Baby Talk
By Shotzette




"Baby Talk"
By Shotzette
Holiday Challenge '04
PG
C/R

This is a work of fan fiction only and is not intended to infringe upon anyone's copyrights or intellectual property. This was written for grins and giggles, not dollars and cents.





Carmine Ragusa patted Davy's back gently. "I think he's asleep."

"You're right," said Rhonda as she circled back in front of him.

"Thank god. I don't know how many more choruses of "Rags to Riches" I could handle."

"I can't believe that song put him out."

"Like mother, like son." Carmine chuckled softly as he gently lowered the sleeping baby into the bassinet. "Hey, he's kinda cute when he's not screaming like a banshee."

"All men are cute when they're unconscious," was Rhonda's dry reply.

Carmine quietly led her through the bedroom door and tiptoed down the staircase. "Thanks again for rushing over when you did. I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem. Rhonda was happy to help out. When are Laverne and Shirley due back from the movies, anyhow?"

"Not until late. I think they were going to have dinner afterwards. They've got a lot of catching up to do," he added ruefully.

"So you're stuck here until when?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Probably midnight, with my luck."

"And you've never babysat before?"

"I'm a guy, Rhonda. We don't do that. Girls babysit, guys deliver newspapers and shovel walkways. At least, that's how it was back in Milwaukee."

"That does explain your panic over the whole diaper changing episode."

Carmine grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. By the way, thanks for talking me through that."

"You're welcome."

"You notice I said talking me through, not doing it, didn't you?"

"If Rhonda did it for you, you'd never learn to do it yourself. What are you going to do, depend on your future wife to diaper all the little Ragoos?"

Carmine supressed a shudder. "I try not to think about that."

"Sorry. Rhonda didn't mean to hit a nerve."

"It's okay. It's just, Davy's cute and all; but the girls can't get back fast enough for me. Between the diapers, throwing food, and the screaming fits; he's a full time job."

"Yes, they are.

"I don't know how Shirley and Walter do this every day. I sure couldn't."

"No one says you have to."

He grimaced. "Try telling that to every girlfriend I've ever had."

"Keep looking, Casanova. A lot of us don't want kids."

"Really? You don't want them?"

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Rhonda has five younger brothers and sisters back home. Rhonda had more than her share of diapering and burping by the time she was seventeen."

He chuckled. "Y'know, we've been neighbors for three years now, and there's so much I don't know about you. Aside from the "dancer, model, actress" stuff."

Her smile faded. "You know the important things, Carmine. The things that matter to me."

"So, it's all about your career?"

"Pretty much."

"Which is why you've spent two hours with a singing telegram guy on a Saturday night when you could be out seeing and being seen?"

"Well, tonight's different," she hedged.

"Uh-huh."

"What about you? Is this the way for a young, single, handsome guy to be spending his Saturday night? Watching his ex-girlfriend's baby instead of hitting the scene?"

"Well, tonight's different."

"Uh-huh. Is it strange?" she asked.

"Strange?"

"Seeing Shirley with another man's baby."

Carmine weighed his response before answering. "Sort of, but it would be more strange if I wasn't part of her life anymore." At her puzzled look, he continued. "Shirley and I grew up together, we've known each other since second grade. We've dated each other on and off since we were fifteen, but even when we weren't together, we were still close. Sometime, I think we were always meant to be just really good friends, and dating was just an excuse to be together."

"Why would you need an excuse?"

He blushed. "Well, back in Milwaukee, that's how it was done."

"I didn't realize Wisconsin had so many rules."

"Very funny. It's just, if Shirley and I were meant to be together, we would be. It's as simple as that."

"And you two dated how long?"

"Ages. But, we rarely went steady. Shirley's always know what kind of a man she wanted to marry, and," he said as he smiled, almost sadly, down at the sleeping child, "she did."

"What do you want, Carmine?"

He looked up, the intensity of her question startling him. "I want to perform. I want to sing and dance. It's all I've ever really wanted." He looked away, "Not exactly a steady life for a girl who wants to settle down and start a family."

"No. No, it's not. Maybe that's why you two never got more serious."

"I think you're right. Not that I'm complaining, or I have any regrets," he added hastily, "Shirley Feeney, er um, Meaney; is a big part of my life. She's always been there for me, and she usually brings out the best in me. Heck, if it wasn't for her, I'd still be back in Milwaukee teaching dance part time and boxing. There's no future for a guy like me there."

"You wouldn't have left on your own?"

"I dunno. Eventually, maybe. It was just easier with Shirley and Laverne being here. I knew I wouldn't be alone."

"L.A. can be lonely. Rhonda left home on her eighteenth birthday--three years ago."

Carmine rolled his eyes. "If you say so... Why?"

Rhonda shrugged, the self depreciating gesture was a far cry from her usual, larger-than-life personna. "The same reason you left Milwaukee. No future for someone like me. Someone like us."

"It ain't easy, is it?" he mused. "The rejection, the uncertainty, not knowing who to trust."

She let out a short, bitter laugh. "That part's easy. Trust yourself and no one else."

Her steely tone and the seriousness in her usually dancing brown eyes surprised him. "Really?"

She tilted her head to one side and looked at him appraisingly. "Well, present company excluded."

"Thanks. Listen Rhonda, don't mind about what I said earlier. If you have plans tonight, I'll be okay here with the little guy. You don't have to hang out with me."

She shook her head. "Rhonda's a little tired of the seen and being seen scene. It's nice when she can just relax and be herself--myself, for a while."

The smile on his face surprised him. "Y'know, if I called and begged, I'm sure Cowboy Bill's would deliver some burgers and ribs over here and put them on my tab..."

Rhonda giggled. "Big spender. I'd like that. A lot. I have some old copies of Variety and we can commiserate over the parts we didn't get."

"It will be good to talk to someone who understands."

The smile on her face softened, and the transformation nearly took his breath away. "It will be, won't it?" She turned towards the door to go back to her place, then stopped and looked back at him. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you followed Shirley to California. Even if things didn't work out the way you thought they might."

"Me too," he replied softly, "me too."


FIN