Let's hope its a good one

Minnie squinted hard. Her battery life of her Moto phone was dead.

"What's the matter?" Josh looked at her hand as if she'd gotten a cut, but then he noticed the little red line on the battery window of her phone. "I think I have a battery charger for that." He went to rummage through the desk near the patio door of his little cozy home on base.

Minne felt she shouldn't be here, but they'd spent Christmas together at his grandmother's. And of course, his grandmother remembered her people. "Don't they live out at Red Cloud?" Naturally, there were some bad things said about how they lived out there. The old woman could understand why she wouldn't want to bring a baby into the world, out there.

"Better hospitals, around here." She'd spoke of the medical center in Council Bluff, but she went to one in Omaha.

His grandmother rambled on a good bit about the past and some of the present. After awhile, Minnie wasn't sure which she was talking about. But time churned on, and she'd slept on the cot behind the couch and got acquainted with Josh's infant.

Somehow, it was settled, that she would stay at Josh's.

"He's got a room and everything." In fact, the room was all ready for the grandmother to come stay, but she wasn't as nimble as she used to be. "That baby will tire me out."

His grandmother was old. In fact, she was his great-grandmother. Actually, everyone called her grandmother, but she still liked to hang out with her old friends to play bingo. She didn't want to go anywhere.

"You'd be a great help." She advised. Minnie's heart fluttered. Honestly, she didn't know she'd get this far from home, but then there was no turning back.

Josh held on to the baby who was a chunky little thing, but she was content in her father's arms. Soon enough, they made it up to the top of the stairs. Yes, there was the guest bedroom.

"No one has ever slept in that bed." Josh turned on the light switch. Evidently, they'd gone to great trouble to make the room picture perfect. There were collages of photos of Josh when he was younger and some of his other relatives. Yes, it was definitely a gift for the grandmother.

Minnie laid her tired self across the bed while Josh plopped the baby next to her. He went back to look for the phone charger.

"I bet I have one." She couldn't think she'd left it at Sheena's. Of course, he raced back up with the phone charger and got it and the phone hooked up at the dresser. She yawned and rose up on her elbows. The little one was occupied with her pacifier in her hands.

"How's the bed?" He wanted to know.

"Its good." She nodded. Still, she felt a little numb, perhaps shattered. Still, she didn't want to think she'd worried anyone. She hadn't even wished her own family a Merry Christmas. A part of her felt so awful, and yet she knew she needed to be strong.

"I should make some coffee." She sat up as if that would make everything OK.

"No. Its late." He told her. "I'm gonna see Nadine to bed. You get washed up, eat something and get some sleep."

Minnie couldn't help but chuckle. What was he? A big brother?

She pressed her lips and nodded. She would do that. Come tomorrow, she would be seeing to the baby while he was at work.