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I let her rest her hand on my belly, too. At the next kick, her face lit up.
And then the expression vanished behind a blank mask. “When do you pull a Kane and it bursts from your stomach and gobbles faces?”
I swallowed a snort at the horrible visual, and Dustin winced.
“That doesn’t happen, does it? That’s not how babies are born.” Now Harmony was horrified. “Moooom. Make her stop.”
“No, that doesn’t happen.” Daria pulled Harmony into her lap, and glared at Dustin. “Alien? Really?”
Dustin shrugged. “She said you’d already let her see it. And I waited until Harmony went to bed.” At least he had the sense to look sheepish.
Daria rolled her eyes, and set Harmony back on the ground. “Babies don’t burst out of tummies like in the movie Alien. I promise. Addie will be fine. Go decorate the tree.”
“Okay.” Harmony ran back to the box of ornaments.
I joined in as we placed ornaments around the tree, trying to get at least half as many up high as Harmony hung on the bottom branches.
It was true that this wasn’t my only family—my parents were wonderful, Graham and his partners were amazing, but this was different. This was a kind of closeness I couldn’t have possibly have dreamed of a few years ago. When I was with Sean, especially after the cracks started to show in our relationship, I thought a life like this was out of my grasp.
I was so grateful it wasn’t. This relationship, this reality, was the most incredible thing ever.
Dustin
I couldn’t help but pace in the hospital waiting room. It wasn’t fair that Phillip and I were out here, and Addie was in a delivery room by herself.
Okay, not technically by herself. She was surrounded by a doctor, nurses, an anesthesiologist… But we should be in there with her. We’d been told one of us could be during delivery.
The doctor had changed her mind after Addie when into labor, and kicked both Phillip and me out. The c-section was planned, but because the baby was breach, and other things the doctor saw that she wasn’t sharing, there was a concern about complications and possibly needing general anesthesia.
Phillip was sitting in a chair, flipping through a magazine and pretending this didn’t have him wound tighter than a spring. The fact that his leg hadn’t stopped bouncing since he sat down indicated otherwise.
My internal scream escaped in a loud groan, and the couple of other people waiting on their own baby news shot me sympathetic looks.
I jumped, startled, when Phillip pressed into my back and wrapped his arms around my waist. “She’s fine. They’ll be fine. Better than fine.”
You don’t know that. I swallowed the retort—exactly the wrong thing to say, especially to him. “I know.”
“I get it.” He sighed and pressed his head to the back of mine.
I resigned myself to sitting and waiting, but I wasn’t any more still than Phillip was.
When the doctor stepped into the waiting room, we were on our feet in an instant. She approached with a smile. As soon as she reached us, she said, “Both momma and baby are doing great. Fine and healthy.”
My laugh of relief slipped out before I could stop it. I kept half an ear on the rest of what the doctor said—enough to pick up instructions and be reminded of what came next—but I was mostly waiting for her to say one thing.
“Would you like to meet your son?”
That was it.
Hours later—Iwasn’t paying attention to how much time had passed—I still couldn’t get over how amazing this was. Addie was asleep in bed, looking as beautiful as I’d ever seen her. Phillip had gone to grab himself and me some food. And I was holding the baby. Again. This tiny little bundle of life nestled in my arms.
I’d been there when both of my nieces came home from the hospital, but this was different.
I cradled our baby, marveling at this tiny life we’d created. This sweet little soul we got to help grow up in this world.
Phillip returned, and set something pre-packaged on the table next to me. I looked at our baby boy, and then Phillip and Addie. This was nothing short of amazingly miraculous.
With the future stretching out in front of me—us—life had never been more incredible.
