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“Sprinkles?”
That has Katie twisting to get out of my arms. We hug goodbye, and then Riley takes her hand and together they trot out of the room with Lu close behind.
“Congratulations, y’all,” Lu says at the door. “Your family is beautiful.”
We stay three nights at the hospital. When we’re finally discharged, I load up my truck, feeling like I’m in theTwilight Zoneas I drop the infant car seat into its base in the backseat. Reese snoozes away, unfazed by the fact that last time I drove, I was a father of one.
Now I’m a father of two. Also a husband. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
I help Maren climb carefully into the front seat. Her recovery is going well, but she’s still pretty sore.
On the drive home, I grab her hand and lift it to my lips. “Hey, Mama.”
“Hey, Daddy.” Maren beams back at me. “Tuck, we had a fuckingbaby.”
“We did. She’s perfect. So are you. Thank you.”
She scrunches her brow. “For what?”
“Being you.” I kiss her knuckles. “Being patient with me. With Katie too. If you hadn’t given me a second chance?—”
“But I did. We all deserve second chances, Tuck.” She glances at the sleeping baby behind us. “Reese is a perfect example.”
Maren is, as always, right. Everyone was right when they told me having a baby with a partner who actually wants to stick around would be different in all the best ways. Our marriage isn’t effortless by any means. But it’s solid. It’s fun.
It’s real forbothof us, and that makes all the difference.
Doesn’t hurt that I still get butterflies whenever I lay eyes on my wife. Even now, exhausted from late night and early morning feedings, from surgery, from months of pregnancy-induced insomnia, she’s gorgeous.
She’s happy.
We’re happy.
My speakers suddenly light up with the sound of a ringtone. My phone is connected to the car’s Bluetooth, and I see my best friend’s name light up on the dash.
I frown. Katie is with Dad right now, so I feel like I would’ve heard from him if something was wrong. Still, I don’t have a good feeling about this, so I glance at Maren and immediately answer.
“Hey, Riley, what’s up?” I ask.
He clears his throat. “Hey. So, everyone is fine?—”
“What happened?” My heart skips a beat.
“Nothing. Well, not nothing. But it has nothing to do with your kids. I just have some... news. It’s good news. Well, not bad news, at least I hope you won’t think it’s bad.”
“Jesus Christ, Riley, just spit it out.”
He sighs. “Fine. Abel and Jen eloped. They’re married, Tuck.”
