Chapter 4

1988

The knock on my door was becoming routine. I’d not seen my brother so often since we were kids. I mean four times in two weeks. I think his jealousy at my impending fatherhood was almost too much for him, heck for me too; and he kept coming over so damn early; well, he did have a business to run, a big business. And, my erstwhile wife encouraged him! Well, I was glad he was so into our good fortune; I did want him to be there for us after the baby came. And, it was more than clear that he would be; I really was grateful for that. I had to smile, an uncle’s job was a big one, and my womanizing brother was clearly understanding all about that. I figured he’d be out there looking for his own woman pretty soon; it almost made me laugh.

“Again Ron! I guess I gotta start fixing up the guest room for you,” I said, but I was smiling.

“Well, that would be nice of you, and convenient,” said Ronald Carter, and he was smiling too.

“Ronald!” said Stacey coming into the room.

“Yeah, it’s me. Thought you might need some help,” he said.

“Well, that’s very nice of you, but I don’t know what you might be helpful with. I mean I still have several months to go. Unless of course you mean you want to help my husband with the yard work,” she said, she was smiling cordially.

“Whatever I can do,” he said.

“Well, you two hang out for a bit, I need to be going out. I have to check on some paperwork I didn’t get finished with at the warehouse. I’ll be back soon. Oh, and Ronald, if you want to weed the flower bed feel free.”

“He’s in a good, mood,” he said.

“Yes, ever since I got pregers he’s kinda been on cloud nine,” said Stacey.

“He hasn’t said anything about me coming over as often as I’ve been coming over?” said Ronald.

“No, he’s mentioned it. He’s kinda surprised by it. He thinks you’re jealous and maybe thinking about getting another wife yourself so you can be a daddy,” said Stacey.

“God, I have to admit that he’s right on the one hand. I am jealous of him being the daddy to my, our, baby. I mean I am over the top jealous!” he said.

“Well, it’s for the best, I mean him being the apparent daddy. Maybe someday it’ll be different, but for the near term it’s got to be the way it is, as you yourself have said. I know it’s hard for you, but you’ll be there. I mean you are the ‘uncle’ of record for sure. You’ll have rights too,” she said.

“Yeah, I know. It wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t being so damnably arrogant about it all. It really rankles,” he said.

“Well, you’ll just have to suck it up. You are regularly fucking his wife after all.”

He smiled, “Yeah, well that is a true thing isn’t it.”

I really did have the greatest wife in the world. What I also had was a very scared—sort of—wife. She seemed seriously frightened to me. Hence, we were in Lamaze classes learning how to do baby birthing with the least amount of stress possible. Me, you ask, no I wasn’t especially nervous about anything. I guess I did have a small concern as to the baby’s health and all, but the doctor said no problem that everything looked good, so no, I wasn’t worried. In fact, I was very much into the whole scene.

My brother was also into it. I think mostly to keep me on center if that would be the way to say it. He must have told me, completely unnecessarily, a hundred times not to worry. Hell, he was more worried than I was: the doting uncle thing I guess. Well, I humored his jealous ass, and it was more than clear that he was in fact jealous. Heck he actually told me he was and that more than once.

Stacey was supportive of his feelings as she was of mine: more mine than his I think, but his too.

The Lamaze thing was interesting, but really mostly routine. We went to the classes. We did the breathing bit. We did the hubby support and encouragement bit. We were warned about the rare occasions when hubbies actually passed out when they saw the baby coming out of the womb. I wasn’t going to pass out, but I guess some guys did: pussies all of them.

“Yeah,” I said. “But it’s no big deal. I’m just mainly going to support her while she’s actually doing the delivery.”

“Yeah, well do a good job. You’ve got a winner for a wife there, and she deserves all of the support you can give her,” said Ronald. I had to laugh; he really was more concerned about Stacey than I was. Well, I was with her all of the time, and I knew the inside dope. He was around a lot but not twenty-four-seven. At any rate I did appreciate his support, help, interest all of it over the top though it was.

“I plan on doing a good job, Ron, obviously. Mellow out man.

“You know you need to find yourself a woman, like you used to always tell me, and have kids and do the family thing like me. Heck, you make a good living, you’re not as good looking as me, but what the hey,” I said, laughing.

“Yeah, right,” he said. “You just wish you were as good looking as me.”

He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he’d somehow taken offense at what I’d said to him. I couldn’t figure it. He’d become over time, something, touchy maybe, something. It was like he wasn’t just jealous of me and Stacey’s situation. He was actually becoming way more than emotional about things generally. I’d actually asked Stacey about it, but she’d pooh-poohed my concerns. I guess she was right. I mean it was my brother not some stranger or more distant family member. I made a promise to myself to be a bit more considerate when talking to him.

“Ron, you really need to back off a bit,” said Stacey.

“It’s just, I don’t know, the way he is always rubbing my nose in it. He’s such a lucky guy, he’s going to be such a good father, he’s got the most beautiful wife in the world: I’m sick of hearing it, I mean him bragging,” said Ronald.