“Thanks for being the best rebound sex of my life.”
He laughs against the side of my head. “All you had to do was ask, sweetheart.”
I lean into him as our family takes turns holding Susannah, all of them careful not to jostle and wake her up.
“Forever, yeah?”
“And then some.”
“I love you,” I whisper.
“Love you more.”
Epilogue. Baby fever
Tamara, Ten months later
“Is it possible all the men have baby fever?” Krys asks as we watch everyone fuss over Susannah.
She’s snug as a bug in the baby carrier strapped to the front of her very protective godfather. No matter who comes over to get a snuggle, Varun finds a way to stop them. He likes having all her attention and I must admit it’s fucking cute. I did grow a beautiful baby, so I understand why everyone wants a piece of her. But the last ten months have been exhausting. Susannah refused to sleep at first and when we thought she’d finally found a routine, it was in stops and starts. By the sixth month, she was sleeping through the night. Unfortunately, Patrick and I had gotten used to zero sleep and lay awake in bed mumbling to each other.
Like everything else in our relationship, we’ve made it work.
Patrick skipped the first portion of the Pro League tournament. Even though it was hosted in India, I would have killed him if he left me right after Susannah was born. The reason I survived was because he was there to help me and we had him all the way until June. Then he joined the rest of the team in Europe for the second half of the tournament. We’d prepared for it and I was glad we had the schedule ahead of time, but I was still doing it alone.
Eventually, thanks to Tessammai and Rachel stepping in, I was able to get back to work while also being mother of the year.
It was still a lot.
It was the toughest month of our relationship and lives, individually.
Especially when Patrick announced his retirement days before leaving for Amsterdam and sports pundits everywhere got off on blaming me for his decision. It was frustrating at first, then amusing and finally really idiotic. The media always likes to paint women as the villains and the only thing we can do is ignore them. Since I knew the real reason behind Patrick’s retirement, I didn’t care what the press had to say. Even when they called my office incessantly to get a quote.
I never told him any of it though. While he was gone he had three panic attacks that left him exhausted and messed up. Even after all this time, it’s still so scary to see him shaken up, to know the strongest man in my life hasn’t been feeling himself. But we worked through it together, then he’d talk to Dominic and be back on his feet.
A week after they returned, Nihal also retired. It sent shockwaves through the sports industry. Everyone wanted to understand why these legendary players were stepping away right when the team needed them the most. Both of them refused to say anything and their lack of social media presence helped them avoid the noise. The months after they got back, they buckled down and got everything set up for their Reach for the Stars Sports Academy. Nihal and his wife moved to Chennai to finalise everything. While it took longer than they would have liked, they were finally able to announce the launch before they were scheduled to leave for the last tournament of their professional careers.
Oh and we got married a few weeks ago.
After much discussion and possibly some bribery, Vera and Elias agreed to a big flashy wedding so Patrick and I could keep it simple. I love fancy things when it comes to the houses I design and build, but a wedding? So unnecessary. All I wanted was to call the man my husband and not have to spend tons of money on a big party I probably wouldn’t even remember.
So Patrick, Susannah and I, along with his parents and my aunt and uncle flew down to Kottayam and had a quiet ceremony in the church where I was baptised. We had to spend a lot of money to keep it hush-hush, but it was worth it. And now we have all of our friends, family and everyone important in our lives in the backyard of our home to celebrate our nuptials.
“Mama! We have a problem,” Varun calls out and spins around with Susannah squirming and giggling in his arms.
I snort. “As godfather, I believe this is part of your duties.”
“She said doodies,” Vikram supplies between choked laughter.
I smirk at the look of panic on Varun’s face and he stares at my daughter like she’s some kind of creature he can’t understand. Picking him as Susannah’s godfather was certainly the right thing. She adores him and whenever he’s in the vicinity, she’ll start to squeal. However, this is the first time Varun’s had to do anything that’s not making her laugh. Patrick and I decided we were going to enjoy the evening while everyone else took care of our kid. So between Varun and Vera, Susannah’s able and wonderful godparents, they can figure out how to change her diaper and clean her up.
“Toots?” He looks at his girlfriend longingly as she piles her plate with food and then huffs when she continues to ignore him. I can’t help but laugh at his plight.
“Vikram offered to help!” I call out and my younger cousin glares at me. His attempt to run away is blocked when my girlfriends step in his way. Huffing and puffing, he stomps into the house behind Varun, my daughter still squealing happily.
The only reason we got this house done within my timeframe was thanks to my long list of contacts. Otherwise a newborn baby and my regular work schedule would have made it impossible to complete anything. But everyone joined forces—my family, our friends, my contractors and folks from work—to make my dream home project a reality. It took lots of blood, sweat and tons of tears, mostly Susannah and me, but we got it done a month ago and even now, I’m surprised it’s mine.
Tessammai found more pictures of me and my parents in this house, which I got framed and hung up in different rooms. While my memories are still quite hazy, knowing I have small pieces of them in the place where I’m raising my child means a lot.
