My Sweet Canadian Girl Ch. 12

"It's such a wonderful sound," she said leaving me puzzled.

"The baby crying you mean?" I asked to make sure there wasn't another sound I was missing.

"Yes Rick, the baby. It's the sound of new life," she said in a patient voice.

"Well at least one of us will enjoy being woken up in the middle of the night I guess," I said making her giggle.

"She might cry for a while," Cassie said snuggling closer.

"We could..."

"Maybe tomorrow morning," she said. "I want you to tell me a bedtime story."

"What kind of story?" I asked.

"A love story," she said right away.

"Did I ever tell you the one about the man who met the girl of his dreams at a ski lift?" I asked.

"That's my favorite one but I've heard it too many times," she said kissing me. "Tell me how your sister fell in love with Brian."

"Okay I'll tell you what I know but only because you told me about Marc and Julie," I said.

I didn't know all the details but I told Cassie their story the best I could just as I promised. They met when they were both students at UCLA. Susan was in her junior year as an English honors student and editing one of her term papers that was due in less than a week. Her laptop started to act up so she took it to the store where she bought it without thinking to back up her work first. It was a few years old and out of warranty but she didn't mind having to pay for repairs. Two days later she was back at the store to pick it up when they told her it was broken beyond repair and there wasn't anything they could do. The manager was apologetic but they couldn't retrieve her lost files either. The best he could offer a discount on a new one. Susan couldn't afford to buy a new computer and left the store devastated with her broken laptop in hand.

That night Teresa, one of her friends in the dorm, found Susan in her bedroom crying her eyes out over a whole semester's worth of lost work. Once Susan calmed down enough to explain what had happened, Teresa gave her hope. One of Teresa's close friends Brian was a computer wizard and a senior who lived just off campus. She was sure that if anyone could help Susan it was Brian. With Susan's spirits lifted she waited anxiously as Teresa called him at his apartment. He quickly agreed to help a friend of Teresa's and said he was sure he could do better when he heard which store Susan had taken it to.

Less than thirty minutes later he picked them up and drove back to his apartment where he had everything he needed to fix it for her. Susan thought Brian was handsome the moment she laid eyes on him and instantly wondered why Teresa hadn't introduced them before. That was something she could ask her friend about later, for the time being she was glad she'd put on a nice outfit before he arrived to pick them up. Brian chatted with them as he drove, looking at Susan in the rear view mirror. He seemed impressed that Susan was an English major because that was the only subject he had trouble with in high school. Brian was completing a joint major in computer science and mathematics, which made Susan smile and admit she was horrible at math.

When they arrived at his apartment it looked like a makeshift computer lab with computer parts all over the place. He explained that only about half of it was his, the rest were things people left with him to fix. Susan felt bad with so many other people waiting but he laughed and said most of it was beyond repair but he wouldn't throw them out in case he could scavenge parts from them later. He offered his guests a drink and went to his desk where he pushed aside some other parts to start taking the laptop apart. Teresa turned on the TV but Susan sat down next to Brian to watch him work. She had no idea what was wrong with it but the speed at which he disassembled it filled her with hope. Within moments he determined that the problem was a fried motherboard and held the computer up so she could smell the burnt components herself.

The bad news was that it wasn't practical to repair the motherboard but he could replace it. He'd need to do some looking because it was an older model but once he found one it would be easy to get it running again. For now he could pop the hard drive out and retrieve the data for her. In no time he had the hard drive hooked up to one of his computers and began transferring whatever Susan said was important as she looked over his shoulder giving directions. He burned everything onto CDs for her and put the hard drive back in her old computer for now. Brian had a spare computer that he'd pieced together. He usually ended up giving them away to make room for more parts so he loaded all of Susan's data onto it and insisted she take it until he could track down the parts he needed to fix her laptop. The way he talked left her with no doubt that he'd have her old laptop working as good as new soon.

Susan's mind was left spinning. A few hours earlier she was in the middle of a nightmare but this kindhearted man had saved her. Brian had done it all for free too, refusing to take any of her money because she was Teresa's friend. She couldn't understand why the store didn't help her like Brian did when they knew she would have paid for the repairs. He explained that a lot of stores couldn't afford to keep qualified technicians on staff and as a result they couldn't fix anything but the simplest of problems. Others didn't care about fixing them because they were much more interested in selling expensive new computers. Susan joked that she'd be coming to Brian for computer advice from now on and he said he'd be happy to help anytime in a sincere voice.

Teresa asked him if he had any plans for the night and he said he had none other than staying in to watch the Dodgers game. That got my sister's attention right away. She began excitedly discussing the team with him. The season was just underway and they were on the road to start the year. It didn't take Brian long to invite them to stay and watch the game with him. Susan convinced him to let her pay for delivery pizza as a thank you for all his help with her computer disaster. When Brian stepped away to use the bathroom, Susan quickly learned that Teresa and Brian were definitely just friends who had grown up in the same neighborhood. Teresa seemed thrilled that Susan was obviously interested in Brian and couldn't explain why she hadn't thought to introduce them before.

Not long after the pizza arrived, Teresa made an excuse to leave and Susan had Brian all to herself. He was a perfect gentleman as he watched the game with the pretty brunette girl he'd just met. At first they talked almost exclusively about baseball but by the end of the game it was merely an afterthought as they focused more and more on each other. Brian has classes in the morning and drove her home an hour after the game ended. He walked Susan to her building and smiled at her as she thanked him for saving all her hard work and lending her a computer. She have him a hug and a peck on the cheek before she ran into her building smiling over the thought of seeing him again soon.

Little more than a week later, the Dodgers were back in LA for their first home stand of the season. Teresa had given Susan Brian's number and she called to make sure he was free on Friday night. When she showed up at his apartment with a surprise for him, his smile made it obvious he was happy to see her again. Feeling as though he deserved something more than a few slices of pizza for what he did for her, she brought him a gift-wrapped Dodgers t-shirt. When he took it out of the box for a closer look, a pair of tickets to the first home game fell onto his lap. He thanked her with a fleeting kiss saying he and one of his buddies were going to have a great time at the game before he burst out laughing at her narrowed glare. They went to the game together of course and they've been pretty much inseparable since that day. At their wedding, Susan told the same story to remind everyone that it took her computer practically blowing up in her face for her bridesmaid Teresa to introduce her to the wonderful man who became her husband.

At the end of the story, Cassie gave me a smiled filled kiss and asked me tell her about my sister's wedding too. It wasn't until I started to tell that story that I remembered my parent's friendly relationship actually dated back almost three years to the time around Susan's wedding. I couldn't recall a single time leading up to and including the wedding that they exchanged angry words. The experience of helping their daughter prepare to get married had softened their hostilities. Now that Susan and Brian had started a family of their own, our parents had become friends again. Back when Susan first announced her pregnancy, Cassie had been able to convince them to pose for a picture just by mentioning the fact that they were going to be grandparents together. The last thing I thought about before falling asleep with Cassie in my arms was if our wedding and future children would further tighten their bond.

The following day we woke up to a feast for breakfast courtesy of Susan and Brian who were up early with the baby. Susan had already gone back to bed for a much needed nap as her husband watched their daughter. Once the rest of the family was up he had plenty of help and mom even convinced him to go take a nap with his wife while we watched the baby and tidied the kitchen. Before leaving last night, Brian's parents had invited us all to their place for dinner. Until it was time to go we all spent a relaxing Sunday afternoon with baby Rebecca. Gathered in the family room with the Dodgers game on in background, she easily took center stage over the game.

After dinner at the Morris' home, both my parents had to head back to LA for work in the morning. Cassie and I were staying with my sister until the middle of the week to spend as much time with the baby as possible. While they left in separate cars, my father reminded mom to drive safe and I could sense he'd feel better if they were sharing one car. I used to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about my mother being all by herself in a city like LA. She was a strong woman but LA could be a dangerous place and knowing dad was staying with her now made me relax, even if it was only for the short term. Neither of them wanted to leave their granddaughter behind, but it would only be a few days until Susan and Brian came to LA.

Until Thursday we were staying with Susan and Brian. Brian had a month of paternity leave from work to help take care of the baby, though there was one project he was still working on. He spent as little time as possible on it and logged in from home for an hour or two at most, generally just to double check the work that had been done the previous day in his absence. Cassie and my sister took shopping trips on Monday and Tuesday and Brian's mother joined them on the second trip. On Monday they took the baby with them but she got fussy after a few hours and they came home to let her take a nap. The second day they left the baby with us. It was the first time Susan had left her daughter with anyone and though it was her husband and brother she was leaving Rebecca with, it was easy to see the nervousness in her eyes.

While his wife was away Brian didn't worry about his work at all. He held Rebecca in his arms giving the appearance that he barely noticed she was there but if you watched closely you could tell she was constantly on his mind. I took a turn holding my niece as well when Brian needed to use the bathroom and while he heated a bottle for her. There was a container in the fridge labeled "breast milk" that he poured into a bottle and heated on the stove. I assumed he'd test it on his wrist but Brian loved his gadgets and he had a digital thermometer that gave him a reading down to a decimal point. When I thought about it, there was no way to feed the baby a bottle that was too hot or too cold this way and I ended us asking where he got it with my own future child in mind.

On the way home from their second day the women stopped at the grocery store to get everything Cassie needed to make dinner. Susan had called four times during the day to make sure we weren't having any problems with the baby but she still fired questions at Brian when she got home. Satisfied that we'd taken good care of her little girl, she let Cassie shoo her and Brian out of the kitchen and as we took care of cooking. Susan had heard about Cassie's maple glazed salmon from mom and Cassie had promise to cook it for her before we left for home. Cassie didn't really need my help but it gave Susan and Brian some time alone with their baby. When I went to tell them dinner was ready I couldn't help but smile when I saw Susan sitting as close to Brian as Cassie sat to me at home. His arm was around her shoulders and they were both smiling at the baby.

Rebecca went down for a nap while we ate dinner. Both my sister and her husband were full of complements for Cassie who blushed and smiled nervously. I loved it too of course and even though I'd eaten often it seemed to get better each time. Susan wanted Brian to take a break that night after watching the baby all day. One of his friends was having a poker night and after a quick call to make sure there was space for both of us we were off with good luck kisses from our ladies. The new dad was blessed with good luck that night and made off with everyone's money, mine included.

When we got home the girls were still awake and the baby was up too. Rebecca had just finished eating and was looking around the kitchen from her comfortable place in mommy's arms. She looked alert but both parents were confident that she'd soon be ready to go back to bed. The four of discussed the plan for tomorrow and Susan came up with the idea of taking Rebecca for her first trip to the San Diego Zoo. The baby was far too young to take it all in but it would be a fun day for us with plenty of picture opportunities. I mentioned our trip years ago with our grandfather and Susan and I talked about what we remembered of that day wishing he was still with us.

The next morning we left the house a couple of hours before noon for our trip to the world famous San Diego Zoo. On the ride to the zoo Brian and I sat in front while Susan and Cassie squeezed in the back next to Rebecca's car seat. We brought along the stroller for Rebecca and when we got there she was asleep. She stirred when Susan moved her to the stroller but fell back to sleep almost right away. Cassie smiled at me as we passed through the entrance saying she'd never seen me look more childlike and full of wonder. The four of us walked around together for the first part of the day. We waited for Rebecca to wake up and took her to see exhibits geared towards children. She really seemed to like the tropical birds with their bright colors and musical calls.

Once Rebecca started to get a little fussy, we stopped so Susan could change her and then it was time for her to eat. Rather than taking Rebecca all around the huge park, Susan and Brian decided to stay in one area with her and try to get some pictures if they could. Susan insisted that Cassie and I go off on our own to take in as much as we could during our rare opportunity to visit. Cassie held my hand and let me be her guide as we walked quickly from one exhibit to the next on a beautiful spring day. I was shocked by how much I remembered from the trip years ago with my grandfather. While I showed her around, Cassie gave me her undivided attention though I could tell a lot of her interest came from seeing me so happy.

"I've never seen you like this," she said gazing at me with love in her eyes.

"Well it's not everyday you get to visit a place like this," I said looking around. "I'd been thinking about it, but I'm glad Susan brought it up because I figured it was no good to bring Rebecca here yet and wasn't going to say anything."

"Next time we come to visit your sister we're going to spend a whole day here, just the two of us," she promised.

"You don't have to do that," I said.

"I can go shopping anywhere, coming all the way to San Diego and not visiting a place like this would be like us taking a trip to LA without seeing the Dodgers play," she said and I could see something click in her mind. "If you could only pick one, would you take a live Dodgers game or a day here at the zoo?"

"You promise not to tell anyone? Especially my dad," I asked.

"I promise," she said smiling because she already knew the answer now.

"I'd want to come here. I love the Dodgers but I've been to at least a hundred games, probably a lot more if I took the time to add them all up. This is only my second trip here and I liked it even better than Disneyland when I was kid," I said.

"I'm so glad we came here today," Cassie said kissing me with her soft, warm lips. "Let me call your sister and see how much longer we have," she said taking her cell phone out of her purse.

We spent a few more hours taking in the sights. There was no way to see it all but sometimes I had to slow down to enjoy one exhibit at a time, even though our time was precious. The space between the exhibits we hurried through but we slowed down to marvel at the animals that managed to enthrall us. I spent at least twenty minutes just staring at the lions even though they weren't doing anything but sleeping in the sun and not once did Cassie mention leaving until I was ready. My enthusiasm was infectious and Cassie found her own favorites to fall in love with too. As we made our way to Sydney's Grill to meet Susan and Brian for an early dinner, Cassie saw the koalas and dragged me towards them excitedly. She loved how cute and cuddly they looked and the way the babies clung to their mothers in the trees.

During our meal Susan showed us the picture they'd taken with Rebecca during the day, handing her camera around the table. Cassie still couldn't stop talking about the koalas and Susan suggested we stop and see them again before leaving, much to my secret bride's delight. I could tell Susan liked them too by the way she smiled at the mother koalas with their babies. She held her daughter in her arms pointing up to the trees and asking her what she thought of the baby koalas. The last stop before we left was the gift shop where I think Susan and Cassie picked out one of everything that would fit Rebecca between them. I bought Cassie a plush koala so she could remember her favorite part of our visit and adopted one for her too which would mail her some other koala items, including an adoption certificate with her name on it, for a donation. I asked her what last name she wanted on her certificate and she smiled telling me to make it Kellogg so her imaginary adopted koala could be ours, not just hers.

Our last night in San Diego was a quiet one at my sister's home. We rented a couple of movies on the way home and watched them downstairs in their family room. After being out at the zoo all day, Rebecca was tuckered out and slept peacefully through the entire first movie. During our break between movies she woke up needing a fresh diaper and another feeding before going back to sleep for the rest of the evening. Wishing Susan and Brian goodnight, we headed off to bed for a good nights sleep before our early drive back to LA in the morning where we were spending the last few days of our visit.

I waited in the guest bedroom as Cassie got ready for bed. She came into the room wearing a pair of cute, conservative pajamas. Making space for her on one side, I let her cuddle close and made her giggle when I placed the plush koala in her arms. Even though she pretended I was being silly, she clutched it to her chest as we settled down to sleep. Whispering into her ear I told her what a poor substitute it was for our own baby and that I knew her own mothering would put that of the koalas to shame.