Hanging by a Moment

The following morning, after yet another nearly sleepless night, Ash found himself in the childcare aisle at the grocery store. Completely confused at what he did and didn’t need for his daughter’s care, he was starting to feel frustrated at his lack of knowledge. Being the proud man that he was who’d never truly needed anyone else’s help to get where he was in life didn’t help matters, but he’d always been stubborn.

Needless to say that when little Legacy started whimpering again, he tried pushing the cart he had her carrier sitting in back and forth to calm her. He was trying to figure out the difference between newborn and size one diapers, something he was failing at miserably. Still, his efforts at calming her were useless, as she started wailing moments later.

Frustrated even further by her constant crying, yet still feeling a sense of love and duty to her, he unbuckled her and lifted her from the carrier. Clueless as to what she either needed or wanted, Ash tried to calm her down by bouncing her slightly and rubbing her back. He honestly started thinking he just wasn’t meant to be a father when he couldn’t calm her, her cries only getting louder and more desperate, but he knew that wasn’t true. It was still upsetting to him that he was powerless to help his own baby, and that almost made tears spring to his eyes.

“May I, sir?”

Looking up, Ash saw a young woman standing next to him, her hands held out in a gesture to hold his daughter. A bit wary of her, he started to hold his baby closer to him than he had before, but this just made the young woman chuckle. She swore that, although he had no reason to trust her, he could trust that she wouldn’t harm Legacy, or try to run off with her. Knowing he needed any help he could get, he reluctantly handed the baby to her, watching as she cradled her gently.

“Ahhh, I see, little one,” she murmured as she cradled her. “Unfortunately, I can’t help ya there.”

Curious, he merely watched the nameless woman as she spoke to his daughter.

“You have a bottle in there?” she asked, gesturing to the diaper bag.

“I…think so,” he answered, nodding as he fished through it. “Here it is.”

Before he could even uncap it, she’d taken it and braced it on her opposite hip, pulling the lid off and catching it between two fingers like she’d done it before.

“All right, all right, little angel,” she cooed, holding the nipple up to her lips. “I know it’s not what ya want, but try this instead.”

Ash watched in awe as his wailing daughter turned her attention to the bottle held in front of her, immediately latching onto the nipple.

“How’d you…know what she wanted?” he asked, flabbergasted.

“The way she nuzzled my breast,” the woman chuckled, clearly amused at his cluelessness. “By the way, my name’s Rebel.”

“Well, Rebel…I’ve gotta thank you,” he said, smiling at her.

“Think nothing of it,” Rebel told him. “I don’t mind taking pity on a man who clearly needs help.”

Feigning offense at her words, he scoffed at her.

“I’m messing with ya,” she laughed. “Although it was kinda obvious that you needed help.”

“Yeah, I’ll admit that I did,” he said sheepishly. “I mean, she’s my first, and…”

Clearly curious, she cocked a brow at him, but didn’t utter a word of inquiry.

“Her mother wanted nothing to do with her. She left her on my doorstep last night in her carrier with nothing but her diaper bag,” Ash explained.

The obvious rage that flared up in Rebel’s beautiful eyes, which were identical to his, unless he was mistaken, almost took him aback at how suddenly it appeared.

“I’ve never had a baby before,” he continued, trying to ignore that look. “I’m about as clueless and confused as it gets, not to mention exhausted and frustrated.”

“I’ll tell ya what…” She paused, looking him in the eye as if wanting to know his name.

“Ashley,” he supplied, thinking she honestly had no clue who he was.

“Well, Ashley, since you clearly need help…you drag my cart behind ya so I can finish my own shopping, and I’ll keep this little angel right where she’s at for the moment.” She glanced down at his daughter, whom was still happily draining her bottle. “I don’t mind helping out someone in need, and by your own admission, you could clearly use my help.”

“Yeah, I really could,” Ash agreed, blushing a bright red as he did so.

“Hey, there’s no need to blush. Grab the carts and I’ll be a lady of my word,” Rebel promised him.

Once he had his own cart in front of him, his right hand gripping it at the perfect angle to keep it straight and go around corners without hurting his wrist, he grabbed the basket of hers. Just as she’d promised to do, the young woman holding his daughter led him a little further up the aisle, stopping in front of the bottles. After finding the size that was necessary now, as well as a slightly bigger one for no more than a couple months from now, she let him choose the design before tossing two packages of each in his cart.

Anyone who knew him knew that he was completely obsessed with Hello Kitty, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise that he’d have the little cartoon cat somewhere in what he got for his daughter. To Rebel, it was probably just the only feminine thing on baby supplies that he could stand, or thought his baby girl would like once she was old enough to pay any attention. He couldn’t really care less what she thought, though, so long as Legacy was taken care of; that was of the utmost importance to him right now. Other than that, not much really mattered until he finished this excursion.

It wasn’t as long as it seemed before she led him up to the registers, Legacy now using her shoulder as a pillow as she napped. His cart was full of diapers, wipes, formula, and other necessities, as far as her care went. The young woman had even tossed in baby powder and something called Destin ointment for prevention of diaper rash and just in case she actually got one.

Rebel told him that Destin ointment basically served the same purpose as A&D ointment, which could actually be substituted, if need be or he preferred. With as many tattoos as he had, he was quite familiar with A&D ointment and how it could be used to help the skin and aid healing, so if nothing else about being a father made sense, that did.

After checking out, the young woman led him out to her car, which was surprisingly parked in the space right beside his. She popped the trunk and started to hand the baby back to him, but Ash wouldn’t have it. Considering how much she’d helped him, and probably still would, if he asked nicely, the least he could do was load her groceries into her trunk for her. Clearly, but pleasantly surprised, she smiled and shrugged as he started on his task, gently shifting his daughter before actually laying her in her carrier. The baby sniffled a bit, but thankfully didn’t wake again, which drew a soft sigh of relief from him. While he finished loading their purchases up, she finished packing up his daughter for him.

With their purchases loaded into their respective vehicles, Ash took their carts to the nearby cart return while his new acquaintance got his daughter settled in the back seat of his car. He was amazed at how easy it was for her to not only buckle Legacy into the carrier, but get said carried locked into its base. It made him wonder if she had at least a child of her own, or if she simply had experience due to babysitting or something. Still, he put those thoughts aside as he gently grabbed her arm, making Rebel turn back to face him with a curious expression on her face. He quickly took a deep breath to calm his nerves, unused to having to ask others for help.

“R-Rebel,” he said nervously, cursing the way his voice shook. “I—I hate to ask you, b-ut—”

“You still need my help, don’t you?” she guessed, smirking slightly.

“I hate to admit it, but yeah,” Ash answered sheepishly.

“I’m guessing the only furniture you have for her is the carrier, and the only clothes are whatever her mother left in her diaper bag, right?” the young woman asked.

“Unfortunately, yeah. I don’t know the first thing about picking out baby furniture, or clothes for one.” He hung his head in shame at his cluelessness.

“Hey, Ashley, look at me.” Rebel gently put a finger under his chin and lifted his head. “It’s okay for you to be unsure and need help; it’s perfectly natural with one’s first baby. I get the feeling you’re also not used to asking for help, but it’s better to ask for help than to accidentally neglect your little princess by being stubborn.”

Surprised by how understanding she was, his eyes widened as he looked at her. “Really?”

“Really,” she answered, nodding. “I’ve taught my bubba a few things he and his wife didn’t know when their son was born a couple years ago, and…”

Curious, but not wanting to pick an old wound, Ash decided not to ask.

“I’ve actually got a daughter of my own,” she told him, smiling as she thought of the little girl. “She’s with her dad this week, which is why I don’t have her with me, but I know how it feels to feel dumb and a bit helpless.”

“Oh, wow,” he breathed, a bit shocked that she, too, had a child, that she knew exactly where he was coming from.

“Follow me back to my place so I can put my stuff up, and I’ll take you to just about anywhere necessary to get the things you’ll need for your baby girl,” Rebel told him.

“Legacy,” he supplied, thinking it best if she knew at least her first name. “According to the note her mother left and her birth certificate, her name’s Legacy.”

“A beautiful name,” the young woman told him, smiling. “Like I said…”

“Yeah, I’ll be glad to follow you back to your place since I don’t have anything cold myself,” Ash agreed.

Nodding, she opened the driver’s door of her car, and now that he paid attention, he could see a carrier base in her own back seat. That made him wonder just how old her daughter was, and for some reason, he suspected she wasn’t much, if any older than Legacy. As she started her own car, he climbed into his driver’s seat, looking back to check on his baby before he cranked his.

On the short drive back to Rebel’s apartment, he somewhat lost himself in thought. Obviously, he kept himself with reality enough to avoid getting in a wreck, or losing the young woman he was following, but otherwise, he was thinking about his daughter. He was wondering how hard taking care of a baby was going to be, and if he’d even be able to do it. He didn’t want to give his baby girl up if he could help it; after all, she was his flesh and blood, and he remembered all too well how it felt to grow up without his parents. But if push came to shove and he thought she’d be better off without him, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

By the time they reached the young woman’s apartment, he’d decided he was going to do everything he could to keep Legacy. Even if he had to take her on tour with him when it started back up in a couple weeks, including hiring a babysitter to take with him, he’d do it just to see if that’d even be an option for them.

He took his baby’s carrier into the small apartment, gently resting it on the couch, before being a gentleman and helping her bring everything in. Rebel smiled as she thanked him, especially when he started unbagging her purchases so she could put them away. Ash felt a certain degree of intimacy with her as he helped, but he’d just met this woman. Something told him that while she was willing to help with Legacy, she wasn’t willing to go beyond friendly advances, so he decided to be a nice guy for once.

Notes