Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 104288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
“Thanks,” I manage thickly. “Don’t know how I got so lucky.”
Lu gives me a side hug. “We’re so happy for y’all.”
Riley nods at Katie. “She’s been talking nonstop about meeting baby Reese’s peanut butter cup.”
Maren looks at me. “That’s kind of a cute nickname, actually.”
“You could go the Princess Bride route and call her Buttercup,” Lu says as she peers into the bassinet beside Maren’s bed. “Oh, y’all, she is perfect!”
“Let me see!” Katie cries out.
I pick Katie up and put her on the floor. Placing her hands on the edge of the bassinet, Katie goes up on her tiptoes to look inside. “It’s my sister! She is very small. Does she always fall asleep?”
I’m wiping tears away as I lift Katie back onto my hip so she can get a better look. “Babies do sleep a lot. But not forever. She’ll be playing with you before you know it.”
“Isn’t she sweet?” Riley asks.
Katie rests her head on my shoulder. “She is very sweet. Can I hold her?”
I look at Maren, who nods. “You have to be very careful,” she says.
“I be careful,” Katie replies. “Please please please!”
I set Katie on a vinyl couch on the other side of the room. Riley sits beside her, positioning her arms in a little cradle. “You hold the baby just like that. Ready?”
“I ready!” She kicks her little legs.
Lifting Reese out of her bassinet, I still can’t get over how light she feels compared to Katie. Everything about her is tiny: nose, ears, feet.
She’s so fucking beautiful it takes my breath away.
Can’t help but think she looks a lot like Katie when she was born. They have the same squished-up face that got Katie her nickname. Fat cheeks and all. I kiss one of those cheeks, the baby’s skin silky smooth.
I look up and see Maren watching me, eyes brimming with tears.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re a handsome guy, Tuck. But you’ve never been more handsome than you are when you’re holding a baby. Our baby.”
Riley glances at Lu. “Please say they’re giving you ideas.”
“Oh, they’re giving me ideas.” Lu smiles at him. “Lots and lots of them.”
Riley is dying to start a family. Appears Lu might be on board too.
I gingerly lay the baby in Katie’s arms. My eldest daughter—wild I have two now—squeals. “Hi, baby! I love you.”
Maren is snapping pictures from the bed while I make sure Katie doesn’t drop Reese. “Can you give your sissy a kiss?”
I help Katie lift the baby’s head to her lips. She gives her a gentle kiss on the forehead that has the entire room saying aww.
The baby starts to cry. When I try to take her out of Katie’s arms, Katie grabs her right back. “No, Daddy, I hold her!”
“She might be hungry, Katie bear,” Maren says. “You can hold her again later.”
Katie starts to cry. “But I love her. I love her so much.”
We all laugh. I scoop Katie into my arms. “You’re the best big sister in the world, Squish. But it’s time for the baby to eat, and it’s time for you to head out.”
“I don’t want to go home,” Katie wails.
“How about some ice cream?” Lu asks.
Katie immediately goes quiet. “What kind of ice cream?”
Lu pretends to think on this. “Well, do you like vanilla?”
“Yes.”
“What about chocolate?”
“Yes!”
“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 the Twilight Zone as 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 fucking baby.”
“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 for both of us, and that makes all the difference.