I rolled the baby stroller down the park path, looking at the baby sleeping in it. He was only three months old. I had been his father for three months, and my wife had been gone for three months. The birth was hard, she didn’t survive it. And the doctors had laughed for weeks before that and said, “That’s okay, everyone gives birth, you will too. Now it was painful to remember that time. All the plans we had made, our happy future were gone, and I was left alone with a three-month-old baby. My parents and mother-in-law tried very hard to help, but they are not yet at the age to sit in retirement and do nothing, because I am the one on parental leave and they all work, helping more financially. And I seem to have enough money, I found a part-time job from home – I process applications in an online store, and that’s not bad. But I really miss communication and moral support. And so I go out for walks more often. There are always a lot of young moms around, there are also older kids walking around after school, and old people are always strolling around.
– Ben-my namesake, Ben-waved to me from afar, jumping up from the bench where he was sitting and feeding the pigeons bread.
It was mainly for the sake of this man that I went out to the park. We met about a month ago. I was so stupidly confused, the baby was crying, the pacifier fell out, and I couldn’t find it in a pile of blankets, I even dropped the bottle with the formula and it all spilled out… and this kind man jumped up to me and helped me gather everything and calm down the baby. After that we went for a walk, the three of us. I talked to the old man and found out that he was a lonely man like me. He had a family himself a long time ago, but his wife and two children died in a fire that happened back in the eighties. He still misses them, he can’t build a new life, and he’s old, but he goes out to the park, just like me, for company.
– How’s the kid doing? – Flatly, fondly asked the grandfather, looking into the baby carriage. – Such a cute sleepyhead, didn’t get much sleep last night? And your daddy didn’t sleep either, I see…
I laughed, nodding in confirmation.
– I just put him to sleep in a bed, and he wants to come back in hysterics.
– And you try not to lull him to sleep, rocking, and just wrap him in a warm blanket and walk quietly around the room with him. You don’t have to get him used to rocking, or you’ll have to rock the bed all the time.
I nodded, letting him know that I would take the advice into account and definitely try it. And we continued walking through the park.
– How are you doing? How are your knees? – I traditionally began to wonder about Grandpa’s health.
– Oh, as always – they creak, they hurt, and they can tell better than any forecast whether it’s going to rain or not…
I often feel that I don’t have a close person around who I can trust with everything and who will help me be a good and proper father, I also don’t have a good friend, but Ben has completely unintentionally burst into my life and my son’s life, and now I’m not so lonely anymore. That’s why I love walks in the park and unexpected acquaintances – you can accidentally meet a friend, as if you weren’t looking for anyone.
