{"id":9652,"date":"2014-09-04T12:50:13","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T16:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=9652"},"modified":"2025-02-18T19:17:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T00:17:22","slug":"night-duty-or-the-art-of-living-the-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=9652","title":{"rendered":"Night Duty Or The Art of Living the Moment (by faust)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0<\/span>“You go.” Dreaded words, Juliet knew that, but Adam simply had to admit that this night’s duty had lain heavily on her shoulders and to understand it was his turn to pacify their unhappy child.<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 T\u00a0 \u00a01,200 words<\/p>\n

My Story Index and reading order for the Art-Universe<\/a><\/p>\n

Night Duty<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Or<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Art of Living the Moment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

The wail woke them both. Not that either of them had been sound asleep anyway. No one dared to sleep deeply when there was a three-months-old around who had decided that nights weren\u2019t for sleep, and that being awake was more satisfying when someone provided him with food or entertainment.<\/p>\n

Food had been served several times that night already, most recently about twenty minutes ago; so both providers knew little Henry thought it was now time for entertainment.<\/p>\n

Which would not be given.<\/p>\n

Certainly not<\/em>, Juliet had proclaimed. Henry, or Attila the Hun, as his father had addressed him half an hour earlier, had to learn that entertainment occurred only in the daytime, while at night respectable people, three months old wailers included, slept.<\/p>\n

Of course, Henry\u2019s assessment of the situation differed distinctively from his parents\u2019. And so he wailed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dreaded words, Juliet knew that, but Adam simply had to admit that this night\u2019s duty had lain heavily on her shoulders, as did most night duties that included feeding their seemingly insatiable offspring. Now that it was obvious that no more food was wanted, Little Attila\u2019s father had to understand it was his<\/em> turn to pacify their unhappy child. To Juliet\u2019s eternal relief, Adam heaved himself out of the bed without an argument (he couldn\u2019t refrain from sighing dramatically, though) and crossed the room to where the crib and a comfortable chair were placed close to the fireplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo fuss, Adam, remember: no fuss. He has to learn nights are boring, and that there won\u2019t be any activities,\u201d she reminded him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Adam said, and she heard<\/em> him roll his eyes. \u201cWe talked about that. I\u2019m not completely lacking in common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to some merciful deity, Juliet\u2019s mumbled reply was muffled even more by the pillow in which she had buried her face or surely Adam would have taken up the gauntletonly too eagerly. Both their nerves were lying bare lately; they snapped at the tiniest disturbance. And as much as Juliet appreciated a good row under normal circumstances, at this moment she preferred sleep. Sleep<\/em> had become the one imperative in her life, and she was prepared to take it whenever she could get it. Like now.<\/p>\n

Soon all she heard was Adam\u2019s cooing. No more wails, no more commotion, just Adam\u2019s dark baritone mumbling unintelligible words. It soothed her as much as it soothed their son, and she felt herself drifting towards Morpheus\u2019s arms. Half asleep, she pulled her blanket even higher, snuggling into its warmth. As she was on the verge of dozing off already, she realised that the warm blanket was not quite the kind of comfort she was seeking, and so she turned to the other bedside to reach out for her husband.<\/p>\n

Who wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n

Which meant that he still was at his son\u2019s crib, most probably fussing<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Instantly Juliet was wide awake. I\u2019m not completely lacking in common sense<\/em>, she heard Adam\u2019s earlier words in her mind. Well, this time she would prove him wrong. This time she would take no prisoners.<\/p>\n

She moved silently. The blanket fell from her body without a sound, and even the bedsprings cooperated. She turned around to the fireplace, and there she found the evidence.<\/p>\n

Henry, of course, was nowhere near his crib. Instead, he sat astride his father\u2019s right foot. Adam had seated himself in the comfy chair, his right leg crossed over the left, and held Henry\u2019s hands in his, keeping him from falling off. He moved his foot up and down in a slow rhythmic motion, rocking Henry as if the baby was riding a horse.<\/p>\n

All Juliet could do was stare. Henry looked completely happy, as did his father. Their eyes were locked and they both were grinning like madmen: Henry toothless and wet, Adam broad and dimpled. Their grins had spread to their eyes, making them dance with joy.<\/p>\n

It was a picture to behold, and not for the first time Juliet wished that her drawing skills at least remotely matched her husband\u2019s. She would have loved to keep this scene in a sketch.<\/p>\n

She slid silently behind Adam\u2019s chair, snuggled her arms around his broad chest and nuzzled her face into where his neck melted into his shoulder.<\/p>\n

Adam acknowledged her with a soft nudge of his head and a short stop in the motion his foot as it had reached its highest point, so Henry and Juliet could have a good look at each other. As his mother\u2019s face came into Henry\u2019s line of sight, his grin grew even wider, as impossible as it seemed.<\/p>\n

Then Adam resumed the previous pace. \u201cHe\u2019s a natural born rider,\u201d he said; and Juliet smiled at his fatherly pride. He meant it. \u201cHe\u2019ll be the best horse breaker here one day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Juliet kissed that<\/em> spot below Adam\u2019s ear, then straightened herself. \u201cYes, he truly is his father\u2019s son,\u201d she chuckled, running her fingers through Adam\u2019s sleep-dishevelled hair. \u201cI\u2019ll make tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

The procedure of tea-making in the quiet, dimly-lit kitchen soothed her even more than the scene in the room upstairs, and while she handled kettle, teapot, water, and tealeaves, she marvelled about her two men, about the bliss and the beauty that had been lavished upon her life, and she knew with certainty that she was the richest person on earth. She finished her tea ceremony with bleary eyes, added biscuits to the tea utensils on the tray, and carried the midnight picnic upstairs.<\/p>\n

By the time she and Adam were on their second cup of Darjeeling, Henry had fallen asleep curled into a round warm bundle on Adam\u2019s lap; and they sat quietly side by side, wrapped in a blanket, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her waist. A family.<\/p>\n

Sleep, Juliet thought fleetingly, was overrated.<\/p>\n

_____________<\/p>\n

We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson<\/em><\/p>\n

The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. ~ John Wooden<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*** fin ***<\/p>\n

With many thank to Sklamb for the beta-read!<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/em><\/p>\n

Next Story in The Art-Universe Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? or The Art of Love and War<\/a>\u00a0 Civil War (74,600 w)
\nGettysburg<\/a> AU of Oh Brother. Or a dream? A play with possibilities.
\nWhat Do You Tell Your Children?<\/a> Companion piece to Oh Brother.
\nThe Birds and the Bees<\/a> The dreaded question \u2013 how will Adam cope?
\nBushwhacked or The Art of Negotiating<\/a> Something is just fishy.
\nThe Eyebrow of Doom<\/a> The journal of a spirited young man. (10,700 words)
\nFortuna\u2019s Children and Other Lucky Creatures<\/a> It\u2019s a scandal, and Adam can\u2019t do anything about it<\/p>\n

My Story Index<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“You go.” Dreaded words, Juliet knew that, but Adam simply had to admit that this night’s duty had lain heavily on her shoulders and to understand it was his turn to pacify their unhappy child.<\/p>\n

1225 words, rated K<\/p>\n

The Art-Universe Series, links to stories within the series are included.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":9655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1005,23,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-cartwright","category-drama","category-romance","wpcat-1005-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-3-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Henry-CartwrightTitle-Im.jpg?fit=308%2C477&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}