All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
1989
Leah's tiny dark head popped out of her room as she peered down the hallway. The commotion of laughter and conversation floated up the stairs to the second floor, from the living room of her family's home. She had been told to stay in her room, but the noise from below was telling her to do otherwise. The adults were having a good time with whatever they were doing, and it was like an open invitation for her curiosity to be quenched. She intended to eavesdrop and find out what was going on.
Her worn, white and pink blanket, "Blankie", dragged a trail behind her, one corner clutched in a fist that never let go of it. It was Leah's source of constant comfort and most prized item, never far out of reach when she needed it for naptime, watching afternoon cartoons in front of the television or riding in the car. She cried anytime her mom put it in the washing machine in an attempt to brighten the blanket from the dingy gray color it collected daily on the white trim.
Leah paused, sitting her butt down on the top step, clutching the railing with her free hand as she leaned forward to catch a glimpse of the room below. There were lots of ladies down there with her mom. A few of them she recognized, like her Mom's friends Sarah and Connie. There were some she knew from around the neighborhood, but there were a lot whom she didn't know. Mixed with the Native American women were a bunch of pale-faced women in the Clearwater home, which wasn't a typical sight.
"So what are you going to name the baby?" Leah's ears finally picked out a piece of the conversations that were happening below.
"Ah! Joy you said baby! Give me a clothespin!" A blonde woman made a beckoning motion with her fingers.
Leah scooted down another step, ducking her head, craning to see more people around the edge of ceiling and wall that partially obscured her view of the living room below. She caught a glimpse of a brown hand passing a clothespin to the blonde who clipped it to a string around her neck.
"We were thinking of Jared or Jamie for a boy, and Jacqueline for a girl." Leah couldn't see who spoke the words, but the woman who said it had a nice, pleasant voice.
"Oh those are nice!" Joy Ateara moved into Leah's line of sight. She recognized her from the neighborhood. "It's good to have a choice for names. Quil and I talked about what we'd pick if we had a ba- er got pregnant." There was some laughter as she almost said the b-word. "I'm going to talk him into breaking the chain of Quils if I can. Four should be plenty right?"
"Joy you need to have a girl, not a boy. It's the boys who inherit the name," Sarah laughed.
"Well I want to know what you have been putting in the water out here," commented the blonde woman who had taken Joy's clothespin. She chuckled as she said, "Not just your being pregnant Nancy, but Sarah, you too. And Linda's still out on maternity leave with her new son Paul."
"We had a cold spring this year Laura," Sue Clearwater joked. "If it's the water, I guess you'll find out nine months from now?"
"Oh I don't need to add to my brood thanks. Three is a handful."
"I thought you only had two kids Laura."
"My husband Gerald is the big kid."
The women started to laugh. What was so funny, Leah didn't really understand, but it was fun to watch. She vaguely remembered this was supposed to be some kind of party that her mom kept referring to as a shower, but none of the adults were in the bathtub, so she didn't know why it was called that.
"Open another gift Nancy!"
Leah watched as a very fat, belly-swollen Nancy Cameron pulled the ribbon off of a gift. Her mom passed the ribbon off to Sarah who was taping them down onto a paper plate that was loaded with other ribbons. Once the box was open, the women exclaimed over the gift inside, oohing and aahing over tiny baby clothes called "onesies".
There were several gifts like that. Leah scooted down another step, staring longingly at the gifts that Nancy got to open. She wished she could be the one tearing into the paper. She wanted to rip off the ribbons and bows, although the adults were being more careful with them than she would have been. It looked like fun.
The gifts themselves were boring. She was going to be three, a big girl as her mom would tell her. The stuff Nancy revealed with each gift - the diapers, the bottles and bassinets – were long gone for Leah, replaced by a potty seat, sippy cups and a toddler bed. There were blankets and other items too, but none of the blankets were as great as her Blankie.
Leah's butt shifted down one more step, nearly halfway to the bottom with each tiny shuffle she took, following her curiosity down. There was some kind of weird game being played while the presents were opened, because every time a woman said the word "baby" she would have to give up a clothespin from the string around her neck. The blonde woman Laura seemed to have the most pins.
"Do you know what you're having yet Sarah? And is it twins again?" Joy paused beside the other pregnant woman.
"We find out next month," Sarah smiled up at Joy and then groaned, "Definitely not twins again, for which I am thankful. Rachel and Rebecca like to challenge me into being two places at once, both of them getting into things they shouldn't."
Leah perked up at the mention of Rachel and Rebecca. They came over to play sometimes. Rachel didn't share toys like their moms told them to, so Leah didn't like her as much as Rebecca. Rebecca was quieter than Rachel. She wondered why their mom hadn't brought them over to play while the shower/party was going on.
"Billy took the girls fishing with Charlie today so I could have a break. I feel sorry for the men, but two can actually handle it better than one lil' ole me." Once more, the women were cracking up over something Leah didn't really understand. Rebecca and Rachel were fishing. Her lower lip stuck out in a pout. She didn't know what fishing was, but it sounded fun.
Nancy finished opening the gifts. Once they were done, Sue and Sarah tied a "ribbon hat" (the paper plate with ribbons) onto her head with string, amidst more laughter as pictures were taken. Leah wanted a hat too. She forgot all about Rachel, Rebecca, and fishing, because the ribbon hat was more important. With the pale-colored star bows and curly cue ribbons, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She wanted one too.
She voiced her desire out loud.
"Mommy I want a pretty hat too!" Heads swiveled around at the sound of her voice from the stairs. The faces that stared at Leah varied in expressions of amused and confused. She stood up, her blanket still trailing her tiny pajama clad figure as she clung to the railing for support, taking the last steps that would bring her down into the hallway.
"Leah sweetie what are you doing out of your bed?" Sue swept into the hallway, picking Leah up easily. Leah clung to her mother, her fingers going to her mouth, picking at the dry skin on her lips, suddenly nervous. All eyes were on her and her mom. Leah's voice got quieter as she repeated, "I want a pretty hat too."
Sue turned, addressing the living room. "I'm sorry everyone. Harry was supposed to take her out with the guys fishing, but she had an ear ache this morning." There were sympathetic noises from all the women in the room at her announcement.
"If you'll excuse me a moment-"
"I can take her up for you Sue."
Leah recognized the shy, quiet voice that had piped up from a corner of the living room. She hadn't seen Tiffany because the young girl was sitting in a chair not easily seen from the stairs. The moment she spotted Tiffany, she began to wriggle in her mom's arms, dropping her blanket in the process.
"Leah," Sue tried to hold on to her daughter, but finally put her down to avoid making a scene over nothing.
Leah made a beeline for Tiffany. She heard some laughter and a few of the pale-faced women were exclaiming over her appearance at her mother. "Look at how long her lashes are. Your daughter is such a beautiful little girl Sue."
"Tiff!" Leah latched onto Tiffany's leg as she stood up slowly, her own stomach protruding, but not nearly as pronounced as the recipient of the shower, Nancy.
Leah liked Tiffany Call. Her mother and a few of the women on the reservation had given Tiffany small jobs as a babysitter when she had moved to the Quileute reservation from Makah a few months ago. Tiffany would come take care of Leah on the days when her Mom had a long shift at the hospital and her Dad was also working.
"Come on Little Bit," Tiffany took Leah's hand, shuffling with her to the steps. Leah paused to grab her blanket, not aware of the stares that Tiffany was getting as she and the toddler passed through the group of women.
"Thanks Tiffany," Sue gave the young girl a grateful glance for her assistance. As hostess of the shower, she should be there at all times. It was unfortunate that her daughter had gotten sick the same day, but she wouldn't be a mother if she wasn't juggling hosting a baby shower with the needs of her family.
"No problem. It won't be long before I'll be doing this on my own." Tiffany smiled briefly at Sue before leading Leah upstairs.
At the top of the stairs, Leah heard whispering accompany their departure. She tried to make out what the women were so quiet and excited about, but their voices didn't carry enough for her to hear them properly. She leaned back to listen, but was distracted as she caught sight of the ribbon hat once more.
Leah tugged on Tiffany's hand in her own. When the older girl turned her dark eyes upon the toddler, she reminded, "Ribbon hat."
Tiffany's lips tugged up into a smile. "We'll make you a hat Monday afternoon okay?"
"Okay!" Leah agreed, smiling back in response. She loved playing games with Tiffany when she came over. She let Tiffany lead her up to her room.
"So Little Bit," Tiffany scooped her up and deposited her on the bed. "Not feeling well?"
Leah tugged on her ear, wincing and pouting at the pain of touching it. "My ear," her lower lip quivered as she looked at Tiffany.
"You have to stay in bed to get better. Especially if we're going to make ribbon hats on Monday," Tiffany informed her, pulling the covers back on her bed.
Leah crawled in to the empty spot on her bed. She didn't lie down right away, instead turning to face Tiffany. "You shower?"
"What?" Tiffany reached for Leah's pink and white blanket, smoothing it out next to the little girl.
Leah frowned, focusing on getting the words right. "You have shower too?" she asked. She pointed at Tiffany's pregnant belly to try to get her meaning across better.
"Oh!" Tiffany's eyes lit up in understanding. "No. Not yet Leah. It's too early yet."
"Can I come?" Leah looked up from beneath her lashes at Tiffany, anticipation lingering in her gaze for a positive answer.
Tiffany slowly pulled the comforter over Leah. She sat down next to her on the bed, carefully arranging her stomach to a comfortable position. "I'm not sure I'll have a shower Little Bit. But if I do, you can be there." She reached out to sweep Leah's bangs to the side of her forehead.
"Why?" Leah asked plainly.
Tiffany gave her a measured look that Leah was too young to discern. "Well Little Bit, I just moved here so nobody really knows me. Showers are usually given by your friends and family for you."
Leah frowned. Tiffany sounded a bit sad as she spoke. Not wanting her to be sad, Leah spoke up quickly, insisting, "You're family."
Tiffany's smile was wry, but Leah thought she must have succeeded in making her happy, because she was smiling. "That's sweet of you to say Little Bit." Tiffany's voice didn't sound as if she believed Leah so the little girl determined she was going to prove it to her.
Leah had seen all the gifts Nancy had gotten. She knew what a baby needed, had seen it for her own eyes downstairs. Slowly Leah pulled her pink and white blanket from beneath the covers. "Here," she offered it out to Tiffany. She wanted to stuff the blanket back under the sheets with her – tears pricked her eyes at the thought of not having her Blankie with her – but the baby needed a blanket more than she did. Nancy had gotten several blankets. Tiffany had none. Leah was going to fix that.
"Leah?" Tiffany took the offered blanket, looking confused by the gift.
"For your baby," Leah swallowed around the lump in her throat. She was a big girl. Big girls didn't need blankets. Babies did. She wanted to cry. She didn't feel like a big girl. She wanted her blanket back.
Tiffany pressed her lips together, understanding the seriousness of Leah's offer. She didn't want to laugh as she watched the sweet little girl she had grown to love, fight back tears for the sacrifice of her favorite possession. "Are you sure you want to give your Blankie up Leah?"
Was she? Leah's fingers stretched out, willing her to snatch the blanket back into the comfort of her own arms. She missed it already and it was right in front of her. She glanced up at Tiffany and back down to her belly. The baby needed it. She didn't.
"Uh huh," Leah nodded her head, swallowing around the thickness of her throat closing up as the finality of her decision hit her.
Tiffany could see the struggle going on within Leah. She couldn't let this little girl go on thinking her blanket was gone forever anymore. She opened her mouth to decline, but let out a gasp of surprised air as she felt the first tiny thump of movement from within.
"Tiff?" Leah crawled out of the covers looking as alarmed as Tiffany felt. The eighteen year old was hunched over, her hands clutching her belly, startled by that very first kick. She had felt tiny flutters; prior to this moment, it had been explained to her that the baby was moving, but nothing completely solid like what just happened.
Leah patted her arms, "Tiff?" Her big, dark eyes were lined with worry.
"It's okay Little Bit," Tiffany reassured her. "The baby kicked me." She rubbed her stomach, waiting to see if it happened again.
Leah frowned, her eye moving down to Tiffany's baby belly. "No kicking," she scolded.
"I don't think it can help it," Tiffany let out a laugh. "Let's see if it does it again." She reached out to take hold of Leah's hand, placing it at the spot where the baby had kicked last.
Tiffany watched Leah who was watching the belly until a minute later they both felt a solid thump once more. Leah squealed, scuttling backwards in excitement and almost falling off the bed. Tiffany had to catch hold of her pajama leg to stop her.
"Wow!" Leah scooted back closer to Tiffany and placed both hands on the same spot. It was a few more minutes until the baby did it again and once more Leah squealed in delight.
"She likes me!" Leah beamed up at the older girl.
"How do you know it's a girl?" Tiffany giggled and rubbed the spot.
"Cause she's my friend." Leah's tiny hand splayed across the belly again. They both held their hands in place, breaths anxiously held for another kick, but the baby had quieted down.
"And what if it's a boy?"
Leah made a face that Tiffany wanted to laugh at. "No. It's a girl," she announced a moment later as if the fact were certain. She glanced down at her pink and white blanket and felt a bit better that she was going to give her new friend, her old best friend. They could play together once the baby got out of Tiffany.
Her eyes widened as she realized something.
"How she come out?" Leah tapped Tiffany's belly.
Tiffany's face turned an interesting shade of red for her already bronze colored skin. "You should really ask your mom that Little Bit. Sue knows everything." She patted the empty space that Leah had abandoned in the bed. "Come on. Back in bed."
"Yeah," Leah agreed. She lay back in the bed again and yawned as Tiffany pulled the covers over her. "Tiff?" She reached out to take her sitter's hand before she could walk out of her bedroom.
"Mmhmm?" Tiffany looked down in concern.
"My b-her Blankie." Leah held out the pink and white blanket towards Tiffany with her free hand.
"I'll make sure we take good care of it for you Little Bit," Tiffany promised, taking the blanket and draping it over her arm.
"Mmmkay," Leah agreed sleepily. Her fingers squeezed Tiffany's hand, the baby choosing to kick again at the same moment, before the little girl let go and rolled over to get more comfortable in her bed.
Tiffany Call stayed to watch a few more minutes before slowly exiting the room and quietly shutting the door on her way out.
***
A few months later Tiffany had a little baby boy. Less than a week after her release from the hospital, Sue and Leah appeared on the doorstep of her tiny house with balloons and well wishes.
"Hi Sue," Tiffany's smile was weary, when she opened the door. Sue recognized that look, having worn it herself in the months following Leah's birth.
"Where's the baby?" Leah's high pitched excitement couldn't be contained as she scampered past Tiffany into the house.
"Leah!" Sue admonished her quietly. "Take off your hat inside the house and be quiet. The baby might be sleeping." She turned to Tiffany saying, "I've got some casseroles and other things out in the van from the other ladies. Joy and Sarah had to work or they'd be here with me. "
Tears started to well up in Tiffany's eyes. She immediately put her hands to her face, her cheeks blushing with embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she apologized around the tears, "I don't know why I'm crying. I can't thank you enough for all your help." Sue and the other ladies had taken her under their wing when she arrived on the reservation. They had helped her with the paperwork for housing and living assistance as well as providing valuable advice through her pregnancy.
"Oh honey," Sue's voice was filled with understanding. She pulled Tiffany into a hug. The girl was barely nineteen years old, struggling on her own while her family was far away. "We all cry. It's the hormones." She stroked the younger girl's back until she calmed down.
"Let's go see that beautiful baby boy of yours," Sue's gentle voice washed over Tiffany as she pulled back and wiped at her eyes. She let out a tiny laugh and nodded her head. Tiffany led her back to the tiny spare bedroom of the house.
"Leah!" Sue hissed quietly upon entering the room. Her daughter was attempting to climb the bars of the crib and look down upon the little baby sleeping there. "Get down from there!" She plucked her daughter off the bars, sweeping her multi-hued toboggan off her head in the process and stuffing it into her jacket pocket. "Let's get your coat off."
"But I want to see her," Leah whined, her voice louder than the adults.
"Him," Tiffany corrected. She stepped over to the crib and gently lifted the sleeping baby out of the crib. "I had a boy, Leah." She cradled him in her arms and nuzzled his tiny little nose as he slept.
They moved back out to the living room. Leah squirmed the whole way, trying to get a peek at the baby. Sue set her down in the living room, removing her coat and draping it over the back of the couch. "Leah, keep your voice down sweetie. I've got to go get some things out of the van. Tiffany will show you the baby while I'm in and out."
Sue headed out the front door. Tiffany sat gently down upon the couch. Leah clambered onto a cushion next to her. She knelt, checking out the white and pink wrapped bundle in Tiffany's arms. "You sure not a girl?" Leah glanced up at Tiffany, her lower lip stuck out stubbornly.
"This is Embry," Tiffany said with a smile. She drew back the blanket to show him off.
Leah tilted her head, staring at the baby. He had light, tan colored skin. His eyes were closed, long lashes fanning across his smooth, round cheeks. Embry wasn't very big to Leah, but he was bigger than her baby dolls at home.
"Check out that full head of hair on him," Sue's voice caused them both to look up. She had her arms full of casserole dishes, but paused to look at the baby on her way to the kitchen. "He's so beautiful, Tiffany." The baby did indeed have thick, dark black hair all over his head.
Tiffany smiled. Leah hovered over the baby, looking down at Embry. He stirred in his sleep, his mouth opening in a yawn and closing. He nestled closer towards the warmth of Tiffany. Tiffany ran her fingers over his head, touching him in awe. She still couldn't believe he was finally there.
"Is he gonna wake up?" Leah sat back on her cushion with a thump of disappointment. She had been so excited to see her new friend, but boys must not be as fun as girls because so far Embry hadn't done anything at all.
"He will soon," Tiffany said. She chuckled at the impatience she saw on Leah's face. "How about we get a drink of juice and when he wakes up you can hold him with my help?"
"Can I?" Leah perked up at that news.
"With my help," Tiffany reminded.
Leah nodded. She got her juice and checked constantly for any signs of the baby waking up. While she waited, her mother finished bringing in the things from the van. Sue held the sleeping baby, causing Leah to pout at the unfairness that she was considered too little to hold Embry while he was asleep. Her mother and Tiffany talked about what the baby would do, could do and also about Tiffany's family. They weren't things that interested Leah.
"Oh," Sue glanced down as the baby began to move and stretch, "I think he's waking up."
That garnered her attention. Leah hopped off the couch and hurried to her mother's chair, crowding close. "I wanna see," she demanded, reaching for the bundle he was wrapped in.
"Be gentle with him Leah," her mother's voice reminded her. Sue lowered the baby within her range of sight.
Leah peered at Embry. He stared back at Leah, his dark eyes huge and unable to focus like most babies.
"Do you want to hold him?" Tiffany asked. Leah glanced at Tiffany, nodding her head. Tiffany patted her lap.
Leah left her mom's side, climbing up to sit in Tiffany's lap. "Make your arms like this," Tiffany held her small arms out in a giant circle. "Keep them like that, Leah."
Sue stood up and moved over to place baby Embry into Leah's lap. "Leah sweetie you have to support his head." Between Tiffany and her mom, Leah soon had the baby lying across her, his neck under her arm, which was resting on Tiffany's arm.
Leah felt her chest swell with happiness. "I got him!" She informed both Tiffany and her mom who were grinning at the two of them. She looked back down at Embry. "You s'posed to be a girl," Leah informed him of his mistake. His dark eyes got wider at her words and Leah knew he was sorry for not coming out the right gender.
She didn't notice Tiffany lifting her head and smiling as Sue snapped photos of them with a disposable camera. Leah was watching Embry, who in turn was watching her.
"It's okay you're a boy, Embry," she said a moment later, leaning down to place a kiss on his cheek, "You can still be my friend."