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“Yes,” Sky said, “you are.”
It didn’t take long for her afterbirth to expel. The doctor cleaned everything up, checked Makayla out one last time, and left. She promised to return tomorrow and perform a check on them.
Finally, they were alone in their master bedroom. Cal moved to Sky’s side, sliding his arm behind his wife’s head. He eased his other arm beneath hers to support her as she held their noisy, contented baby daughter. Makayla was opening and closing her tiny fingers against her mother’s breast. Cal leaned down, kissing Sky’s damp brow. “I love you,” he said, giving her and his daughter a gentle squeeze.
Sky wearily leaned her head against Cal’s shoulder, so glad he was there, holding both of them with his male strength and gentleness. “I love you so much,” she quavered, tears continuing to slip down her cheeks.
“It’s over,” Cal murmured, kissing her hair. “Makayla is here. And you’re okay.” Sky had been such a worrywart about the birth. In some ways, Cal understood that her focus was partly about herself. Her drug-addicted mother had never wanted her. Sky’s whole life became focused and anchored on her daughter she carried. Cal knew she desperately wanted the baby she carried to know she was loved and welcomed by her family, unlike what her own experience had been. Cal could see the relief in Sky’s sparkling eyes, saw the anxiety dissolve. Their perfectly formed baby daughter was healthy, kicking her tiny arms and legs, and noisily drinking at Sky’s breast. “You know,” Cal warned her with a grin, “this kid of ours is gonna be a hell raiser when she grows up. Look at her.”
Sky gazed wearily, her daughter active in her arms. “I wonder if I was like that when I was born?”
The question was spoken so softly that Cal almost didn’t hear it, and he had good ears. His heart ached for Sky. “I’ll bet you looked just like Makayla when you were born,” he rasped, squeezing her shoulder gently. “Beautiful.” He could feel Sky’s anguish over her own life of being unwanted. “And you’re here now with me, sweetheart. And I love you.” Cal eased his arm from beneath Sky’s and lightly moved his finger down his daughter’s plump little cheek. “And so does Makayla.” Cal repositioned his arm beneath his wife’s arm and held her tearful gaze. “You don’t realize how happy you make me. Or her,” and he nodded toward his daughter. His voice grew thick with feelings as he held Sky’s gaze. “Only today counts, Sky. You, me and Makayla. There’s nothing but love between us and in this house of ours. And it will always be that way. It’s a new chapter in your life. In all our lives.”
“You’re right,” Sky agreed, her voice quavering with emotion. She leaned upward, meeting Cal’s descending mouth, feeling his lips move in adoration across hers. His words, his love for her, gently closed the door on her painful past. Cal was right. It was done and gone. Nothing could be changed about it. She held her wriggling, happy, snuffling, noisy daughter in her arms. And Cal held both of them. Sky silently promised that she would love them with a fierceness that would make her past become a distant memory within her. She’d had nothing. And now, she had so much. It was enough. It would always be enough.
