Monday, April 28, 2008

The Boss's New Hire

The Boss was expecting a sister named Tallulah. Though we did not find out the sex of the impending arrival and did not have a name lined up, The Boss's conviction was firm. There was a Tullalah in mommy's tummy.

When we pulled into our driveway after the short stay in the hospital, our first born was waiting on the front lawn. I powered down my window and waved at the girl who had seemed to have aged at least two years in the two days we'd been gone. Her hair was carefully plaited by nana; her long legs were showcased in shorts that had been taken out of the attic in a box of clothing I had, until now, been unable to conceptualize her fitting into.

"Is Topher with you?" The Boss asked. I couldn't tell from her tone what answer she was hoping for.

"Yes!" I enthused, in reinforcement of the positive. I gestured in exaggerated sweeps to her brother in the back seat. "He's right here waiting for you!"

"Oh," said The Boss. She was perched on a slope of grass that was mostly green and dotted in places with the detritus of pre-winter foliage. She rocked back on her heels. This time I saw concern in the midst of slow-growing enlightenment.

Her eyes were huge and blue. Her chin was square where it lowered with the weight of words about to emerge from shining lips.

The truck was still moving up the driveway. I craned my neck out my window, waiting.

"Where's Tallulah?" The Boss asked.

7 comments:

Heather said...

That's what I'm a little afraid of happening here!

Whirlwind said...

If she's like my girls, she'll probably call him Tallulah for awhile. Meenie called Moe "cookie" for the first 6 months or so.

Girlplustwo said...

i love it. big sis already being a big sis.

Fairly Odd Mother said...

Love it. She may insist 'he' is a 'she' up until she witnesses a diaper change. Although, my 2nd insisted for quite a while that she had a penis like her baby brother. Hmmmm. . .

Anonymous said...

Could we get the phonetic for "Tallulah?" Is it, ta-loo-laa, ta-lull-luh, or what?

Binky said...

ta-loo-laa

And now everyone will wonder why they have the song "Come On Eileen" in their heads...

GIRL'S GONE CHILD said...

Crazy! Tallulah is in the running for our bebe's middle name (if it' a girl)... CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU on little Topher!!!! Hooray!!!