Through the Ages

The soft cries of a baby boy reverberate in a tiny room. The longer it goes on, the louder it gets. He is hungry!

A door, already ajar, sweeps open and a melodious voice sings reassurances that she is there to save him. She is mother! But he doesn't know that yet, being too young to discern the difference between you and I. He knows the voice, so he screams louder, demanding haste.

"Okay... okay! Mummy’s here. Are you hungry? I bet you're hungry!" She coos, not yet fully aware of which cry this is, being a new mother of only four days.

She swoops him up out of his crib and settles into a nearby chair. In a moment, her breast is out and the babe is suckling. Her shoulders relax as he calms and drinks. Victory! She had guessed correct this time.

Perhaps she would get the knack for this mum thing!

He drinks his fill, emptying just the one breast and a bit of the other. The nipple of the empty breast aches slightly as he is a biter. She remembers her mother saying that her brother was a biter, too but couldn't remember what she said about getting him to stop, so she decided to call after she expresses whatever he has left over. She covers herself and sets him down to get on with her tasks.

He jumps up and runs out of his room. In the passageway, he side steps his mother walking in the opposite direction.

"Stop running in the house!" She yells with her hand over the phone's mic to his quickly vanishing back.

"Okay, mummy." He shouts back, slowing down only slightly until he gets in front of the TV.

"I swear, mum, everytime I turn a corner, this child is almost running me over. They call it terrible two's, no one said that it would last another four years after." She complains to her mother on the other end of the phone, as she makes her way to the kitchen.

"Yeah... Yeah... Yeah... you know, every time I complain about him, you always say, 'Yeah, just like you when you were that age.' Couldn't he get some traits from his father's childhood? Everyone says he was such a sweet child... Okay, mum... Love you too... Bye."

She sets the phone down on the counter and cuts up a sandwich.

"Come eat... your sandwich is ready." She calls out to him.

"Ooh... Food. I'm starving." He says walking into the kitchen.

"Did you wash your hands?"

"Yip... nice and clean" He says, sitting down at the counter. She slides the plate over to him and he sulks.

"Mum... you know I need to eat. I have to bulk up a bit before the next rugby season. My coach says that if I can put on another 2 or so kilos before then and keep my speed, I'll be the biggest, fastest sixteen year old on the field."

"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Bigshot. All the ingredients are right here in front of you. Show us how big of a boy you are and make your own second sandwich." He sulks and bites into the sandwich in front of him, and then starts to make a second one.

She gathers her things and walks around the counter. "Your dad and I are going out for a bit. We'll be back in a few hours. Don't sit in front of that playstation the entire day."

"Okay, mum. Love you." He mumbles through a second bite, as she kisses him on the cheek.

"Love you too, baby. And chew, don't just inhale your food" She says as she watches him take a third bite, stuffing the last piece into his mouth. He replies with a mumbled, "Mmhmm."

"We'll see you in a bit." She says as he waves her off. She walks to the door and opens it.

"Hey! There he is! Come here, my big varsity boy." She pulls her son in for a hug as he walks in the door. He drops his bag and squeezes her tightly, lifting her off the ground.

"Ah, I missed you." He says putting her down.

"No love for your old man?" His father asks over his mother's shoulder.

"Dad!" A firm handshake and a tight hug shared between father and son.

"Where is...?" His mother asks looking back out through the door.

"Uh... she's not coming. We broke up."

"Oh, no. Sorry." She puts a comforting hand at the back of his head, and continues. "Well, lunch is just about ready. Why don't you drop your things off in your room, and you can tell us what happened while we eat, okay?" He gathers his bags and heads to his room as his parents head for the kitchen. His father grabs a plate stacked with rotis and his mother grabs the pot off the stove, and they make their way to the dining room.

"Mmm... butter chicken. Yes!" The smell has been wafting through the kitchen to where he sat in the dining room.

"Well, Mr., ever since you got that new job, we barely see you anymore. I wanted to remind you what it was you were missing out on." She sets the pot down in front of him and he dishes a plate full, and then grabs two rotis.

"Yip, I definitely missed this."

"Well, that's why you should visit more often."

"I will. I promise." He manages to get out through a mouth full of food.

"Oh... and you were right." He continues after he swallows.

"About...?" She asks.

"That girl in my office. Remember? The one I was telling you about?"

"Yeah?"

"Yip. We went out for supper last night."

"I told you. A woman knows these things."

"What girl?" His father asks.

"Just a girl in his office that likes him." She answers, and then turns her attention back to her son. "And how did it go?"

"Well - we made plans again for next weekend."

"That's great!"

"Yeah... she's really cool, and really funny, and she hates all the things that I'm in to, but she doesn't complain when I talk about them. She just listens."

"You really like this girl, huh?"

"I do, mum. And I think she really likes me too."

"I told you." She says, giving him a big smile, and then stands up to tidy up the table. She carries the things to the kitchen and then sets them in the sink and heads back to the dining room.

"Boys... let's go. We're going to be late." She calls as she steps into the dining room. She grabs her handbag off the table and walks towards the front door.

"I'm here." Her son says, taking the last few steps, as he tightens his tie.

"Let me look at you." She says as he lands on the ground floor. "You look so handsome." Tears begin to pool in the corners of her eyes.

"Don't cry, mum. You're gana ruin your makeup." She smiles at him and straightens his already straight tie, and then his already straight jacket.

"Where's you father?"

"I'm here... I'm here." He announces, as he begins to descend the stairs. "Is everyone ready?"

"Just waiting for you, dad."

"Then let's go." His father says as he touches down beside him. "Let's get you married."

The father sets a proud hand on his son's shoulder, the son give his father a dutiful smile, the mother plants a loving kiss on the son's cheek, and they all leave the house. With a click of the door and the turn of a key, the house falls to silence.

The soft cries of a baby boy reverberate in a tiny room. The longer it goes on, the louder it gets. He is hungry!

A door, already ajar, sweeps open and a melodious voice sings reassurances that she is there to save him. She is mother! But he doesn't know that yet, being too young to discern the difference between you and I. He knows the voice, so he screams louder, demanding haste.

She swoops him up out of his crib and settles into a nearby chair. In a moment, her breast is out and the babe is suckling. Her shoulders relax as he calms and drinks. Victory! She had guessed correct this time.

Perhaps she would get the knack for this mum thing!

A women stands in the doorway, watching as the mother winces to the babies bite.

"Your husband used to bite, too. His nose is blocked. It's making him frustrated. Clear it and he'll stop." The mother tries to pull the baby from her chest.

"No, wait. Use your finger to stop him suckling, and then pull him away." The mother complies and pulls the baby from her breast. He squeels, having been snatched from his need. The grandmother grabs the aspirator from a table nearby and clears the babies nose, to which he protests with louder squeels. Soon enough, he is returned to the breast. He drinks his fill and is settled.

"Give me my grandson., please" The grandmother says, holding out her arms to receive the baby. He moves from one woman to the the other, and she lays him over her shoulder to run her hand in circles over his back. He burps loudly and the women cheer.

"That's a big boy burp, huh? Are you big boy, little one?" The grandmother coos.

"You should her him fart... smell it too. Can clear a room." The father says from behind his mother. She turns to face him.

"You're one to talk. You used to gag your father and I every time you let one go."

"It hasn't gotten better." Chimes the mother, still seated in the chair.

"Hey... don't talk out of our bedroom."

"You'd be kind if it was confined to the bedroom."

He goes to scoop the baby from his mother, as she watches him settle the little one in his arms. The years flick through her head of a life spent raising the man before her. How time has flown...

"My baby is all grown up and married, with a baby boy of his own."