Sounds that I wasn't fully familiar. I cried with discontent, and Mom calmed me down by placing my head on her shoulder. I was a great example of a crying baby. Gladly, all the noises baffled down when we stopped in the workshop.

The workers were about to start a meeting. They were all gathering. It seemed they were waiting for someone to step up on a box. We were at the far end of the crowd, but we could still see the wooden box. Ophelia stepped on and gave some announcements and deadline reminders. They had a big order coming up to be delivered by the end of the week. Mom seemed concerned and rushed to her weaving machine. She handed me to Alice, and we headed to a nearby wall, where Alice placed a cloth on the floor and some cushions to stay with me. She also brought with her embroidery kit and some wooden toys to play with me.

The morning passed fast. Mom often came to check on us and breastfed me. She and Alice had a short lunch break. Mom finished quickly and went back to work. Alice took me to walk around the workshop. I also think she was bored.

"Mom is busy with her job, Henry. The women need to hurry and finish their fabrics. Mom said she needs to get three rolls ready by the end of the week. So, we must let her work. All the other moms had to leave their babies to work too. When I was younger, I used to stay with Mrs. Hubson, but Jonathan stayed at the workshop daycare. It's not far, see?" She pointed to an improvised room with short wooden fences. Kids were playing with cloth toys, and the babies were sleeping or being changed by some women who seemed to be babysitting them.

Alice continued to walk, but we did not go closer to the place. She took that moment to go to see Gigelda, and how she was doing. Gigelda was older than Ophelia, but not too much like Mrs. Hubson. She was a chubby lady with strange blond hair. Her other features were just like the other woman there. However, her eyes watched the younger women embroidering with extreme attention. She only realized we were there when Alice stood by her side.

"My little companion in embroidery, Alice! Good Afternoon. I thought you had stayed home today, and you brought some company today"

"Good Afternoon, Gigelda! This is my little brother, Henry. He is not feeling good, and Mom asked me to stay with him today. But tomorrow, I'll be here! I promise!"

"You two have such beautiful hair!", said Gigelda, inclining to look at me. "You know, in the past people used their hair to embroider…" she gasped confused as if she didn't have intended to say it and continued. "You two have such wonderful hair that makes me think they were embroidered in your heads like beautiful dolls!"

"You like? We all have different hair colors at home. I thought people here thought it was ugly or something like that"

"Oh no, sweetheart. They are simply not used to beauty like those", said the woman touching Alice's hair.

"Thank you, Gigelda. Mom always helps me to take care of it. We use some wonderful herbs to rinse our hair. It smells really nice too"

She didn't stop talking about our hair. Even worse, she took a liking to Alice's hair. She touched it and complimented Alice for taking good care of it, and how women should do the same. I think she was going to sniff Alice's hair. She came even closer so that I could smell her herbal perfume. That woman made me chill. I started crying. Gigelda was too creepy for me.

"Henry! Don't cry like that. We are talking here", said Alice, trying to keep me quiet. Gigelda stepped back and put a hand on her chest. She spoke with a strange smile.

"I think he doesn't like women's topics, Alice. Men are always the same, even the babies"

"He is not a crying baby, maybe because he is not feeling well today. My apologies, Gigelda. I'll bring him back another time"

Alice took me back to the corner we were in earlier that day. She seemed displeased with me crying in front of her friend. She even tried to lecture me about it, but I didn't stop crying. The other workers stared at us. They complained that the noise was distracting them. Mom noticed that Alice could not make me stop crying and came to save her.

"What happened Alice?", Mom took me from Alice's arms and tried to calm me down.

"We went to see Gigelda, but he started crying out of the blue"

"Alice, he is still a baby… He will cry for all new people. He is just not used to seeing people like us. Also, he is not feeling well. Imagine you being sick and meeting strangers bigger than you are. Isn't it scary? That's why I asked you to stay with him". I was feeling calmer and my loud cry turned into weeping.

"I'm sorry, Henry… I only wanted him to meet my friend… ", said Alice with a sad tone. She didn't realize that I was keeping that woman as far as I could from us. Something was wrong with her.

Alice stayed quiet the whole time. She seemed ashamed for failing with Mom. She was supposed to take care of me, and not only Mom had to stop working, but the other workers too.

Mom cleaned my face and breastfed me to help to calm me down. She was avoiding me being feverish, or we would have to go home earlier again. It was something that she clearly didn't want to do. The order was big, and Ophelia needed Mom the most. Mom was the only one capable of weaving fast without losing quality. Ophelia even came to see us and offered help, so Mom could go back to work.

"It's fine now, Ophelia. I appreciate your concern. He is just tired and scared of Gigelda. He will sleep in no time". Ophelia started laughing.

"That makes sense! I'd cry my lungs out too if I were him". She touched my cheeks and turned back to the workers. "The show is over. Get back to work, girls!", shouted her to the curious women.

Mom murmured the same lullaby as always. I was indeed too tired to stay awake, but she was tired too. I could see in her face. Mom needed to sleep as much as I needed, but she was adamant about her work. Mom kissed my hand and kept murmuring the lullaby until I slept.