Page 67 of Book Bae

“Hey there, mama. Are you all packed up to leave?” Nurse Mills asked, pushing the chair into Myraj’s room.

Myraj sat on the edge of the bed looking sad with her bag beside her. I couldn’t wait to tell her the news so that frown could disappear.

“Yeah,” she answered softly.

“These are all for you.” I handed her the balloons and the bouquet of hibiscus, her favorite flowers.

She took them in her arms and sniffed the flowers before she handed me the balloons back. “Can you carry these while we leave?” she asked.

“Yeah, baby. Whatever you need.”

I grabbed her bag and the discharge papers that had been drawn up as Nurse Mills helped Myraj into the wheelchair. Myraj fingered the push gift that I had gifted her, a platinum necklace with two diamonds surrounding our daughter’s birthstone, a sapphire. I had ordered it before she had gone in labor, and it was ready two days after she gave birth. Joshua had brought it up to me on his off day, and I had presented it to Myraj. She was happy, but it hadn’t removed the sadness from her eyes.

Anytime she thought of our daughter, she fingered the necklace.

“May I see her one last time before we leave?” she asked Nurse Mills.

“Absolutely. I was going to suggest that myself.”

She wheeled her out of the room, and I followed them down the hall toward the NICU.

Nurse Mills settled her wheelchair beside our daughter’s incubator and helped her get up and scrub up so that she could hold her. Once she was settled back in her wheelchair, I scrubbed up, too, and joined them.

“She’s so beautiful and perfect, Micaiah. Isn’t she?”

“She is. She’s got your nose and cheekbones, and the shape of your eyes.”

“And she’s got your amazing eye color against that gorgeous dark brown skin,” Myraj replied.

She kissed our baby’s forehead and looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. “How can I leave her, Micaiah? That wasn’t part of the plan.”

I gripped her fingers in mine and kissed them before I kissed her forehead, nose, and lips. “It may not have been part of our plan, baby, but it was a part of His, and we have to trust that He knows best.”

She nodded. “Can we pray?”

“Sure.”

We bowed our heads and held hands. I placed my free one on my daughter’s body, and I prayed. “Lord, this journey hasn’t been an easy one, but you have made it a fulfilling and rewarding one by blessing us with the gift of life in our daughter. She is the source of so much joy, and we ask that You continue to make her that and help us to grow in our love with her and for her. Teach us how to take care of her and help this journey to her coming home with us to go by speedily. In the meantime, supply us with all of our needs and help us to spend as much time as possible with our daughter. We love You and thank You for her, in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

“Amen. I don’t want her to be baby Nicholson anymore,” Myraj whispered softly.

“She doesn’t have to be. I had a name that I was thinking of.” We hadn’t been able to find a name that we were happy with during the pregnancy, and we thought we had more time to find one, but she arrived early. I had thought of a name, but I wanted to wait until Myraj was ready to discuss it.

“So did I. I was thinking about Malaika, which is Swahili for ‘angel.’ I believe that she is the angel who guided our path back to each other. What were you thinking?” she asked.

I laughed and my heart constricted because God was affirming all my plans. “I was thinking about Kioni, because it’s Swahili for ‘the one who sees,’” I answered.

“You think Malachi will be upset about us not naming her Aleena?”

“That boy will be okay.” I chuckled.

“That is so beautiful. Kioni Malaika, or Malaika Kioni?” she asked.

“I like the second one best, Malaika Kioni. Hi, beautiful,” I greeted as she switched our baby to my arms. I cradled her close to my chest and kissed her face. “I thought that God saw us in our loneliness and heartache, about to give up on love, and brought us to one another.”

“I love that, Micaiah, and I love you,” she declared, caressing my face.

“Not half as much as I love you, girl.” I kissed her as Nurse Mills walked up.