I awoke energized; thinking of everything that I needed to do to ensure my wife and baby were going to be safe and comfortable. The thought of getting a regular house passed across my thoughts. But then I thought Sue and I lived here because of our friends. If we need a permanent structure, we'll build it right here. It's our joint, it's our land to do with as we please.
This was a significant thought. It was the first time I was happy to have a wife with the money she had. If we needed something, it probably wasn't out of our reach. I wondered whether these thoughts would make me approach life any differently.
After sliding out of bed and starting coffee, I was joined in the shower by sweet Mickey. She is so cuddly in the morning when she first wakes up. If she didn't have to go to work, I would take her back to bed and gently make love to her until she cried uncle.
We both dressed then joined Glenda on the patio. We were a little late getting out there. Mickey had some cereal and toast then took off for roll call.
Mercy had been smart enough to get a bunch of the newborn pictures of Stevie. Walgreen's photo department helped with a few more. Everyone who was there received a picture of homely little Steve Jr. I told myself that I would apologize to the kid that it was not me that named him. That Jr. thing is tough to be hung with.
While I had been at Walgreen's I did pick up four boxes of cigars that I handed out liberally. I saved a few for Gene and his men, but generally everyone I knew locally had a cigar to celebrate the birth of my child.
I was back at the hospital by nine. Sue and the baby were doing what they would often be doing. Sue was nursing Stevie. Would it become me Steve, him Stevie, or him being Jr? What a mess!
Sue had a serene look on her face as she gazed down at our son. She looked at me and smiled warmly, then looked back down as his little mouth worked to bring the life giving juices to him. He worked very hard for a few more minutes and fell asleep. This was hard work for him.
Sue was about to begin burping him, but stopped, held out a napkin for my shoulder, then held up our Stevie to me to burp. I put him on my shoulder and gently patted his back for a minute or so until he gave a quite loud ungentlemanly burp. He would fit right in with his dad's biker buddies.
Sue said that I should probably put him down in his bassinet now that he had burped. I laid him on his tummy with his head to one side and his two little hands in fists up by his head. He was sleeping peacefully, tired from working for his breakfast.
"He eats about every two hours," Sue told me. "The nurse said he would begin eating more at a time and begin sleeping longer intervals. We will try to keep him awake and stimulate him soon so that he will sleep longer at night after his last feeding. He's not eating enough yet to drain me. Hand me that pump over there so I can express what he didn't eat. I need to drain these things so I keep making more milk. It won't be long until he will want more than I can make.
As Sue used the breast pump she said, "When we get home, I hope you can help drain these things. I think it would be a lot sweeter that you suck them dry, rather than me using this cold pump."
Weird, the thought of sucking the milk from Sue's breasts had my interest way up. Up enough that Sue noticed. "So you would like to help me that way?"
I was caught, "Is that bad? The thought of it does get my motor running."
"It makes me hot too. But it will be about six weeks before you can satisfy this itch that's suddenly appeared."
I smiled lovingly at my wife, "I'm sure what the Doc's talking about is me poking around in you. I think we can make you a little more comfortable when we get home."
"I sure hope so," Sue said then looked at our son. "So far, this is everything that I thought it was going to be and everything that I could have wanted."
We kissed and I sat down with the bassinet between Sue and me. Sue continued, "I did better than I thought I would in controlling my weight. I know I was looking like a meatball with legs, but I should be able to get back in shape within three to six months. You'll have to help me by making me go to the gym nearly every day, though."
Sue looked down at her sleeping baby and said, "As soon as I'm back in shape, maybe even before then, we're going to work on a brother or sister for him. I want our kids to be close in age. You should have given me quads or quints. That way I would only have had to do this once."
I asked Sue, "What do you think about getting someone experienced to help you care for him? I know you want to continue with your business, so you will probably need some help.
"I'll do most everything for him for the first month or so. You need to be with him as much as possible through this bonding time as well."
The Doc came in and gave Sue a very thorough check. He said she could go home, and should as soon as the pediatrician released Stevie. About an hour later little Steve woke up. He wiggled around in his bassinet and made smacking noises with his mouth.
I was about to pick him up when a nurse or aide came in and said, "He's right on time. I'm sure he needs to be changed so let me do that real quick." She turned to me and said, "You should probably pay attention to learn how to do this so you can help out at home."
Sue said, "Can I do it? I've never changed a baby's diaper before. I want to make sure I do it right. I watched you the last three times you did it"
Standing a little unsteadily, Sue picked up the baby and put him on the changing table. She gently took his diaper off, wiped him with baby wipes, and patted him dry with a soft baby towel. Once he was clean, Sue slid a diaper under him, folded the front up, then used the self sealing tabs to hold the diaper in place. The finishing touch was wrapping him in a blanket. Sue left his arms out of the wrap, saying she wanted him to be able to move them while he ate.
The whole process didn't take but a minute or so, and the little one was quiet the whole time, just smacking his lips and making sucking motions. Just about the time he began making some "uh, uh" noises, Sue was putting him on the bed so she could place herself in position to nurse him. Sue wiped off both breasts, then picked Stevie up and laid him with his face near a large milk-drooling nipple. He eagerly sucked it into his mouth and began eating with his little arms and fists wiggling around.
As Sue's face began to soften into that super serene look, the nurse said, "You did a good job for your first diaper change. As he grows he might become more difficult to change, but you'll be a pro at it by then. You do have an eager eater though. The way he eats, he'll be sleeping through the night soon."
The nurse straightened up and said, "The pediatrician will be here in a few minutes. I'm sure you'll be going home, so you might consider what you want to wear when you leave. Mr. Sharp, have you taken care of business at the office here?"
When I nodded yes, she said, "Good, all you'll have to do is to take your family home then. I'll see you in a few minutes."
Sue looked up from being fascinated with the way Stevie was eating. "The truck is going to be difficult to step up into. We need a regular car sometimes."
"I rented a Ford Crown Victoria like Mickey has to see if that is the kind of car we would want. We'll just keep renting different ones until we find what we like. I figured you wouldn't want to be climbing up into the truck. I also have a new baby seat that is already belted into the back seat. The car is ready, the house is ready, and I'm ready."
Sue nursed for almost ten minutes, and when as the little mouth quit sucking, she placed him on her shoulder and gently patted him until he gave a very un-baby like burp. It was great timing as the pediatrician came through the door with the nurse in time to hear the results of Sue feeding and burping the baby.
The doctor took the baby, unwrapped him, and took the diaper off to check the recently cut umbilical cord. He gently turned the baby many different ways, looking at him, touching him, and checking his features and response.
"You have a very healthy boy, Mr. and Mrs. Sharp. He's eating well and you're milk is obviously satisfying him. The tests of your expressed fluids are very impressive, very healthy. I want to see the baby in two weeks, unless you need me before then. Please make an appointment with my office. Continue to nurse him on demand and you might wish to make notes when you change him, as later today or tomorrow, he will probably take a pretty healthy dump. If you will keep a record for me as to day and time when you feed and change him, and if he has had a bowel movement, I'll be able to gauge his progress. If he does not have a bowel movement within, say three days, you should bring him in to see me."
He turned to me to shake my hand, "Congratulations, Mr. Sharp, enjoy your son. Mrs. Sharp, I can tell you will be a doting mother. Just relax with him. The more relaxed you are with him, the more relaxed he will be with you. Now go home, begin your new life."
Sue elected to put on a heavy robe over her gown to go home instead of putting on a dress. An aide came in with a wheelchair for Sue. Once Sue sat in the chair, the baby was placed in her arms. I gathered up all the odds and ends they were sending us home with and followed them down, riding an elevator.
I ran to get the car and pulled in front of the doors where Sue and Stevie were waiting for me. When Sue was at the car, I took Stevie and placed him in the infant car seat and strapped him in. Then I helped Sue into the back seat to sit next to the baby.
Driving home, I felt the weight of the additional responsibility of having a tiny baby to protect. Just watching Sue's face made me know how special this was for her.
Glenda, Nelda, Mercy, and Beth met us when we pulled up to the house near the front patio door. First, I helped Sue get out of the car and slowly walk into the patio. She wanted to sit outside for a few minutes. I took the baby from the car seat, then brought him in. Sue didn't get to take him. Beth was instantly in possession of the baby, holding him, looking at him lovingly, and saying sweet things to him.
Glenda finally got her turn to hold the baby. She held little Stevie lovingly and kissed him on his forehead before handing the baby to Nelda. Nelda held the baby for a few minutes, talked to him, then carried him to Sue. Mercy, who had been getting Sue a cup of coffee and one of the small pieces of pastry from this morning, was sitting with Sue watching her with the baby.
Sue held the baby toward Mercy and said, "Hold him a little, let him feel your love too." Mercy sat there with moist eyes rocking the baby on her chest.
Sue said, I guess we should let him lay in bed a little while so he rests. This is probably a lot of stimulation for him too.
I said that I would put him in his bassinet. Sue said she would go in to watch him and I said, "Stay right here. See that monitor over the big TV, it is complete with sound. You have a monitor in our bedroom, kitchen, and in the workroom. You can see and hear him wherever you are. I took the baby and carried him to the prepared baby bed and laid him down. Stevie was taking all the jostling well and was still asleep. Once he was settled, I turned and in a very soft voice said, "See, you can hear any noise in here." I took my pen from my pocket and dropped in onto the changing table. I smiled and waved at the camera then went back to the patio."
Sue asked, "When did you get this done?"
"This morning. The security people were scheduled to do this tomorrow but you beat them to the draw. They just changed their schedule."
"This is perfect. I'll be able to watch him every minute," Sue said.
Mercy offered, "You don't have to watch him every minute, he'll be fine. He's a very healthy boy."
We had lunch, and when Stevie began making some noises, I went to change him and bring him out to Sue. Mercy followed me in and said she would do it, but I said I needed to be sure to do my share. I should have let her as the little bugger had taken his first dump. He sure was messy. It took half a box of baby wipes, but I got him cleaned up with a fresh diaper and fresh baby T-shirt on him. When I brought him out to Sue, the ladies where laughing that I got to clean up the kids first messy diaper. Yuk!
I went to wash my hands and bring Sue her booby cleaning stuff. Once cleaned, Sue opened her robe and gown, letting the little one latch on to a nipple with his rapidly sucking mouth. The ladies were all impressed as to what an eager eater he was.
The rest of the day was a continuous stream of people coming to see the baby. He was probably held by fifty people and cooed over by at least that many more women. Most of the women from the shop came by and probably fifty women from the plant came. Thank goodness we had the monitors and that they were big as it satisfied many of them to just be able to see him on the TV screen.
Throughout the day, I'm sure Stevie's picture was taken easily near five hundred times. I'm glad we had the digital camera as I was able to get some decent pictures while he was awake. Sue told me not to take pictures of her nursing while so many were around. She wasn't bashful about whipping out a tit for the hungry mouth any time he was hungry though, but preferred it to be a little more private.
In the late afternoon, Mercy took Sue into the bedroom and helped her shower and wash her hair. Sue dressed in a soft, button front cotton dress she said was designed just for this time in Stevie's life. The front had bigger than usual buttons that easily came undone and re-buttoned. Once undone, the front of the dress folded down to expose either or both sides of Sue's chest.
Sue ate well at the evening meal and drank plenty of healthy fluids to keep the milk supply going. She said that even as hungry as our son had been, and as well as he had been eating, she was going to have to drain her breasts more as they were very uncomfortable since Stevie could not eat that much yet.
I wasn't aware of it at the time, but Mercy had helped Sue express milk herself. Mercy later told me that Sue had expressed over a cup of milk from each breast. They had saved it and but it into the refrigerator. There were newborns that needed that rich milk but their mothers were unable to nurse. A service was going to pick up all the extra milk we had on a daily basis for two weeks. I didn't know people did that.
Shawna and Debbie were going to be popping within a month or so, and Hanna was beginning to show very nicely too. Sue's new maternity line was being well tested by friends, right here in the park.
Since Mickey, Mercy, Samantha, and Deanne were still living with us, there was a ton of help. Those girls didn't leave Glenda anything to clean up any more.
Deanne was on edge emotionally. Terrell had asked her to marry him. Deanne really loved him but didn't know whether she wanted to marry yet. She said she just didn't know whether she was ready to settle down. Poor Terrell was so confused. He and I had to have many talks after work in the evenings. Deanne was weakening as Terrell began saying that if they wanted private time together, she needed to come to his place. He felt that they should be more circumspect about him staying over. Deanne wanted his loving, but also enjoyed the late night hot tub adventures with Debbie, Hank, and others who joined them.
I made the suggestion to Deanne that she have Terrell stay over and initiate him into the hot tub fun. That way she could have both. It must have worked, as Terrell became a popular novelty among the hot tub set. Deanne, seeing that her sex life would continue, committed to Terrell and they set a date to have an April wedding.
Christmas in the trailer park became a festive time. Two weeks before Christmas, everything stationary was decorated. There were red bows throughout the park, with big foam bells hanging on the street lights. The patio was graced with a very full tree set up between the table and the front doors. It was agreed that any presents should be either home made or under five dollars. This was the best way for everyone to join in. The tree soon had literally hundreds of small wrapped gifts under the fir bows.
On Christmas Eve, we sang Christmas carols, drank eggnog, kissed under the mistletoe, and exchanged gifts. This was a special Christmas for me. A new wife, a new baby, and a whole new life. I had even made contact with my family.
The big surprise came from Samantha and Mickey. The closeness of our living conditions gave the two of them many opportunities to enjoy each other. Mickey was quite a bit older than Samantha, but that seemed to fit them in their relationship. They were making plans to buy a trailer and set up housekeeping together. Both said they would like to remain intimate friends with Sue and me, but they had both agreed that we were going to be their only bi exception. We were losing tenants fast. It actually was a good thing.
In early February, Shawna gave birth to little Charlie and Debbie gave birth to Robert. Hank insisted that there would be no Hank juniors. Little Charlie had instantly become CJ for Charles Junior. You wouldn't have believed how proud both of these guys were. The two little redheads had blown up a little on top to provide extra space for the needed juices.
It became common place for the three women to be sitting on the patio all nursing at the same time. I took many photos of this group feeding even though the ladies protested. It was too neat to pass up.
Hanna was catching up. I couldn't believe how much weight she put on. She went from a skinny hundred and ten to near a hundred and fifty. She was going to have to really work to get her weight back down.
The Millennium came and went without the world coming to an end. I never did believe it was going to be that big of a deal. Our New Year's Eve celebration was more reverent than wild. I think we all thought we had been blessed this past year.
While all this baby making was happening, our business world grew, and the business park development continued at a rapid rate.
The new truck dealership, now complete and open under Crystal's rule, was doing pretty well. The tractor body dealership and manufacturing plant were complementing each other, as the mechanical work on the chassis was completed at the truck dealership. There was no need to duplicate personnel.
The RV dealership was just about complete. Abe had found three lines that he thought were the best. It took Alice and Abe almost six months to narrow down the brands. My original thought was to move Crystal to the RV dealership and let Drew run the tractor dealer with the body unit. The body unit was doing enough business that Drew was in demand all day, everyday. Crystal, however, seemed to have the ability to plan her time well, and my plan was now to see if she could manage both. The two places would share mechanics, along with the body unit. The RV dealership could also share coachmen with the body unit. The businesses should complement each other. The one facet of the trucking business I did not address originally was refrigeration. It soon became a necessity to make space for, and hire, refrigeration mechanics. We ended up being able to use them throughout the system, but it had been an item that I had not considered.
The back business/shop mall, as I called it, was being completed. I had purchased a small chrome shop from a man who was retiring. He had two good men that were the seed for me to move the shop to our mall and begin training new people. We ended up having to have a lot of new equipment but soon, we were doing all the chrome work for the rebuilds, as well as custom chrome work on demand.
Charlie's friend, Billy, the machinist, moved his shop into the business mall and lured some of his peers to move in as well. Billy was planning to use the other machinists to work together on larger bids.
A big move was to build a medium size manufacturing facility and showroom for the golf carts. Since we manufactured and sold both gas and electric carts, we decided to use gas carts all over the park. Our park security used carts to patrol the roads and check on the business at night. The body plant was working two shifts so the only time it was unattended was from about one in the morning to six thirty.
Because of the demand, the truck and RV maintenance shops became twenty-four-hour a day facilities too. Trucks needed to get back on the road. People who needed our services for their RV were usually in a hurry to get them repaired so they could continue on their trip. All of this activity became the initial reason the Perkins began staying open twenty-four hours.
The big clothing plant was being built in four phases. The first building that went up took over the maternity lines and became a giant T-shirt factory with some automated screen printing equipment. We were now able to produce all of our own T-shirts, plus we had manufacturing room to custom make shirts for other companies.
Terrell and Darnell had over a year to look forward to continued employment, as it would take at least that long to complete the huge new clothing plant.
After the completion of the golf cart facility, we remodeled the building where the golf carts had been to make it a plant where we manufactured utility truck bodies exclusively. They became self-contained, cutting, forming, welding, and painting their own sheet metal. With over forty men and a half dozen support people, we were producing multiple types of bodies and offering them from our new on-campus showroom.