Who: Jacob and Emma What: first meeting! When: July 24, 2008 (Emma is 20, Jacob is 21) Where: their new house! For: backstory day Status: completed!
Emma An address and a name. That was what was written on the piece of paper in Emma's left hand. She was told her belongings would be there already, put away and ready for her use. The house, supposedly two floors, was all furnished, with anything she'd possibly need. Bedrooms, living rooms, a functional kitchen with all the top of the line appliances. The Project was really sparing no expense. It was impressive, especially to a recently graduated college student. All she'd had for the past three years was a very small dorm room, with two beds crammed inside.
She stopped on the corner of two streets, bouncing slightly in place as she read the signs. The baby in her right hand, balancing on one of her hips, was on the verge of tears. "Shh," she soothed, deciding to head west. This was her street. And there. That was the number on the paper. That must have been her house.
The door was unlocked. She pushed it open and shoved the piece of paper into her back pocket. "Hello?" No answer. She was the first one there. Her colleague... no. Her new husband would hopefully be arriving any minute. She put the baby, which she decided to name Alexandria, on the floor so she could quickly check out the rest of the house. It seemed to be more content there, than it had been in her arms. Frowning, she stepped through the living room into the kitchen. It looked nice. A door off that was a bathroom, and a walk in pantry. They also had a dining room and a bedroom on the first floor. Upstairs, there were three more bedrooms, and another full bathroom.
She was just finishing her tour when she heard the front door open. She hurried to the top of the stairs and peeked around, to see if she could catch a glimpse of this Jacob that she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. Science came with a price, apparently. And good, innovative science came with a husband. And he was cute.
Jacob Everything about this new island home of his was surreal to Jacob. He'd only docked a few hours prior, everything he owned slung over his shoulder in an old backpack or stuffed into his guitar case, and now he was stumbling around, trying to find the house with the right number on it. The people - scientists - had given him an address and a small debriefing, but that was it. More would come later, they said as they shooed him out the door.
So many questions were piling up in the back of Jacob's mind as he rounded the corner onto the street listed on his scrap of paper. He pocketed the thing, hitched his bag, and made a beeline for the pretty two-storied house that, apparently, belonged to him and ...whoever this mysterious woman was he was now 'married' to.
He opened the (unlocked) front door slowly and scooched inside. There was a baby on the floor. He looked at it and it looked back at him. Jacob smiled and squatted in front of it, after setting his bag and guitar down. "Well, hi there. I hope you're not my wife."
Emma Emma started down the stairs, deciding it wasn't fair to spy. This was going to be her closest friend, literally, on the island, for as long as she was there. She wanted to get as acquainted as possible before the mandatory meeting later that night. "Hi," she said, hand on the railing, descending in a similar fashion as one would on prom night. But she wasn't in a dress. And this wasn't the love of her life waiting at the bottom. "I'm Emma." She touched down on the floor and held her hand out, almost robotically. This was what adults did. How they introduced themselves, and met. She was an adult now.
"That's Alexandria," she said, pointing to the baby, still on the floor where she'd left it. "I just named it. Her." Babies, until then, had been props in other people's lives that made them boring and old. She smiled.
Jacob Oh. Jacob looked up in the direction of the voice. A girl. A pretty girl, with long hair and brown eyes framed by glasses, was approaching him, her hand appearing for a handshake. Jacob stood with a bright smile, and took the offered hand in his own. "Jacob Tibbits," he said amiably and, perhaps, a touch too enthusiastically. He then turned his attention to the baby as Emma introduced them. Alexandria. He smiled again almost instinctively.
Once more, he squatted on the floor near the child and held his hand out. He gave it (her) a winning smile. "Pleased to meet you, Alexandria. You can call me 'dad.'"
What a strange word to call oneself.
Emma "I figured as much." Considering his name was on the piece of paper that she'd signed. The marriage certificate. She was legally Emma Tibbits now, and it couldn't have sounded weirder to her. "Nice to...marry you." She shook his hand and watched when he bent down to the baby. A brow shot up, and her mouth became a thin line. 'Dad'. That would make her 'Mom'. What an awful thought for a twenty year old.
"How old are you?" She asked, moving towards the sofa, their sofa, to sit down. It was comfortable, which was good. She wouldn't feel guilty about making him sleep there now. Though, she supposed, he could always take one of the other empty bedrooms. But the master bedroom... that was all hers.
Jacob Jacob shook the baby's hand. He looked up as Emma moved to the sofa and sat. As he straightened up again, he cocked his head. "Twenty-one," he said, gazing back at the baby. She was awfully quiet. He picked her up (okay, she was quiet, but she was heavier than she looked) and carried her along to the chair opposite the sofa.
"How old are you?" He asked, attempting to sit and hold the baby - albeit somewhat awkwardly, as he'd never really held a baby. Jacob smiled, his eyes caught briefly on Emma's very white shorts. What a strange piece of clothing, he thought. He himself was wearing jeans. He wondered if he ought to've brought some shorts along. This was an island, after all. (In Jacob's Oregonian mind, islands meant tropical climes.)
Emma She bit her lip. Her age was something she'd been anxious to mention to the other scientists. She'd only met a handful of them on the ride over, but they'd all been surprised. She didn't want to tell Jacob now, but she'd brought it up and so, had sort of asked for it. "I'm twenty," she said, rubbing her hands on her thighs awkwardly. She'd graduated early, and was working towards her masters from the island. Almost everyone she'd come in contact with was older than her, and it sort of made her uncomfortable. At least Jacob was only one year older.
"This is weird," she admitted after a minute. "Sorry."
Jacob In the time between his question and Emma's answer, Jacob had decided that he'd been stupid to not bring any shorts. He was shaking his head at himself. New England! Who knew? - When Emma said she was twenty, Jacob smiled. She was nearly his age. That was good. He'd felt awfully young around everyone else. He too was fresh out of college.
"Oh," Jacob laughed and shrugged. He wondered if he should bounce the baby on his knee. "No. This is very weird. It's like we're playing a very strange, well-funded game of house. At least better funded than any game of house I ever played."
Emma Emma laughed. He was kind of goofy, she noticed. In a cute way, obviously, but also in a strange way. Not that she minded. She didn't. But he was very unlike anyone she'd ever met. "I don't think I ever played house," she replied, crossing her legs. "And I'm not very good at cooking or cleaning, either. Do we have someone who does that for us?" She raised her eyebrows. She didn't even want to think about taking care of the baby. She was just glad they only had one. Some of the other scientists had two. TWO!
"Have you ever seen a baby before?" Seen, probably. "I mean. Have you ever taken care of one?"
Jacob "How did you never play house?" Jacob asked incredulously, eying Emma curiously. Really, though! He couldn't imagine going through childhood without playing that most universal of children's games. He shook his head again, this time giving Alexandria a very meaningful look. The baby giggled. "And I somehow doubt it. I think we're supposed to jump in feet first. Well, more feet first than we've already jumped, considered we're legally married and all that."
Okay, he was rambling. It was something he tended to do a lot. Jacob managed to shut himself up a moment, but then he was asked another question - which he couldn't just leave unanswered. He acted as if it just dawned on him what a 'baby' was, gazing at Alexandria in wonder. "That's what this is! A... baby... Totally weird."
Emma A frown appeared across her features. "I liked to read," she answered, inwardly wondering why exactly she'd been assigned to this man in front of her. It was a joke. A very poorly orchestrated joke that needed to end like...NOW. Emma closed her eyes for a moment and counted to five. When she opened them back up and saw that, no, her nightmare was not over? She surrendered to more awkward small talk. "I hope you like spaghetti, because that's all I know how to make."
She bit her lip, her fingers rising to her temple to pinch as hard as she could. A very painful cluster headache seemed to be forming from the sudden stress she was under, and would likely be under for the rest of her life. "Yes. A baby. Do we just google how to take care of it, then? I'm not letting it breastfeed." Was it even possible? Her degree told her that, no, it wasn't possible. The baby would suck and suck and suck, and nothing would come out.
Jacob Jacob watched curiously as his... wife closed her eyes. He attempted to exchange glances with the baby again, but that endeavor failed, as the baby was busy drooling. Ah, well. - Emma's eyes were open again. At the mention of spaghetti, Jacob smiled. "I can make waffles. Can babies eat waffles?"
Now Emma was rubbing her temple. With a concerned expression, Jacob looked on, unsure of whether or not he ought to offer painkillers or something. But before he had the chance to, Emma was talking about breastfeeding and Jacob couldn't not laugh. "I'd offer myself up, but I don't think that'd be of much help. Would it, Alexandria? I'm sure if you're anything like your new dad here, you'd much rather waffles, anyway."
Luckily for Jacob, he wasn't one to feel awkward in situations like these. He was far too outgoing. Nothing ever seemed like small talk. Everything was very interesting to him. Some called it a curse.
Emma Okay, now it was time for Emma to quirk an eyebrow...again. "Babies choke on waffles." They didn't have teeth. She didn't think they had teeth anyways. Definitely not ones as young as the baby on Jacob's lap. That thing was fresh. "Hopefully they give us a manual or something." She shrugged and leaned back on the sofa, wanting so much to curl up in a ball and think about what she was doing with her life. But she couldn't. She'd signed contracts and certificates and adoption papers. This was her life now.
"Why would she be anything like you?" The question came out before she could stop herself. Was he stupid, or something? She wanted so much to like him, to get along with him, to be best friends and maybe fall in love eventually. But all she could think was how he was accepted to the project. He thought babies ate waffles? Really?
Jacob He wasn't being serious, because Jacob was hardly ever serious. This was something Emma would learn over time. He was sort of a strong personality, though - even he knew that. He probably should tone it down. But, she was providing him with such excellent fodder. "Is that an 'always' statement - 'babies always choke on waffles,' or a 'most of the time' kind of thing - 'most babies choke on waffles'?"
It hadn't even been twenty minutes yet since he'd come into the house. They - he and Emma - had been married now for - what? - a few hours? The girl sitting across from him looked like she was ready for a divorce. Jacob blinked at her rather harsh-sounding question. He smiled easily again. "I - because waffles are something everyone can enjoy."
Perhaps unfortunately for Emma, Jacob's coping mechanism for just about everything was to joke about it.
Emma Yes. Unfortunately for Emma. Though, unfortunately for Jacob, she could sometimes come off a bit high strung. It wasn't a coping mechanism, just the way she was raised. Her biggest flaw. Well, that and her incredibly low tolerance for annoyance. Jacob was like a rooster pecking at her. One peck didn't hurt, but after three or four, she had an open wound. Was it ever going to heal? Probably not, and it was something she was going to have to concede to eventually.
Still, she couldn't help but feel bad after her comment, and so resigned to, at least, be nice for now. "Babies like things they can swallow, like mashed potatoes and purees. I guess I can wing it if we've got a food processor. They like carrots and stuff, right?" Was there a grocery store on this podunk island?
Jacob It was good that Jacob was such an indefatigable optimist - and that he had, as a general rule, feelings made of steel. He didn't often assume that something someone said to him was intended to make him feel bad, and because of that, was very able to brush things off - like Emma's question. He simply smiled and moved on. It was beginning to look like that was going to be a very useful quality to have for the next few ...weeks or years or however long it took for the two of them to get along/raise a family.
"You've been here longer than we have, Alex. Do you know where the stores are, 'cause we sure don't," he asked the smiling baby. No answer. Jacob gave Emma a shrug.
Emma Emma had patience, sometimes in droves. But not now. Nope. She was trying her very hardest, but everytime he talked to the damned baby, she wanted to bite his head off. She wasn't sure why such an innocent thing annoyed her. It should have been adorable, and maybe, if he'd been her real husband, and Alexandria had been her real daughter, it would have. But it wasn't like that, and so when she stood and took the baby from his hands, it was an act of sanity on her part. To get him, possibly, to stop fucking talking to an infant.
"We can walk around, I guess," she said, hoisting the small human up onto her hip and bouncing her. The baby didn't like her much, clearly already preferring Jacob. It was frowning longingly in his direction, but Emma ignored it.
Jacob Well. Fine then. Emma took the baby. Jacob pulled himself from the chair, smiling at the baby as he did so. He then crossed the room in the direction of the door, to move his things further inside. He wasn't exactly sure where he was supposed to put them - they had so much space! - so he shifted them a few feet, and then set them down again.
"Did they give us a stroller or one of those hammock-things for babies?" Asked Jacob, glancing over his shoulder at Emma and the baby. His guitar case fell over at his feet with a loud twang. He set it upright again. "I don't know if I have the muscle to carry her around yet."
But he was serious. He didn't.
Emma She watched as he fiddled with his belongings, picking them up to move them... a few feet? He was a peculiar person, wasn't he? The baby made a short cry when the guitar case fell, but silenced after a moment of Emma 'shhing' it. "I don't know. I didn't check every closet. I was handed the baby and the address. They moved my stuff here for me."
At his comment about muscle, she wasn't sure if he was joking again. She figured he was, as the baby wasn't that heavy. Eighteen pounds tops. But, then again, he didn't look very bulky.
Jacob Jacob was a taller, leaner sort of fellow. He may have spent a year abroad in Ghana building schools (etc.), but - well, he never really beefed up (such a gross phrase). Most of his life, he'd had a - for lack of a better word - geekier physique, and he was okay with that. But it did make the prospect of carrying a twenty pound baby around for hours ...distressing.
"That was nice of them," said Jacob idly, scratching his head as he considered his bags again. He finally decided to give up and leave them where they were, giving a shrug and turning to face Emma again. He looked at her a long moment. It was hard to pin the thought down in his mind that this person was actually, legally, his wife - and the baby in her arms, legally, his child. "You're right. This is weird."
Emma "I guess so," Emma said nodding. She wondered briefly why they didn't provide him with the same accommodations. Because he was a male, and could therefore carry his own shit? Probably. Sexist, yes. But much, much appreciated by the girl.
She shifted the baby to her other hip and cocked her head at Jacob. "I thought you said it was like playing house? I cook dinner and wear stupid dresses and pearls, and you come home from work and kiss the baby. And then--" She stopped. They were not going to kiss. Or make love. Or sleep in the same bed. Ever. "You know. Family stuff." When did she become the reassuring one? Wasn't she just freaking out? Perhaps it was a way to convince herself that things would be okay? Yes. That was probably it.
Jacob It was just a strange realization to come to - and the impact that this was all real and happening, and his life was, momentarily, a frightening prospect. But that moment had passed.
Jacob shook his head at Emma. "That's old-fashioned," he said matter-of-factly, although he was smiling. "I'll wear the dresses and pearls, and you can kiss the baby."
Emma Emma couldn't help but laugh at that. It just spilled out. The idea, no, the image of him wearing a dress and pearls? It just cracked her up. "Do I have to wear a jacket and tie?"
Jacob So she could laugh. Jacob smiled as Emma enjoyed the idea of him running around in a silly dress. There was at least a sliver of hope if he could make her laugh, even if just a little bit. "That would be preferable," he replied with a thoughtful nod. "But you know, you're the one bringing home the bacon."
Emma "So I get to make all the decisions because I'm the bread winner? Isn't that old fashioned and outdated?" She grinned. She could joke, too!
Jacob This brightened the prospect of their living together. Jacob smiled and nodded, conceding to Emma's point. "You're right," he said solemnly. "It is. Maybe ...we should vote."
Emma She nodded, looking at the baby and back to her husband. "Well, I for one vote we go get some food." She leaned forward and laid a gentle kiss on Alexandria's forehead, the first show of affection she'd given her since receiving her.
Jacob "Let's say the baby gets a vote when she's older, and mine goes with yours, so food it is." Jacob walked to the front door and opened it for Emma, giving a bow. "After you."