Chapter 3, Pancakes in the Morning

Chapter 3
Pancakes in the Morning

Sarah woke up in the bathtub. She had a pillow under her head, her teddy bear under her arm and a blanket covering her. She didn't think about how, she knew that what she remembered of the night before must have been just an extension of her nightmare. Mom had snuggled her in, made sure she was comfortable and taken care of her. Only Mom would have done these things, that must mean Mom was still here, not Aunt Belle.

Pancakes. It smelled like pancakes, With Blueberries. Sarah crawled out of the bathtub, used the toilet, brushed her hair and teeth and then headed for the kitchen. She didn't notice that the bathroom door was unlocked, she wouldn't have noticed something like that.

Her place at the breakfast table was set just like it was every morning, her pink plate, purple cup and napkin folded into a triangle. She took her place just as a short stack of 3 pancakes was placed in front of her. she reached for the syrup, started to pour and looked up to say "good morning" to her mother and froze.

She was looking right into the blotchy face of Smush who was suspended from Uncle Mikes shoulders in a carrier. The baby was smiling, gurgling, drooling and flailing its arms gleefully. Sarah was mortified. Where was Mom? Why was Uncle Mike making her pancakes and why was that THING still in her house?

"Where is Mom?" she asked

Uncle Mike smiled, poured her some juice and said "She is still at the hospital having the babies. Aunt Belle went to be with her for awhile."

Sarah stopped to think as much as her young mind could. The dream wasn't a nightmare, it WAS real. Her Mom wasn't home and her Mom hadn't made her pancakes. Her Mom was going through with the "baby" think anyway. It wasn't fair, she NEEDED her Mom.

"Why is it taking so long?" she asked

Uncle Mike sighed "babies come in there own time, you can't hurry them. You Mom is doing well and she promised she would call as soon as she could. Don't worry, everything will be fine and soon you will get to meet your new family! isn't that exciting?"

"No, I don't like it, I want Mom. I don't like Smush, I don't like you, I don't like babies I don't like any of it!" she said then gave him a withering look causing him to raise an eyebrow before he turned back to the kitchen.

Sarah poked at her breakfast before finally tasting it. The pancakes weren't like the ones her Mom made but they weren't bad. She ate what she was given and then cautiously walked into the kitchen, plate in hand.

"I'm still hungry." she stated as coldly as possible.

"Would you like some more pancakes? I also have some sausages, would you like a few of those as well?"

Sarah nodded holding out her plate as Uncle Mike placed 4 pancakes, 3 sausages and a blob of whipped cream on top.

Seeing the special topping Sarah smiled "Thanks!"

She returned to the table as Uncle Mike left the kitchen for awhile, returning without Smush who it seems, had fallen asleep again. He started cleaning up from the breakfast preparations. He packed the extra pancakes into some plastic bags and tucked them away into the freezer. Next he packed up the Sausages into a container and found space for them in the fridge along with the butter, milk and syrup. He looked up at Sarah periodically as she ate.

"Are there any questions you want to ask me? You look like your thinking very hard about something." Uncle Mike said while he loaded the dishwasher.

Sarah DID have questions but she didn't know who to ask. Uncle mike was giving her an opportunity she wanted to take it.

"How do babies come out? do people explode like on TV? How to they get put back together?"

Uncle mike stopped in mid reach. "ummmmm"

Sarah knew he wouldn't tell her, no one ever had wanted to tell her.

"Well, womens bodies are made for having babies. there is a space inside of a mommy that can stretch so that a baby can grow inside" he stated.

Sarah looked a bit surprised. Stopping with her fork in mid air between her plate and mouth. He was actually talking about it. More than anyone had said before.

Uncle Mike continued "When a woman has a baby that is grown inside of her, her body starts to get ready to get that baby out." He paused, studying Sarah's reaction. She still hadn't finished her bite of food but sat there, listening. "there is an opening..........ummmm......a place for the baby to come out.......ummmmm"

Sarah could tell that Uncle Mike was having trouble trying to explain things. Laying down her fork she asked "Does it come out of your belly button? Why do BOYS have Belly Buttons?"

Uncle Mike wasn't sure how to react to that question. "wow, ahhh no it does not come out of your belly button. Lets just say that when you grow up, there will be a place on you where a baby can come out safely. a woman does not "explode" and does not have to be "put back together".

"I'm NEVER going to have babies, I HATE them, there awful and disgusting" Sarah stated then started shoveling breakfast into her mouth again.

Uncle Mike sighed and finished cleaning up the breakfast dishes. once Sarah had cleaned her plate he sent her off to her room to get dressed for the day. He wondered how much the girl understood and how much she just didn't want too. Rinsing her plate and cup he added them to the dishwasher, dispensed soap and started the machine. Walking back through the house he hear her telling her toys all about how her Mom wasn't going to explode and that she would be home soon and everything would be normal again.

Mike knew then that this child had a big surprise ahead of her. He only hoped that somehow he would be able to help so that her mother didn't get the brunt of the backlash. The shock would ripple through the whole family and he could see it coming. No amount of military training could prepare anyone for the storm that was to come.