Getting Naked

I am very excited about getting Naked this afternoon. I was surprisingly upset that I could not get Naked last night. I have two young daughters who have many baby dolls. For whatever reason, they don't name them, except for a couple of soft cloth dolls which they have named Alice, while the dolls share some similarities, they are not identical. Both dolls are Alice, there is Suzanne's Alice and Gabrielle's Alice. Go figure.

Gabrielle adores Naked, so named by me because Gabrielle insists on tearing off the poor baby's clothes. In an effort to differentiate between that baby doll and others, I started referring to her as 'naked baby,' a descriptive term in keeping with my warped sense of humor. Somewhere along the line, it was shortened to Naked and now Gabrielle will frequently ask for her, yelling "Nekkid, Nekkid."

Yesterday, Naked was left behind at an Open House. Of course, we didn't realize it at the time. Once we realized we didn't have Naked, we were too far from the houses (we visited four or five of them) to go back and look for her. My husband was willing to take the loss; I was terribly upset. What kind of mother allows her baby to lose her beloved baby doll? My husband pointed out that my daughter was the bad 'mother' having lost the doll. Cold bastard. I was able to keep my head (I'm given to panicking in emergencies). Luckily, I had the flyers and the listings from the Open Houses we visited that afternoon and after a few calls, I was rewarded with a return call that Naked was found on the bed of the last one we visited. The realtor agreed to take Naked to her office, where we should be able to retrieve her this afternoon (I am hoping that she does not make buying the house part of the deal). No one is going to fight us for this doll -- she is a well-worn and loved Cabbage Patch Preemie. She is a dirty, dirty baby, having joined Gabrielle in various digging ventures around the yard.

The story of Naked is an interesting one. She was a gift to my eldest daughter when my youngest was born. A considerate friend thought that Suzanne should have her own baby when her mommy had a new baby in the house. Suzanne played with the doll occasionally, I wouldn't say they really bonded. The end came after Suzanne took the baby gardening -- once she got dirty, Suzanne lost interest and generously let her sister have her. Thus began the naming and constant loving of this baby doll. Sort of an Old Testament meets New Testament story.

Gabrielle took it fairly well that she did not have Naked last night, but she's been asking this morning.

I cannot wait to get Naked.