FATHERHOOD... Learning to cope (Part 51c)

Mrs AJ and Elle got along better than I would’ve expected since they were basically strangers to each other. Mrs AJ’s daughter had a baby about 15 months earlier and she was well versed in being a ”nana“. Elle was quite comfortable there and when the subject of her mother visiting came up it got a bit complicated. We’d promised her that as soon as the trailer was ready she could come. The boxes that Vi had packed still needed to be put away and the inside needed a good cleaning. In the latter stages of her pregnancy Elle had let a lot of things slip and I sure wasn’t into that sort of thing. We all decided that Friday would be a good day as it would give us a few days to get ready. I’d told Elle about the new bassinet from Harry and Vi but it wasn’t until Wednesday that she saw it. Mrs AJ wanted to see the trailer so she and Elle came out that afternoon. Mrs AJ basically took over and came up with a ”game plan“ as to getting everything ready for both Elle and the baby as well as for her mother. To put it mildly, she was a life saver!

I was a bit concerned about our neighbors on both sides. On the side where our door was located it was an older couple. He was a trainer/driver who had been somewhat successful and had a stable about as large as AJ’s. He’d pretty much given up driving in races turning the chore over to his son. He and his wife were probably in their late 50’s. It was hard to tell because he looked so ”weathered“. I honestly don’t remember ever speaking to him in the previous seasons. The wife looked younger and seemed a lot more friendly than the man. On the other side was a young trainer/driver whose first name was Jackson and that’s what he wanted to be called. He and I had talked many times over the course of the two seasons I’d spent at the track and he was someone who had encouraged me to ”chase my dream“ of racing harness horses. The problem was that he was unmarried and quite a ”free spirit“. I was concerned that his life style would be a problem for Elle and I.

I went to fetch Elle’s mother (she was now my MIL... mother-in-law) from the train station in the nearest city mid afternoon on Friday. Elle and Mrs AJ had done a nice job in having everything ready for both the baby and Elle’s mother. I remember wondering how long she would stay. I had enjoyed getting some time to be with Elle while with the AJ’s and I knew it would be different with my MIL there. She was born in Germany and had a definite stubborn streak. When she got an idea in her head it was totally impossible to get her to change her mind. She’d always been ”in charge“ and I was dreading the time we’d all be living together. At least I had an ”out“ in my work. Poor Elle was stuck with keeping her happy for who knew how long. I should, but I don’t, remember how long she was there. What I do remember was that any attempt that I made to get ”close“ to Elle she would push away reminding me that her mother was ”right outside“.

My parents had stepped up and given us diaper service for three months. I couldn’t believe it when the guy showed up with a the first delivery. Since we didn’t have a washing machine and would have to go into town to do the diapers it was a really appreciated gift. The car that my grandfather had promised for graduation was delivered (at home) and my father (and mother) were going to deliver it once my mother-in-law left. That was another reason I couldn’t wait fro her to leave.

It was impossible for Elle to go back to the doctor who delivered the baby so we ended up with an old GP (general practitioner). Elle was comfortable with him right from the start. Both the baby and Elle were doing very well. He was a bit concerned about Elle’s wetting problem but it had improved to the point that, at home, she no longer had to wear a ”package”. At their first meeting he told her he wanted to see her again to go over it with her.

I remember it being somewhere near the end of June when she left. The first night we were finally alone I wanted to make up for lost time. However, even though my MIL was no longer physically there she was there in spirit. We “snuggled” but, because Elle was breast feeding the baby I wasn’t allowed to touch her breasts. Even though the doctor had said we could resume having sex Elle’s mother had warned her not to do it until after she was “regular”. The best I could get was to go back to what we were doing in the late stages of her pregnancy and that was I would “plug in” to her wet panties. The big difference was that I would be facing her rather than coming in from the rear. I was frustrated but at least we were alone and it was better than nothing.

To be continued...