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Ma wraps her arms around me and pulls me close. “You two were meant to find one another. I’m so proud of you both. I love you.” She lets me go and wipes her eyes. “When do we get to meet her?”
I chuckle at that and so does my dad.
“I’m not sure. Amelia will probably be in recovery for at least another half hour, and when we get settled in our room, they’ll do some tests on Emmie to make sure everything’s good. You’ll be the first to know when it’s time.”
“I’ll set up a tent in the waiting room if I have to,” Ma says.
“Oh, I know.”
Mackie walks over and gives me a hug. “Good job knocking Amelia up.”
“Thanks,” I say with a laugh.
Rae’s the next to hug me. “Seriously. We’re all crazy happy for you. Do you want us to stay or come back tomorrow? We’ll do whatever you prefer, but we don’t want to pressure you or Amelia.”
“I appreciate that. Stay for now, and I’ll let you know once we’re settled how much visiting we’re up for tonight.”
“Sounds good,” Rae says.
Sarah hugs me, and then I’m surrounded by my lifelong best friends.
“First one to have a kid,” Joel says. He sticks his thumb out at Aaron. “I definitely thought it would be him. Honestly, I half expected you two to be teen parents,” he jokes to Aaron and Rae.
Rae shoves him. “Shut up. I think it makes sense that Miles is first. When he does things, he’s all in. All. In.”
“Ha. Funny. Anyway, as nice as this is, I want to get back to my girls, so…”
“Yeah, yeah. We know we’re not important anymore,” Aaron says with a grin. He claps a hand on my shoulder. “Congrats, man. We’re proud of you. We love you. We’re here however you need us.”
“Thanks. Love you guys too.” I step away, giving my mother another hug and sharing a hug with my dad, too. “I’ll text pictures when we get to our room.”
“You better,” my mother says.
“Of course, Ma.” I kiss her cheek, then with a wave, I turn and walk down the hallway back to my girls.
“First diaper change is done,” I say, throwing the diaper away and washing my hands. I walk back to Emmie’s bassinet and practice my swaddling. I’m determined to become a champion swaddler. I’ve been watching videos about it for the last month.
Emmie flails and cries as I wrap her back up. I do it a couple times until it’s nice and snug, then I pick her up and rock her back and forth. “Shh, sweet pea. You’re okay. Daddy’s got you.”
From the bed, Amelia sighs. She can’t get up and move around yet because the numbing is still wearing off, but she’s eaten and is doing well. “You’re going to melt me into a puddle. Every time you talk to her, I swear I melt a little more.”
I flash a smile at her. “Fair trade-off since I’m constantly in awe of you.”
“You know, I never understood why people would think a baby would fix their marriage, but I get it now. You enter a space of complete bliss. Of course, I’m not dumb enough to think it will last, but you’ve literally never been more attractive to me than you are right now, and that’s a strong compliment.”
I walk over to her, still gently rocking Emmie, who is settling down now. Leaning down, I softly kiss Amelia. I never knew how full my heart could feel until I kissed the woman I love while holding our daughter. If you had told me a year ago this is where I’d be right now, I probably would’ve died laughing. Maybe some part of me would’ve believed in the possibility but not the likelihood. I always practiced safe sex, and I planned on waiting until my mid to late twenties to have kids. Life laughed in the face of those plans, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
There’s a knock on the door, and I smile.
“Grandma’s here,” I whisper to Emmie, who is mostly asleep now.
“Can we come in?” Ma calls.
“Bathe in sanitizer and you may enter,” I call back.
She and Dad laugh, but stop just inside the door where the sanitizer is and lather up.
“Ready to meet your granddaughter?” I ask as they walk over.
