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“We did this?” Sniffling, I stared at his tiny little face, feeling too much in this moment to comprehend. “Oh my god.” I choked out a half laugh, half sob. “He has Shannon’s little nose.”
“That’s what I thought. He’s got your curls.”
“He’s got your eyes.”
“It’s all you, Molloy.” Pressing a few buttons on the remote attached to my bed, he raised the back of the bed into a semi-sitting position before removing the hairnet from my hair and pressing another kiss to my brow. “He’s gorgeous like his mam.”
“Yeah, well, his mam doesn’t feel so gorgeous anymore,” I mumbled, feeling vulnerable and weirdly exposed.
“His mam never looked more gorgeous than she does right now,” Joey corrected. “Six years ago today, I locked eyes on you for the first time, sitting on the wall outside of school, and now we’re sitting here with our son.” Smiling, he leaned in close and kissed me again. “Thanks for my baby, queen. You still take the air clean out of my lungs.”
That did it.
His words of affection broke the dam inside of me.
“Joe.” Heaving out a pained sob, I brought our baby closer to my chest and kissed his chubby cheek. “When they couldn’t get him out, I thought he was going to—”
“He’s right here,” Joey was quick to coax, shifting closer and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “You’re both here, and I’m going to take care of ye.” Another kiss. “I won’t let anything happen to either of you, Molloy, I promise.”
“Have you been here the whole time?”
“I told you that I wouldn’t leave you.” He gently lifted our son out of my arms and placed him in the bassinet next to the bed before returning to my side. “I’ll never leave you again.”
I didn’t have the strength to be strong or put on a brave face in this moment.
I didn’t have anything left in the tank.
I had spent so long being the brave one.
The strong one.
Now, all I wanted to do was fold into him.
Because I couldn’t do this anymore.
I needed someone to lean on.
“I can’t do this on my own,” I admitted, fisting his hoodie as he carefully cradled me in his arms. “I’m so tired, Joe.”
“I know you are,” he replied, pushing my hair off my face as he tucked me in closer.
“You can’t get sick again,” I cried, clinging to him for all I was worth. “You can’t leave me on my own in this.”
“I’ll never leave you on your own again,” he vowed, wrapping both of his arms around me. “I will never fail you again.” I could hear the sincerity in his voice, and I needed so badly for him to be right about this. For him to stay. “It’s my turn, Molloy.” He kissed my hair. “To look after you.”
139
I’ll Look after You
JOEY
Later that afternoon, the quiet bubble Molloy and I had been cocooned in while we came to terms with the squawking baby we co-created was well and truly burst.
Barging into the hospital room, laden down with balloons, stuffed animals, and shopping bags came Trish and Casey, followed by a squeamish-looking Tony.
“Aoife!” Trish and Casey both exclaimed, making a beeline for my girlfriend. “Oh, my poor baby.”
“Hi, Mam. Hi, Case.”
