Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Maybe if my sister had an extra reason besides a super cute nephew, a big sister who loves her like crazy, and a brother-in-law that she’s actually pretty fond of…
“Welcome to the world, little baby,” my mom croons, taking her turn to lean over the bassinet. Nick is sleeping, but my mom carefully lifts him out and cradles him in her arms. He doesn’t wake up. She’s got the special grandma touch already. I know it will probably come in handy this next month when we’re all extremely sleep-deprived.
She’s radiant with happiness, and I catch Darius watching and Heather leaning in to steal another peek. Even Hans looks like he has some mist in his eyes even as he tries not to cry again. My heart swells so big that it feels like it’s going to get lodged in my throat. I don’t even attempt to brush away the tears that trace their way down old and sticky tracks from before.
Darius walks over to the bed and sits down on the edge. He brushes a strand of hair back that is stuck in the tears and uses his knuckles to wipe my cheeks. Then, he kisses my forehead ever so gently.
He’s had two more surgeries in the past two years, and both of them have given him a better range of motion in his arm. I no longer mistake him for a drowning man when he’s swimming. He always likes to joke about that. I’ve never had any surgeries before. I’ve been so lucky. Now, sitting here with fresh stitches in my lady bits, I kind of get the mornings when he’d wake up, and the skin around his eyes would be white, his lips would be pinched, and he’d need a few minutes of walking around the room, working his shoulder, and doing some of those exercises his physiotherapist taught him before he could even say good morning. That only lasted for a few weeks, and the pain became lesser and lesser, and his arm was better for it, but those weeks were rough for both of us. Watching Darius go through pain like that was like watching my sister go through her treatments. It’s just so hard to watch the people you love in pain.
We’ve all been so blessed because Heather is healthy and strong now, and my mom is happier than she’s ever been. She’s gone back to college and is now majoring in marketing. She actually loves being a mature student. She jokes about it all the time. She switched her classes to online for this past year because as soon as I told her I was pregnant, she knew she wanted to come and stay before the baby was born and after.
“You’ve given me the world,” Darius whispers in my ear, kissing my temple. “The world a thousand times over. My grandma would be so happy.”
“I wonder if she thought about how much sex putting the baby clause into her will would entail.”
Darius gags. “Probably. Dear lord, she was obsessed with smutty romance books. The naughtier, the better. Did you know she used to use words like railed?”
“Oh my god!” I slap a hand over my mouth before I let out a squeal and wake up the baby. “She did not!”
“She did.” He nods solemnly. “You would have loved my grandma. She was a riot.”
We have a few seconds of silence with our hands linked together, our fingers twisted, and our breaths coming slower as we think about the people who won’t get to meet Nick. Both sets of our grandparents, Darius’ dad, my dad… He might have been a shit parent for most of my life, but of course, part of me still wishes he was here and that things could have been different.
Regardless, I know the people Nick does have in his life will love him so much extra.
We let that moment pass over us, and then Darius nuzzles my ear while my family continues to croon over the world’s most perfect, sleeping baby. “Do you really hate my beast, or was that just heated, passionate, in-the-moment talk?”
I bite down on another burst of laughter and turn to whisper back, “No, sweetheart, I love your beast. I’m sorry. I don’t hate him at all. I don’t hate any of you. You might not be perfect, but you’re perfect for me.”
Cue the gagging at the token mush, but Darius likes it. I like it. I’m all hormonal and sappy, so mush like that is perfectly acceptable.
“You’re perfect for me too, Ev. I’m pretty sure I’m going to get the award for being the happiest person on the planet.”
“And the hottest DILF.”
“Aaaarh,” he gasps. I do laugh this time, a soft, low sound that carries through the room. Nick stirs in my mom’s arms but doesn’t wake up. There’s a collective sigh over how cute he is when he moves even a fraction of an inch and how adorable his little lips, his cheeks, and how long and thick his eyelashes are. He’s got a little wisp of dark hair under that tiny blue baby cap, and it’s dark like his dad’s. He’s got his dad’s eyes too.