Rock-A-Bye Babies

Prologue

David and Sarah had been dating since their senior year in high-school and they’d married right after graduating college. David won a special scholarship based on hardship and his dedication to become someone special. He’d chosen to study architecture, and as soon as he’d completed his degree, he was snapped up by one of the most successful and prestigious building firms in the entire country, all his dreams were already starting to come true. But David’s biggest dream was to design and build his own home, and he could hardly wait to get started.

Sarah chose to go into advertising; it was during her final year that she’d been noticed by a highly respected cutting edge firm and was offered an internship. After which she was approached by several leading advertising companies, all making ridiculous propositions to her. They all sought to win the favour of the young up and coming creative mind that she possessed, her potential was deemed limitless. Finally, she accepted a generous offer from a company that specialised in advertising anything from clothing to real estate. She’d felt a company like that, was exactly what she needed to give her plenty of room for growth in every field until she found her forte.

For as long as he could remember, David yearned for a big family. He’d grown up without a father and was one of only two boys, but his brother had been killed in an automobile accident whilst they were still in high school, so having a big family of his own was at the top of his wish list for the future. Because he’d voiced his plans on numerous occasions, he just knew that Sarah understood the hopes he held. The ones that drove him to succeed and had always assumed that she wanted the same things in life that he did.

A little girl to start with, he thought, mostly for his mother’s sake. She’d always wanted a little girl of her own, but couldn’t conceive after her two boys were born. She’d saved up all of her own childhood dolls and even added a few to the collection along the way, in hopes that one day, she’d at least have a granddaughter to hand them down to. David had sincerely promised that he’d see to it that she did, and that he’d keep those dolls safe until the day came that he could fulfil that promise. I know you will son, and I’ll be watching to make sure that you do. She vowed shortly before she’d passed away. No-one could ever figure out why she’d taken so much insulin that day, her blood sugar had been normal. Any well-established insulin dependent diabetic should have known better, but she’d lived a hard life after the death of her teenage son, and alcohol had become a deadly staple for the aging woman. She’d suffered diabetes for years and was known to be reckless with her health, so no one except David was surprised when they found her dead on the kitchen floor from an insulin overdose. The only thing that seemed to shock the authorities, was the fact that her toxicology report indicated that she hadn’t consumed any booze that day, even so, her death had been ruled an accidental suicide.

If not for the support of Sarah during those trying times, David may never have graduated. He’d been so distraught after the sudden loss of his mother that he could barely function. Sarah quickly became his rock, she was all he had left to keep him from giving up on life altogether.

David had no other family or any close friends to speak of, so he often visited his brother’s grave, which was merely a plaque on the ground where his ashes had been placed. He’d spend hours on end telling him all about the dreams he held, and how he wished that Daniel was still around to witness them, as one-by-one they came to fruition. He’d speak to his brother about everything that he thought was relevant in his life at the time, desperately trying to hold on to their connection. He’d kept a small amount of his brothers’ ashes with him at home, but it was never the same as the privacy he felt at the cemetery when sharing his secret hopes and desires for a future his brother would never be a part of. Especially when the conversation revolved around his relationship with Sarah - who thought it was odd that after all this time David still felt the need to talk to his brother on a regular basis. And although she often urged him to confide in her instead, it was a subject that David wouldn’t budge on, regardless of how much it affected Sarah’s self-worth in the relationship.

He’d sworn at his brother’s funeral, that he would live his life to the fullest for both of them now, and that he’d keep Daniel with him forever in his heart, mind and memories. He’d always been close to Daniel, as close as two brothers could be, and his death had hit him hard. So hard in fact, that he never quite recovered from the loss of his brother, his best friend, and his twin. David always insisted that he could feel Daniel’s presence standing right beside him everywhere he went, but he still felt his absence. The need to feel completely whole became the incentive behind the idea of starting a family of his own as soon as possible.

Sarah however, wasn’t quite ready, and was exhibiting signs that she wasn’t quite as keen on the idea. She had tried to express to David that she preferred to wait awhile longer, but it always seemed to fall on deaf ears. She enjoyed the lack of responsibility and the spontaneity that was offered to a young couple with no children, and both time and money on their side. She’d come from a family of three, and none of them had gotten along as youngsters and even now as adults, they barely spoke from one year to the next. As kids there were always squabbles over the television, the bathroom, even the seating arrangement in the family car while on vacation. They’d argue over just about anything, just sitting around the table for family meals was an absolute nightmare, and Sarah always seemed to be at the heart of it all. She felt as though she’d only just escaped all that chaos and was in no hurry to recreate any of it for herself now, not just yet anyway.

Focussing exclusively on his own dreams, and completely oblivious to any of Sarah’s desires, David went ahead and bought the block of land and set about building their first family home. Every moment of his spare time was dedicated to building his dream house in the hopes that once they moved in, Sarah would have a change of heart and start showing a little more enthusiasm towards his plans for their future. He’d built the house with extra thick walls so the noise would be kept to a minimum, there were lots of hidden hallways built into the walls, providing secret passages throughout the interior which the children could play and hide in. It was his castle, his domain, everything he himself never had as a child.

Sarah stayed away from the block most of the time during the construction period. She resisted being lured into David’s fantasy world of screaming kids, and dirty laundry. She had no interest in being a stay-at-home mom. She knew the day would come that she too would want to settle down and have a family, but that wasn’t on her agenda at the moment. In her mind, time would be travelling according to her biological clock, and when it became part of her agenda, then, and only then, would she be happy to settle for one, maybe two children. Sarah certainly had no plans to become a mere incubator for David’s fantasy brood of offspring. The idea of a big family made her stomach churn, and her head ached at the slightest thought of such an abhorrent future.

David was on the second floor hammering nails into the floorboards when he felt a cool breeze suddenly sweep across the back of his neck. It was a warm day and he’d managed to raise quite a sweat from the copious amount of hammering he’d been doing. He could have used his nail gun, which certainly would have made his life much easier, however he never quite felt the same level of satisfaction that he did from knowing that he alone, had manually pounded every single nail into his own home, and David was proud of the evidential blisters he had on his palms to prove it. He looked around in all directions, but there was nothing there, it was just him and his tools. He did notice the leaves in the surrounding trees were starting to rustle a little. Perhaps it was a combination of sweat and breeze that created the chilled sensation across his shoulders and neck. No matter, he needed more nails anyway, so it was a good time to take a break and go down to his toolbox for another bag.

The toolbox sat on the back of his black Ford pickup truck, right next to his old beat up fishing box. They were his pride and joy. Daniel and David both grew up with hammers and fishing rods in their hands, it made them feel manly. Growing up without a father figure, it had been an important part of their life to engage in some normal boyish activities, if only to get them briefly out from under their mother’s wings. He lifted the heavy lid of the tool kit and reached in for the nails, a flash of colour amongst all the steel and chrome caught his eye. Frowning to himself, he pulled out one of his brothers favourite fishing floats. He remembered it well because it was the same one that he used to try to steal from Daniel every time his back was turned. What the hell…? he tossed it back inside the box and exchanged it for the nails which he was originally searching for. He turned toward the construction site, that now resembled the skeleton of a half-finished house, the foundation was laid, the beams for all the walls were finally erect and he’d almost finished the hardwood timber flooring on the second level. He was taking a few steps in the direction of the growing structure and was busy admiring his progress when the toolbox suddenly slammed shut behind him. The unexpected sound startled him, instantly reminding him that he’d forgotten to close and re-lock it.

The wind sprang up again, and he smiled at himself for being so jumpy. Shaking his head, he reminisced on how Daniel used to lecture him about locking up their tool kits to prevent theft. He’d eventually learned that lesson the hard way, during his first year out of college, back when he’d been a rooky out at a worksite. He’d left his tool kit unlocked and out in the open, when he returned he discovered that all but