There's something about babies...

A while back, I was standing outside a walk-in clinic, waiting for it to open. There was a bit of a line-up, and several people had small children. I was quite miserable that day, I was worried about some bizarre symptoms I had been experiencing, and besides that, I hate talking to doctors at the best of times. Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood to smile as I waited to see whether the doctor I ended up seeing would actually listen to me, and try to help as best he or she could, or write me a prescription for a random drug and send me off to die. As anyone who has gone to a walk-in clinic knows, it's a bit of a crap-shoot going to those places. The doctors volunteer to be there, and some of them aren't exactly medical professionals of the highest calibre.

As I stood around, a small child in the line behind me would occasionally run into the back of my leg (not exactly a coordinated youngster). Now, I am not exactly fond of children. More to the point, the little creatures are alien to me. On the rare occasion that I am left to care for them alone, I am at a complete loss for what I am supposed to do. Chances are that I'll be slapped with a court order forbidding me to reproduce should I ever express interest in doing so; and for good reason. I can't even keep fish alive.

However, occasionally I will see a child that manages to make me smile. What can I say? I might be a cynical bitch, but my heart isn't made of stone. Yes, children can be hell-spawn, but they are undeniably cute when they wish to be. A young mother who stood ahead of me held a small baby boy, about 1 1/2 years old. He had to be one of the most adorable children I've ever seen. What I found slightly disturbing was, he seemed to be fascinated by me. He would stare at me unblinkingly for as long as his mother talked to other people. I couldn't help but smile a bit, he had the sweetest, big, blue eyes I have ever seen. When I smiled, a big, ear-to-ear grin formed on his sweet little face, but I could only look at him for so long before my anti-social nature kicked me back to reality. My smile was replaced with my usual crabby scowl, and I stared at the ground.

Normally that would have been the end of it. But for the next hour until the doors to the clinic finally opened, I felt eyes on me. Every time I glanced up, I would see those big, beautiful blue eyes. When I looked at him with my trademark scowl, his grin would be replaced by a sad little frown. Seeing a baby that adorable frown tugged at my heart-strings a little, so I was forced to smile...and to keep smiling. As I watched the little boy, some of my worry left me. By the time I finally went into the clinic, my spirits were high. I don't know the name of that little boy, and I'll probably never see him again, but I know I'll remember those adorable blue eyes and that sweet baby grin for the rest of my life.