+ 1.8: Baby Blues

No one was as excited as Davrin at the arrival of Troye. He spent most of his free time teaching his son the things all parents teach their toddlers. When Davrin wasn’t around the responsibility lay with Jeeves. Azaria avoided the nursery as much as possible. Unfortunately it was only a door away from her own bedroom so sometimes she’d lay awake listening to Troye’s shrill screams in the middle of the night until one of the others ran upstairs to pacify him.

The restrictions imposed on her by Davrin were becoming unbearable. She was cramped in the old mansion with nowhere to go. And it wasn’t like she wasn’t allowed to anymore. She eventually confronted him about his decision to let her get a job.

“So have you come to a decision?” She asked quietly. Davrin was in the nursery tossing a giggling Troye up in the air.

“Who is daddy’s evil little spawn? You are! Yes you!”
Azaria cleared her throat and repeated the question a little louder.

“About?” He asked innocently pretending to have forgotten. She stared at him coldly knowing he hadn’t really forgotten.

“Is that a stinky?” Davrin wrinkled his nose lovingly at Troye. A terrible smell had filled the room; it was a smell Azaria was unaccustomed to and she felt the bile creeping up her throat.

“Oh it’s not that bad.” Davrin shot her a look. “Here, you change him.” He continued smugly.

“I’d rather not.” She replied.

“Look at that Troye. Mommy doesn’t love you. Bad bad mommy.” He shook his head to add emphasis. Azaria’s patience was running thin. She could tell that he was going to keep this up for some time so she motioned to leave.

But before she knew it he’d shoved a wailing toddler with a soiled diaper into her arms.

“What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Your part.”.

Azaria stared at the baby, her own nose wrinkled in disgust. The screaming seemed to increase in volume the more she stared at this child not knowing what to really do.

Eventually she got it right and managed to change his dirty diaper. “I don’t like you, you know.” She told him as she deposited him in his crib. He stared up at her with his big golden orbs which glowed violently with a longing to stay in her arms. His little mind was yet unable to comprehend the growing apathy his own mother had for him. He gurgled at her, his arm outstretched. Azaria just walked away. She had done her part as far she was concerned.