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“Niki was incensed at the world until she was about three or four… and then everything was a joy. I’ve never seen a happier child.”
“She’s so beautiful,” Luke whispered, smiling. “I keep saying that and thinking it – but there aren’t enough words to explain it.”
“No,” his father smiled, looking at him – and then at Valkyrie. “And nothing can teach you how to be a dad.”
“You do the best you can and try to ‘hang on’when something completely bowls you over,” Valkyrie said openly. “Sometimes you make mistakes, but you simply try to make them better… like admitting when you are wrong.”
Luke looked at him.
“Picture how you are feeling right now and try to imagine what you’ll feel like in twenty years or so when some boy comes into her life,” Valkyrie said openly, his voice hoarse as his eyes shone with tears. “You make mistakes because that’s your baby and always will be… but I’m really glad she found you, Luke. You are quite the young man and perfect for my Nicolette.”
Luke sucked in his breath and knew he was about to cry again, feeling so emotionally raw and grateful for his family — and hers.
“Now, how much does my granddaughter weigh?” Valkyrie said gruffly, wiping his eyes. “What does she look like? What color is her hair?”
“I don’t know…” Luke said sheepishly. “Red and gooey?”
“Oh, my gosh…” his father guffawed wildly, wrapping an arm around Luke’s shoulders, as Valkyrie smiled at him in understanding.
“How long is the baby?”
“Not sure…”
“Kid,” Valkyrie began, grinning at them both, “…Get back there, tell my daughter congratulations, and get some details for us!”
Luke laughed as they both ruffled his head playfully, pushing the button along the wall to allow the hospital doors to open. As he walked back, he waved over his shoulder as a nurse greeted him. They led him down the hallway towards a room and stepped inside, seeing Nicolette holding the baby in her arms.
He felt such love, so much tenderness welling up in him, and such a humbleness realizing that this incredible woman was his partner in life.
“Hey…” she smiled up at him, reminding him of the day she’d shown up in the hangar with a Gatorade for him. There was that glimmer of recognition, that joy that simmered in her soul, there in her eyes for the universe to see.
“Hey yourself…” he murmured, coming to stand beside her. “Do you mind if I text our parents a photo of you and the baby?”
“I look terrible…”
“You’ve never looked more magnificent in your entire life,” he breathed hoarsely, looking into her eyes – before leaning forward to kiss her softly.
As their lips brushed, he recognized that feeling of peace that stole into his soul, recognizing his other half.
Nicolette gazed at him, smiling with such worldliness and a sense of completion it was staggering. He was right. She had never looked more beautiful than she did right now – and he was so lucky to have her in his life.
“Take your picture…Daddy,” she whispered lovingly.
Instead of responding, he nodded, holding back from crying as Valkyrie’s words rang in his head. He would need to be strong, to be a guide for his new family, and be the one she could rely upon.
Taking the photo, he quickly sent it… and heard Niki speak.
“I want to call her Erin, if that is okay with you?”
“It’s beautiful,” Luke whispered and smiled, realizing that she was giving their daughter a feminine version of her father’s name to honor him.
His wife would always be a ‘Daddy’s girl’ deep down inside – and Erin seemed to fit the little girl that was bundled into Niki’s arms.
The baby sighed heavily… and then worked a tiny little pacifier, making little sucking sounds that were enchanting.
“Erin is perfect.”
“Oh, and Luke?” Nicolette began, causing him to look up from the baby back to her.
