For the fifth time, I counted his tiny fingers, then unwrapped him from his swaddle to count his tiny toes.
Hazel, the nurse, quietly entered the room, smiling at the sight of me holding my son. I hadn’t a clue why she was smiling that widely; I wasn’t the first new father to hold their child and I wouldn’t be the last.
Efficiently, she moved to take Kendrick’s vitals. He didn’t even stir, proving his exhausted state.
“Thought I’d let you know, the natives are getting restless,” she told me quietly, tapping on the laptop beside the bed. “The waiting room has never been so full. And, your parents are here.”
“My parents are here?” I repeated, sure I had misunderstood her. They seldom ventured into the village itself, much preferring to stay in their house, located nearly in the next realm.
“Yes,” she came to peer down at Evan, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “I told everyone you were firm on waiting until Kendrick was awake.”
“I’m awake,” Kendrick whispered from the bed, and I glanced over to see him blinking his eyes open. His hair was a mess, his face still too pale for my liking, and dark circles under his eyes told me he needed more sleep. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
Well, Evan was a close second.
“I’ll give you about ten minutes, shall I?” Hazel questioned. “Then I’m gonna start letting them in. Our little waiting room can’t hold that many people.”
Moving to the bed, I looked at her horrified, while I placed Evan in Kendrick’s grabby hands. “How many are there?”
She waved a dismissive hand. “The Kringles, The Santa and his husband, Kendrick’s parents, your parents, and a passel of your siblings.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed loudly. “Of course there are.”
Kendrick kissed the top of Evan’s head, snuggling him close. “Stop it. They’re just excited. And he’s your mom and dad's first grandchild.”
I snorted. “He’s not, I’m telling you. Besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if Birch has one or two kids he hasn’t bothered to tell anyone about.”
“Stop being grumpy,” Kendrick ordered, as I carefully sat on the bed, resting my back against the headboard and pulling him into my chest.
“I’m not grumpy,” I huffed, kissing the top of his head. “How can I be when we have this miracle?”
“He’s really gorgeous, isn’t he?” Kendrick fussed with Evan’s blanket. “I mean, I know all parents think that, but he is.”
“We did good,” I agreed. “Well, you did good. You did all the heavy lifting.”
The door opened then, and the room erupted in talking, laughter, and many congratulations. Evan slept through it all, until he got tired of being passed around and wanted his dinner. To which he let everyone in Santa’s Village know his outrage, loudly and at the top of his lungs.
“Has Bal’s temper,” my dad joked. At least I thought he was joking.
“Well, you know what they say about redheads,” Merv joined in, running a hand through his own graying red hair.
“I do not have a temper,” Keegan defended.
“That you don’t, Sunshine,” Nik wrapped an arm around his husband's shoulders, pulling him close.
“Except when he’s in labor,” I muttered, still traumatized from being with him when he had been in labor with Kacey, before Nik got there. “I honestly thought he was possessed by a demon.”
Thankfully, I had made sure to stay far away when he had been in labor with Kieran.
“Evan Garrick is such a…” Mom paused, as if searching for the least offensive words she could use, “human name.”
“He’s half human,” It gave me some pleasure reminding her of that fact. “And I picked the name Evan.” We had both agreed we had no desire to carry on the K tradition his family had started, and Keegan had continued.
Hazel appeared with a bottle, and I took Evan from Pops to feed him. Sitting in the rocker glider next to Kendrick’s hospital bed, I saw my mom frown when Evan started sucking the formula down.
Before she could get wound up, because I knew her, I gave her a stern look. “Don’t say one word. We decided bottle feeding was the best for us, and we don’t need anyone’s opinion on the matter.”
“It’s just–”
