Baby Patrol

[Desislava Lesley]

Desislava was still fuming. Well, sort of. Davalynda had been such a silly girl, and just when Slava was sure that her family was fine, and that everyone was going to be okay and she could let her hair down and relax, her sister goes off, falls pregnant and has a baby that Desislava must care for. She had been coming to the store regularly to buy baby things for the new addition. Davalynda was too young, in Desislava's opinion. And, having had plenty of experience with putting her own life on hold to raise children, she did not want Davalynda's life to be like that. She wanted her younger sister to live and get a job, and work without having to worry about taking care of her baby. Desislava, while maddened, was perfectly okay with taking care of the little one and raising it as she had with her younger siblings. She couldn't let Davalynda further ruin her life. The only thing that stopped the young woman from killing the boyfriend of her younger sister was the fact that he swore to provide for her sister and their child, and was getting a job. 'So he should,' she thought stubbornly, placing more diapers into her shopping basket.

She flicked her hair over her shoulder and carried what she planned to buy with her to the store counter. She smiled at the man behind the counter, Maxwell. He seemed like a good guy, and often helped her out here and there. The woman owed him a lot, especially after he stopped her youngest brother from injuring himself whenever he were in the store, which was often as he had a tendency to run off. She placed the basket on the counter, and began unpacking it for him. She had diapers, new soft blankets for baby, formula, and nipples, everything she didn't have previously so she could care for the baby. "Just these thanks, Maxwell," she said, running a hand through her hair. She was far too tired to be doing this.
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[Maxwell Stone]

Max lazily rubbed his eye and yawned. Catching less than five hours of sleep last night had been weighing him down the whole day. It was a task to keep his eyes open while serving customers, his zombie-esque appearance too dark for the smiling deposition he was obliged to uphold. So far his ability to work had disappeared, every instinct in his body urged him to take a nap. Now he had quit his other job sleep was no longer difficult to come by. The issue lay with the fact that his body hadn't yet adjusted to his new routine, still trapped in the habit of getting three to four hours of rest at a time. Optimistic to a fault, he was ever hopeful in thinking he could fall into a new sleeping routine straight away. He didn't realize how difficult it would be to sleep for eight hours at a time. Shaking his head, he tried his best to focus and serve the small line of customers waiting for him. With a smile he served everyone, and feigned interest as he partook in small talk. He hated small talk, as it was always an awkward back and forth exchange neither of them wanted to share but had to undergo. In all honestly he couldn't care less about how the customers were, or how their day had been.

He looked up as he reached the end of the line, smiling genuinely at the familiar red head across from him. Usually he noticed when Slava entered the store. However today he was obviously too dreary to notice her right away. He scanned her items one by one as she unpacked the basket, noting her unusual choice in items. For the past three years he had been working here, and since the time he first encountered Slava she had never purchased baby items. In a store that sold toys, baby furniture and other various items one would need when raising a child, it shouldn't be a surprise for someone to purchase these things. For Slava however, it was entirely out of the blue. He crossed his arms and perked an eyebrow at the red head. "This is different for you." They were acquainted enough not to bother with small talk, so he didn't hesitate to be blunt. "Does this mean you're pregnant?" His intention was not to be rude, but he didn't know any other way to ask. This was just all rather farfetched. In the pit of his stomach, he hoped she wasn't pregnant. Slava had enough people to look after. The idea of her looking after one more child made him worry.​