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“Holy fuck,” he says, smashing his mouth down on mine. The justice of the peace is reminding him that he hasn’t given him permission yet, but I don’t think he cares. When we part, I’m breathless and wanting more.
“We’re having a baby?”
“Yeah, we are.”
“Ahem, do you think we could finish?”
“Oh right,” Josh replies, stepping back slightly.
“Rings?” the JP says, sighing. Rob and my mom hand us our rings and the JP goes through his spiel. Josh kisses my ring after he places it on my finger.
“I suppose I can skip the ‘do you’ parts because it’s clear that you do,” the JP says, causing everyone to laugh. “By the power vested in me in the great state of Hawaii, I pronounce you once again, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. You know what to do Josh, let her have it.”
And he does!
epilogue
“What are you doing?”
Wrapping her hands around my waist from behind, Joey kisses my bare shoulder. I’m leaning against the doorjamb, watching. This is where I am every night about three a.m., waiting.
“I’m addicted.”
“I know. Me too,” she says, sighing. I maneuver my arm so Joey is nestled into my side, never taking my eyes off the white princess crib that sits in the middle of the room.
Jolie Hope is three months old and the most amazing achievement of my life. Not that I did anything other than help conceive her. Joey did it all. She did everything to nurture Jolie and bring her into this world. But I was there, every step of the way from prenatal yoga, childbirth classes, and now swim lessons.
After Joey told me, and subsequently the world, that she was pregnant instant fear set in about our swimming pool. I wanted to cover it while Joey suggested a fence. She won out, but the moment Jolie’s doctor gave the okay that she could be in the water, I put her in and hired a lifeguard to come teach her. I know she’s young and I’m probably wasting my money, but whatever, maybe I’m raising the next Olympian.
As I predicted, Barry was front and center with a contract ready for us to sign, but this time I put my foot down. I didn’t want something like this broadcast for millions of people. I didn’t want Joey judged if she decided to have a glass of wine at dinner, which her doctor said was perfectly fine. Truthfully, I wanted her growing belly to be for my eyes only. I didn’t want viewers to see me cradling her stomach, whispering to my daughter or reading a bedtime story to her while Joey rubbed the spots that Jolie was kicking. I needed this to be private.
I also didn’t want Jules anywhere near us and knew that if we were filming, she’d want to be front and center creating unneeded drama. I haven’t seen her since the night in the hospital, when she was giving birth. She had a boy who she named Josh. If I could’ve sued her over that I probably would’ve, but at this point there isn’t anything I can do. The speculation will always be there that I’m the baby’s father, no matter how many times I deny it. It’s been my speculation that Matt, my former agent, is the father, but it’s my hunch. It’s not like I can publicly say it’s him without a lawsuit being brought against me.
Joey and I struggled with a name for Jolie. Many friends came out of the woodwork to offer suggestions, and while some were far reaching, I didn’t want my daughter to grow up with a name like Cricket or Pilot. I wanted something normal and beautiful and Joey wanted Hope.
For Joey, the baby was tying us together in a way our vows and wedding rings couldn’t. She said that for the first three months of our marriage, she lived off hope, hoping that I’d change my mind about a future. It paid off for her, for us. We settled on Hope until I saw her. Everything changed after I held her. I knew Hope wasn’t going to be the right name for her.
I wanted something that captured her beauty. She is the best parts of Joey and me. . . well, more so her mother, but I’m biased. I wanted our first born to have a connection to us so I suggested we call her Jo. As you can ascertain, Joey was not onboard and started looking up names while our daughter snuggled half on her mom’s chest and half on mine, in the cramped hospital bed. I was doing the same and blurted out, “Jolie,” and the meaning, “A pretty young woman.”
“Jolie Hope,” I whispered, gazing at my daughter and when I looked at my wife, she had a tear in her eye. “Jolie Hope Wilson,” I said again, being rewarded with a kiss that at any other time would’ve led to other things.
Jolie tries to sleep through the night and when I say tries, it’s mostly because I’ve woken her up by subtle touches or from me leaning on her crib. In a few days, I start filming another movie with the location being about an hour away. I’m going to be gone during most of her awake time and I’m not sure how I’m going to handle that. Asking Joey to bring her to set will be cumbersome and Jolie probably won’t appreciate the long car ride.
“Let’s go back to bed.” Joey pushes me slightly toward our room and I barely budge.
“One more minute,” I say.
Sighing, Joey shakes her head. “I’m getting naked, Mr. Wilson. I think you know what that means.”
I watch her over my shoulder as she takes off her top. Her bra is still in place due to the fact that she’s nursing, which honestly makes me a bit jealous of Jolie. One of my favorite times during the day is when she’s nursing. I’ll hold Joey, essentially making it so I’m holding both my girls and talk to Jolie, telling her I used to suck on her mom’s nipples and ask her if I can have my job back. Being that she’s only three months old I’m not scarring her for life. . . yet.
Groaning, I scrub my hand over my face before shutting Jolie’s door. “You drive a hard bargain, woman.” I close our door and strip down.
“I’m not bargaining. You’re about to start filming and I have a feeling that you’ll be tired when you get home. Jolie will surely take all your attention.” She winks at me. I know she’s kidding, but the possibility that she’d even think I wouldn’t have time for her kills me.
Grabbing her ankle, I pull her toward the end of the bed. She squeals and tries to get away, but I’m faster than her.
“You’ll always be number one to me, Joey.”
