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I heard my daughter’s first hiccupping cries and Briar’s voice pleading for her child even before I opened the door.
“Here you are, my darling girl,” Annabelle said. “Here she is.”
“I’ll wait out here,” Rachel whispered.
I barely heard Annabelle and Rachel leave, my eyes transfixed on the scene in front of me. Wrapped in white and pressed to her mother’s breast, my daughter was perfect after all those grueling hours of labor.
“Are you going to come in or just stand there?” Briar rasped.
I hurried toward her, perching at her side. Her dark hair was matted to her face, the exertion she had undergone evident on her face, but nothing shone as brightly as the happiness she felt.
“Are you okay? Is she?”
“She’s perfect.”
“And so are you,” I agreed, draping my arm gently around her to kiss her head. “You are amazing. You deserve all the moons and the sun for what you’ve created here.”
“I didn’t exactly do it alone,” she teased. “Much as I’d like to take credit for it all.”
I closed my eyes and inhaled the smell of her head before easing her back against the pillows.
“Should we invite your sisters in?” I asked, hoping she would say no.
“Not yet,” Briar mumbled. “I just want to spend some time with you and Mathilda first.”
My heart quickened. “Mathilda?”
She peeked at me through her half-closed lids and nodded.
“After your sister. I thought ‘Mathilda Eli.’ How do you feel about that?”
My mouth involuntarily opened in shock.
“You don’t like it?”
“I love it,” I told her sincerely. “Mathilda Eli, for the two people I loved most in this world before I found you.”
Mathilda let out a small cry, and Briar asked, “Do you want to hold her?”
My daughter was so small, and the thought of holding a being so precious and fragile. My heart quickened, and I put out my arms to take her.
“Just hold her head,” Briar explained before placing her in my arms.
Mathilda’s tiny fingers wrapped around mine, and love exploded through my heart for the tiny creature in my arms. I looked into my baby girl’s eyes, which were a bright blue—just like Briar’s. I inhaled my precious daughter’s sweet scent, and doted on each of her perfect features.
I looked at Briar, and tears had formed on her lashes.
“She’s perfect,” I told her.
“She is,” Briar whispered with a smile.
“Now I have two girls in my life who I will burn down the world to protect.”
“I’ll bring the s’mores,” Briar said.
I shook my head, and I couldn’t help but crack a smile.
Mathilda cried again, and I handed her back to Briar. She probably needed to eat.
