Confessions Of A Domestic Failure. Bunmi Laditan

much to ask? In fourth grade my best friend was Ruthie Miller. We did everything together. We ate lunch every day in the cafeteria side by side, we played at recess, we even sat together on the bus. I was never lonely because she was always there. She was my default person. I need a Mom Ruthie.

      Hospitals and birthing centers should assign every woman a mom friend the second they give birth. Then we wouldn’t have to spend afternoons alone on the living room floor wishing we had someone other than people in mail delivery to chat with.

      How amazing would it be to have a best friend who lived across the street? We’d talk about everything. How David has been working twelve-hour days, but I feel bad complaining because he’s the only one bringing in an income right now and seems super stressed-out, even though I’m also super stressed-out. I’d tell her about how I feel like being a stay-at-home mom is amazing because I get to watch Aubrey grow right in front of my eyes and, while my heart is so full of love for her that it feels like it’s going to explode, how I’d do anything for just one good nap. I’d also tell her that I feel like I matter less to David since having her. How I feel like he sees me as some kind of maid/caretaker to his child and not the woman he pined for desperately for years. I can’t remember the last time he asked me how I am.

      I’d listen to her rants, too, of course. Friendship, especially one based on complaining, is a two-way street.

      David had worked through the last few weekends but took today off so we could all go to the FunsieLand play center together. Before becoming a mom I avoided places like FunsieLand like the plague. Every once in a while I’d get invited to a coworker’s child’s birthday party and would always make a point of sending a huge gift in lieu of my actual presence. The last thing I wanted to do was spend five hours in a loud, rave-like, plastic ball and E. coli petri dish, but since there aren’t many places where parents feel 100 percent okay letting their kids be kids, that’s where we were headed to this morning.

      It’d be nice to do something as a family. David had been so busy lately. Every time I asked him how Keller & Associates was going, he would close up. I wanted to support him, but talking about work just stressed him out even more. A day of bonding as a family was just what we needed.

      9 P.M.

      I need three shots of vodka, a hot shower and a shot of penicillin. To think, for my entire adult life I’ve avoided play centers because of the kids, when the real monsters lurking in those places were the moms.

      We made it to the play center at 10 a.m., and even though it’d just opened, it was already so loud that David and I had to scream in order to be heard.

      “LET’S SET UP BY THE BABY AREA!” I yelled, one hand over Aubrey’s ear as I carried her through the center that was packed with shrieking, running and crying children. Above us, a twisted spiral of tubes was filled with children, crawling like rats through plumbing.

      I motioned to David, who had both hands over his ears and whose eyes were wide with terror.

      “WHAT?” he yelled back. A five-year-old crashed into his legs and fell to the floor, laughing hysterically.

      “THE BABY AREA!” I motioned toward the back of the sprawling center.

      We navigated carefully around birthday parties, children who seemed jacked up on Mountain Dew and rock cocaine, and seemingly millions of small multicolored balls that were everywhere.

      From atop a small stage, a band of large furry animals sang a song about a big blue boat. The music boomed across the entire arena.

      We finally made our way toward a door in front of a clear Plexiglas wall. On the other side of it was a smaller version of a play center: a carpeted room featuring a small jungle gym. It was littered with stuffed toys and babies crawling around their parents.

      David pulled the door open and I hurried through with Aubrey. As soon as it was shut there was silence. We took off our shoes (Shoes Off in Babyland, Please!) and let out a deep sigh of relief, as if we’d just narrowly escaped with our lives. David pointed back toward the chaos that was now a muted version of insanity. “We are NEVER having Aubrey’s birthday party there.”

      “I agree.”

      We scoured the sides of the Baby Room and found a section of wall without a diaper bag leaning against it.

      David and I sat cross-legged on the floor and placed Aubrey in front of us.

      I bent down to her. “Okay, Aubrey, go! Play.”

      She sat up and stared out into the play area where other children were flailing on their backs and older babies were struggling to make their way up the small slide stairs.

      She instantly burst into tears.

      “Awww, Aubs,” David reached out his arms and pulled Aubrey into them. “Don’t cry, honey.” He pulled her close and pressed her face into his chest with his hand.

      My heart fluttered as I watched the two great loves of my life embrace. Nobody can prepare you for the magic that is watching the man you love become a father. I found myself swooning every time I caught him gazing at Aubrey, feeding her or just cradling her in his arms.

      A woman’s high-pitched voice cut through the moment. “She doesn’t socialize much, does she?”

      I turned to the mom on my left. She was in her mid-thirties and was wearing dark blue jeans and a pink sweater. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun.

      “What?” I said, looking around.

      The mom crossed her arms. “Your daughter. She doesn’t spend much time with other kids, does she?”

      My mouth hung open. I didn’t even know what to say.

      “She doesn’t have many friends or coworkers, no...” I said slowly.

      The woman smiled tightly. “Funny. But it’s not going to be funny when she’s eighteen and still living in your basement. Let me guess, stay-at-home mommy?”

      I tried to smile back. “...Yes.”

      The mom examined her nails. “I can tell. You’re really going to want to get her socialized ASAP.”

      David, who had been listening quietly, cut in. “She’s a baby, not a dog.”

      “David,” I whispered, trying to calm him down.

      The woman pursed her lips. “I was just trying to help.” She collected her bag and walked away.

      “The nerve of that woman,” David said when she walked away.

      “David,” I hissed. “We’re here to have fun.”

      “I know but—” He motioned in the direction of the woman.

      I gave him a look before picking Aubrey up and carrying her over to the center of the room where several babies were playing with the communal toys.

      Aubrey and I sat down with the other moms. I could feel myself starting to sweat. Hanging out with other moms always made me nervous. I was terrified of coming off as a parenting noob and highly conscious of how desperately I wanted the friendship of even just one of these women.

      I sat Aubrey down and pushed a blinking jack-in-the-box toward her. Aubrey smiled and began tapping the buttons with her hands.

      “Is that fun, baby?” Aubrey pressed another button and a rabbit popped out of one of the toy’s hidden doors. She screamed with delight.

      I looked up at the other moms. Surely people were taking notice of me and my adorable child having a Hallmark moment. Then, out of nowhere, Aubrey began to cry. I looked down just in time to see an eighteen-month-old little boy wearing a pair of brown cotton shorts and a red shirt toddling away with the toy she had been squealing over.

      I scooped the hysterical Aubrey up and followed the boy to where he sat down to play. He was seated next to a young mom with blond curly hair wearing a flowing burnt-orange dress.

      “Excuse me,” I said,