Players:Aharon Sarah Leah Grace Keira
NPCs:
* Yaakov Dov
Summary: Aharon Changes a Diaper
Date:January 20, 1884
Log TitleBaby Poops
LocationTietz's Meats
Trailing his wife up the steps, Aharon struggles with the wet suit coat.
Bumping the wall of the narrow steps from side to side as he goes up, the
finallY manages to remove the wet wool, albeit with one sleeve turned inside
out.
As he removes his hat, a thin sheet of ice breaks free and drops onto the
floor with a soft crunchy sound.
Sarah Leah clucks her tongue at the mess she will undoubtedly need to clean
up, shaking her head. Still, she ignores the ice melting on her floor in favor
of keeping Yaakov Dov calm. He watches his father intently, following the
man with his large brown eyes as best he can. Breaking the silence, Sarah
Leah asks, "Do you think it would be wise for me to visit Missus Marlowe?"
"Why would you wish to visit the schwarze?" he asks, draping his coat over
the back of a chair, and holding his cold hands out towards the stove before
turning to her and his new son. Reaching out with a thick finger, he bumps
the boy's nose lightly, "Hello, my little Bear," he says, gruffly, "You have
eaten and minded your Mother?"
"She was good to me. It might be a kiddush Hashem," Sarah Leah explains
lightly. Still, she concedes without hesitation, "If you prefer I not do so, for
any reason, I will not, of course." It sounds as though she does not care
much one way or the other. "Yes, Tatti, our little Doveleh has been an
angel."
Yaakov Dov cannot respond, but he continues to look, almost unblinkingly, at
his father from his viewpoint of laying upon his mother's shoulder.
The Shochet considers this for a moment, but only a moment, then nods
firmly, "Yes, you should go, if you wish and think it is right. But," he holds
up a finger, "Do not let her tempt you into returning to work for her, hmm?"
he smiles, then holds out his arms for the baby, despite the sleeves still
being wet.
"I am sure that Yaakov and I might manage for a time without you. Dress
warmly, Liebchen, I do not care to see you fall ill."
Sarah Leah smiles. "If you are certain…" After smothering the tiny person
in kisses, she puts the little one down on the sofa so that Aharon can pick
him up. "While I am out, is there anything you wish for me to pick up? I do
not know how much longer the general store will be open."
"No, I think we have all that we need, do we not?" he replies, bending over
the blanket wrapped bundle and hefting the lad..already taking on the
appearance of his Mother."Oy, but you are growing fast Yaakov!" he
exclaims, bouncing the baby lightly in his arms.
Sarah Leah chuckles and moves to get her coat, then opens the door to head
downstairs.
Sarah Leah moves down the stairs, wrapped in her coat. "I will return in
about one hour, im yirtzat Hashem," she calls toward her husband, who is
holding a newborn.
The Shochet, his arms full of a blanket wrapped baby, follows his wife down
the steps, admonishing her, "Wear a bonnet, and carry my umbrella. Mind
you do not step off the walk, hmm?"
He then looks at the two women, and raises one bushy eyebrow inquisitively,
'Yes? How may I help you?"
Grace, the slightly taller of the two redheads, appears to be leading the
way into the store. She carefully makes sure to stomp the snow from her
boots -before- walking inside. "Ach," she says, her face melting at the sight
of the newborn child. "What a wee pairfect thing!" she gushes to the
married couple. "A blessin' on yer house! What a precious little jewel!"
Keira follows Grace in, though seems to mostly be in her own world. Her gaze
though, however, rests on the baby for a moment, but she remains silent,
her gaze falling on the shop again, as she patiently waits.
Sarah Leah pauses, blinking in shock as she glances back at her husband and
touches her head. Relief washes over her face when she feels the snood.
"Baruch Hashem," she murmurs, then shakes her head at the man. "You are
silly at times." With the women entering, she offers a small smile of
greeting. "Welcome, welcome." Wordlessly, she looks back to Aharon, then
meaningfully at the baby. He cannot work while holding the little one.
Keira pulls away a little and looks at the meats, hrming softly, "wha kind
o'meat did ye want ta git Grace." her gaze lifts to Sarah and then to Tietz
again and she smiles a little, "we ken come back if ye are busy now."
But, he makes a shooing motion with his hand, "Go, go. She is waiting for
you, hmm? Yaakov and I will manage for a time on our own." Looking down at
the baby, he bounces the bundle, "Will we not, my big man?" And the two of
them go behind the counter to look expectantly at the customers,"I have a
nice brisket already wrapped, if you wish." he says, "it was ordered, and not
picked up, so I might let you have it."
After waving to Sarah and scooting out of her way, Grace really can't help
but grin at the baby and his bouncing father. "Brisket?" she asks, suddenly
distracted from the little boy. She hrms quietly as she looks around. "Well,
'tis almost Friday, Reb Tietz," she says softly. "Two women couldna eat a
whole brisket alone before it spoils…" She arches an eyebrow and then grins
helplessly. "How big of a brisket is it?"
One handed, the Shochet reaches into the case, and takes out a fairly
sizable hunk of beef, all wrapped up in brown butcher paper, 'Perhaps five or
six pounds", he says, "Shall we see?" Turning, juggling both handfuls with a
bearlike grace, he drops the meat onto a scale, and adjusts the weights.
'Five pounds, nine and a half ounces," he beams at Grace.
Grace chews her lip. "Tha' could make fer a nice roast," she says slowly,
"and I could stretch it intae a stew…" She arches an eyebrow. "What time
do ye close on thursday, Reb Tietz? I'll be needin' some fish fer friday…"
She smiles then and nods. "I'll take tha brisket," she announces. "Ta!"
"If the door is unlocked, then I am open" he gives her an expressive shrug,
"Who has a clock with which to tell time, hmm?" One handed, he tears
another sheet of the paper from the roll, and lays the brisket in the center,
deftly folding the paper over, then stops, blinking. "How am I to tie this?"
he asks, more to himself, as he pulls a length of twine from the roll.
Grace clears her thoat softly and holds out her own gloved hands for the
baby. "I can hold yer little Yaakov fer ye…" she offers shyly. "If ye wish?"
The butcher seems almost to pull the baby away, a look of alarm coming into
his eyes, "He is but two weeks old," he says, almost protesting, then, very
carefully, holds the bundle out to her, "I do not suppose a moment or two
will hurt, hmm?"
"Ach no," Grace says, taking the newborn with the air of one who has done
this many times before. "Sure but himself will be fine. I've 4 younger
brothers and 4 younger sisters tha' meself helped tae raise…" She looks up
with a grin. "I'm number 6 of 14 children… So ye can imagine what
happened at family reunions, aye?"
She holds the child sensibly: gently yet firmly without any shaking or
bouncing. Just a nice, easy rocking as she sways her weight lightly from one
foot to the other.
Swiftly, Tietz wraps the twine around the bundle..alas, not swift enough as
Yaakov Dov squirms..makes a loud, wet squirting noise and a malodorous
perfume begins to waft from him. The large brown eyes begin to squinch
shut, and the round rosebud mouth begins to open wide.
"Oy! what has he done?" Aharon cries, holding out his arms for the child,
"What do *I* do?"
Grace doesn't blink at the child, she blinks at the man. "Is himself on solid
foods already?!" she exclaims, preparing to hand the boy back. "He's havin a
bit o' tha loose stool…" She suddenly grins wryly. "Ach, an' yer wife naa
here tae help ye… G'wan upstairs an come back down with a wet cloth, a
diaper, and a dry cloth. We'll teach ye yet."
She waves a hand to shoo the man off, kepping his baby hostage.
He was having none of that, however, and he shakes his head vigorously,
"No..I will take him. We will manage, as we always manage." His
outstretched hands waggle suggestively, "The boy who brings me fresh fish
shall be in in the morning, early if he has had fortune with his line. You may
pay for the brisket then."
Grace nods, knowing when not to push. "Use warm water then, eh? Not too
hot, not cold… Use warm water tae clean himself and then pat dry. Fold
him up like he's folded now." And she hands the baby back over. "Thank ye,
Reb Tietz. And God willin', I'll see ye on tha morrow."
"Baruch Hashem," he replies absently, taking the baby, his broad nose
wrinkling at the odor, "Thank you for coming, I shall be sure to save several
nice trout for you, eh?"
Grace waves and grins like the young girl she really is. "Aye. An if ye or yer
wife be needin' any clothin' made, please stop by and see me one me shop is
built? Grace O'Coilean, I'm tha new clothier in town…" She picks up the
brisket, waves again, and skips towards the door.
Gingerly, the Shochet's big fingers pluck at the nappie, his wrinkled nose
getting more wrinkled as he peers under the edge of the cloth, to the great
amusement of the baby. As he walks around the counter, still peeking, the
child cuts loose with a different body function, wetting the white shirt all
over the front.
The kitchen is a shambles..A soiled nappie is on the table, a washbowl with a
soiled cleaning cloth floating in the murky water..and an thoroughly unhappy
baby with a poorly folded diaper hanging being comforted by a flustered
parent…whose white shirt bears a suspicious yellow stain.
As Sarah comes into the room, the diaper loses it's tenuous grip and falls,
fluttering, to the floor, joining several others there.
Sarah Leah looks in at the scene, tired from the late visit with Chiane and
generally exhausted due to the baby. For a long moment, she simply stares.
Finally, the young woman shrugs and offers, "You did it incorrectly." Captain
Obvious strikes again!
Aharon gives her a frustrated look, and thrusts the wriggling baby towards
her, face first as it was, and in time for a shower. 'It is not like wrapping a
roast or a chicken," he says, "they do not wriggle about so much nor make
messes in the middle of it."
Sarah Leah cannot help but give both of her boys a warm, sympathetic
smile. She takes the little one, holding him away from her until she gets to
the nearest bucket of water. Providing a quick bath for the baby, she calls
over to Aharon, "I imagine you were much the same, dodi."
Affronted, he draws himself up, and declares, "I was not. I assure you, I
was the most correct of children." Looking down at his soiled shirt, he sighs,
and moves to pass her, waving at the disarray, "Allow me to change from
this, and I shall clear that away. No need for you to exert yourself, knadel,
you seem tired."
Sarah Leah giggles and nods to her husband's words, not bothering to argue
the point. "Remember, you do not run this house, Doveleh. You are simply
the center of it at the moment." the words are said lovingly, with the
adoration of a new mother, as she rapidly rinses the boy off. Once Aharon
returns, she asks innocently, "Shall I show you how to… package him?"
Again, the young wife gets the 'eye', and a quiet, "If you think it will be
beneficial, then yes." he pauses in his work, gathering the dropped nappies
into a woven basket, then setting it out into the parlor. Going to the table,
he puts hsi hands behind his back, and nods, 'Begin, if you would," lookign
and sounding like a schoolteacher requesting a visual demonstration, though
he is the student.
Once Yaakov Dov is clean, Sarah Leah wraps him in a cloth and brings him
out to the table. Laying him down, she instructs gently as she works. "It
goes beneath him at an angle, like so. The bottom corner is pulled up,
through his legs and over the top. Hold it with one hand while you use the
other to bring up one side to the middle. Make certain it is tight enough to
be snug, but not so tight as to hurt him. Then the pin goes in here. Repeat
with the other side. And… there we are." She lifts the boy, facing outward
to present to Aharon a perfectly diapered newborn.
His thick finger points at one of the pins, "That is the problem, I cannot
seem to get the point to settle into the cup like that. The little Bear kicks,
and then all comes free." Bending, he examines the device with a narrowed
eye, "How do you manage it so easily?"
Sarah Leah simply grins and brings the babe back to her shoulder.
"Practice." With a smirk that should not be upon her lips while she is a
niddah, the stout woman adds, "And nimble fingers."
He nods in understanding, and stands back up, his hands still behind his back,
"I see. perhaps that should remain your duty then. if, perhaps, there is a
thing I might do to lessen your burden, you may tell me, and I shall do it."
he looks past her into the kitchen, face falling, 'I think first, I should
empty those pans in the proper waste place."
Sarah Leah chuckles and nods. "That sounds like a good idea. If you wish to
help, you could perhaps do the dishes after meals so that I may tend to the
baby. Or once in a while take him, as you did tonight, so that I may rest. I
spend more of the night than you may realize awake with our little Doveleh."
He hesitates, then nods, "it is a fair division of labor", then moving towards
the kitchen, still speaking. "And, when I have no customers, or am makign
deliveries, he may stay with me. Perhaps I might purchase a larger wagon to
place him in, yes?" he consolidates the soiled water, stacking the pans and
bowls carefully.
Sarah Leah lifts an eyebrow. "Have we the money for that?" It is not asked
challengingly, only as a genuine question. She rubs the boy's back and rocks
to and fro, although he has long since fallen asleep on her shoulder.
Grunting with the weight of two heavy pails of water, he merely nods as he
heads down to the privy in back. Returning moments later, he says, "It will
not cost so much to have one made, knadel. Perhaps I may be able to barter
for such a thing, hmm?" The pails join the stack of dishes and pots, and he
sighs, looking at the mess.
Sarah Leah has already put the boy in his bassinet and closed the bedroom
door by the time Aharon returns to the room. Nodding softly, she smiles
lovingly at the man. "I can handle the dishes tonight. You go to sleep. We
can test the new arrangement tomorrow."
"No," he replies stubbornly, "You cared for the child, now it is my turn to
clean." Resignation marking his face, his big hands dip into the hot soapy
water, cleaning the first of many, 'But, if you wish, you may stay and speak
with me." he points with a dripping finger, 'over there, for I require this
space."
Sarah Leah smiles softly and moves to the appointed spot. "You are too good
to me, Aharon Shlomo." Her hands fidget as she looks around for something
to occupy them. "About what do you wish to speak?"
An eloquent shrug, his back turned, industriously applying himself to the
dishes, 'Of whatever you wish, knadel. We do not have time to speak as we
did before, and I miss your thoughts."
Sarah Leah frows softly, although her expression shows that she is
considering the possibility. The kettle cries out, causing her to quickly lift it
with a cloth and pour the steaming liquid into two teacups with leaves at the
bottom. After placing the kettle on a cloth on the counter, she asks, "What
about the shop?"
"The shop?" he repeats with a blank look, "We shall not have to mortgage it,
shall we? After all, I paid cash for the site and to have it built." he shakes
his head, "I do not knwo if we migth make such a high payment, to mortgage
both a home and the shop..and I do nto care to risk our livlihood."
Sarah Leah blinks and shakes her head. "I mean… if we have a second
home, who would live in this apartment above the shop," she explains slowly.
Unable to actually serve her husband during this time, she simply leaves his
cup nearby and goes about fixing her own the way she prefers it.
He reaches for his own cup, the weighty thought entering his mind, "Must
someone live here then?" he asks, "Perhaps it might be used instead for the
Synagogue, and during the week the shul?" Wavign a hand vaguely towards
the parlor and study room, adds, "It would, for a time, be large enough,
yes?"
Sarah Leah nods slowly. "A yeshiva would be a wonderful use for it outside
of davening times. Perhaps the bedroom could become a classroom of sorts
and the parlor could be the main area of the shul. The library would serve as
a beis medresh for those who wish to come upstairs and learn."
He nods, stirring a finger in the tea, gingerly, "Much what I was thinking.
And the kitchen could be used for.." he casts about for a phrase and gives
up in favor of a description, "For those times we wish to all gather for a
meal? Perhaps others will donate cookware and china?"
Sarah Leah blinks at Aharon after taking a sip of her own hot beverage. "As
a kitchen. We have to have Kiddush on Shabbosm, complete with nosh.
Maybe even meals here. Definitely shalos seudos." She looks around, eyes
bright with excitement as she considers the possiblities. "We already have a
Sefer Torah, which can be… on loan to the shul, as it were."
Running a hand over his face, he agrees, growing more animated, "And, as it
is over the shop, we shall not have to be overly concerned with vandalism.
Never had I had a problem here, though one can never see what may be."
he drinsk from his cup, then realizes he hadn't added sugar, puckering at
the taste.
Sarah Leah arches an eyebrow. "You had a problem here once with
vandalism," she reminds the man sourly.
"Eh?" he says, missing the cup with the sugar, spilling it on the table, "Oh,
the paint, aye..so it was, but, in a good manner, hmm? Those not marked
were destroyed, but we prospered. if such is always the case, I will willingly
take it."
Sarah Leah frowns. "Hashem saved us. It was not a good omen, though. It
should never have been." Drinking more tea to calm herself, the exhausted
young woman's eyes begin to close. She sets the cup down and covers her
mouth as a large yawn contorts her face. "I would like to stay up and chat
with you, but I fear I may fall asleep where I stand."
He stands, his own tea forgotten, so she can pass, "of course, knadel. Go,
sleep. Leave Doveleh out with me tonight, we will manage and you may rest."
Sarah Leah shakes her head, moving forward and lifting her hand as though
to touch the man. It is so easy to forget after a few weeks. She retracts,
opting instead for a small smile. "You cannot feed him as I can, but thank
you. Sleep well." She turns and starts to leave the kitchen
"Oy" he breathes, and follows her out, turning instead to head down into the
shop..may as well get some work done, as sleep will be a long time coming.
