“Well, you just made it a lot easier, since you had to go get a Coke and almost missed the delivery.”
I push. I scream. I sweat. And Zander’s there the whole time, telling me what a great job I’m doing and how much he loves me. He talks about how much our baby boy appreciates the agony I’m going through. Maybe not now, but someday—and Zander promises to tell him this story.
Lottie tells him our son won’t want to hear his birth story as she places her hands on my shoulder. My mom is right next to Lottie, her hand in mine.
I push again.
The nurse counts down.
And I push again.
Then there’s a cry. A beautiful wail of a cry that fills the room.
“He’s here,” the doctor says. “But I need one more.”
Zander pushes his head into mine. “Just one more good push. Okay, Romy? One more.”
I do, and our son comes into the world still screaming. He must have inherited that set of lungs from his father.
Zander pulls his hand from mine. “Shit, you’re strong.” He waves his hand to get blood flow back.
“You said no swearing,” I say through happy tears.
“I know. I know. God—darn it.”
Everyone in the room laughs.
Dr. Rojas places the baby on my chest. He’s warm and pink and wrinkly and perfect.
Welcome to the world, Rhodes Shaw.
Later that night, everybody’s gone, and the room is dim and quiet. It’s just us. Our little family that’s a piece of a bigger pie.
My body aches, but I’m still running on adrenaline.
Zander’s in the chair, cradling Rhodes against his chest. I’ve never seen anything hotter in my life.
“I’m gonna screw up,” Zander murmurs. His voice is soft in the dark. “Not on purpose. But I will. But you’ll never wonder if I love you. You’ll never have to earn my attention or compete with a schedule. I’m gonna be there. Baseball games. Science fairs. Choir shows. Front row. Always.”
Rhodes makes a small sound as if he understands his daddy.
Zander laughs softly. “I’m gonna give you stability. A home. I swear I’m gonna give you everything—everything I didn’t have. And your mom, we hit the jackpot with her. She’s going to make sure our home is full of love and warmth and understanding.”
He glances toward me and sees that I’m watching.
“Hey,” he says. “I’m just letting him know how lucky we are.”
Zander walks over and places Rhodes in my arms, leans down, and kisses both our foreheads.
“I don’t think I can ever thank you for this,” he whispers.
I place my hand on his cheek. “I could say the same to you.”
We stare at our little guy. The person who is probably the reason we were brought together.
Life has never been sweeter.
Epilogue
