We turn to see Sam and Gill walk in the door carrying their luggage. “We decided to get rooms here instead,” Gill says to Lauren. “The Bellagio was a hellhole.”
We all burst out laughing. The Bellagio is not a hellhole. We know he just wants to stay close to Lauren. I look at Sam andwatch him shrug and smirk. “What can we say? This place has everything we need.” Then he winks at me.
Aww, he’s so sweet. “You can’t share a room with us. This is supposed to be a girls’ trip. Your mom will be upset. She’s got everything planned for us,” I whisper in his ear.
“No problem, we’ve rented the presidential suite.”
“You did?” I say too loud.
“Yeah, so if you ladies want, we’d be more than happy to share. There are four bedrooms,” says Gill with his own smirk.
“No. Ladies, stay strong,” chides Perri. “We’ve got things to do, and no boys allowed.”
“Suit yourself. See you ladies later, then?” Sam leans over and kisses my cheek. “You feeling okay?” he whispers in my ear. He’s been there for the majority of my morning sickness sessions.
“So-so. Just lost my cracker a minute ago. But I’ll be fine. I’m almost through with this part of it. Oh, and your mom and sister know now.”
Just then, Valerie walks over to her son and wraps her arms around him. “Congratulations, honey. I’m so proud of you. You’re going to be a wonderful father. Just like your dad.” I see his eyes sparkle with emotion. He says nothing for a minute, but he recovers.
“Thanks, Mom. If I’m half the father Dad was, I’ll consider it a success.”
I wipe a tear from my cheek and smile at my man. I look at everyone, and they’re all watching us. My family is here sharing this moment with us. I place my palm on my belly and smile brightly. Myentirefamily is here, and I couldn’t be happier.
New Year’sEve
“Just one more push, baby. Just one more,” says my husband softly in my ear.
I could bite his damn head off right now. He thinks this is so damn easy. I’ve got news for him. Giving birth to a nine-pound baby isn’t for the faint of heart. I should’ve known Sam would produce giant offspring. When the doctor told us last week that our little bundle of joy could top out at ten pounds, I nearly delivered him on the spot. My vagina isn’t supposed to be able to squeeze out a toddler.
“One more push, MacKenzie.” This time it’s my know-it-all doctor talking.
I’d love to tell him to shut his pie hole, but he won’t listen.He’s got a job to do, I say mockingly in my head. I take a giant breath and bear down. I push so hard I’m positive I could have delivered a Plymouth. When I hear the loud cry, I look over at Sam and blink.
He looks to his left and then back at me. “You did it, sweetheart. You did it. You’re incredible. You… you’re amazing.”
I look at the doctor and see he’s holding up a—well, to be honest, a gross little alien creature. I’m sure he’s perfectly beautiful beneath all of the goo. I wait with bated breath to hear the words. We wanted to be surprised about the sex. “MacKenzie? Sam? It’s a boy!” he shouts.
Hearing the words out loud is overwhelming. I can’t control the tears that start to pour out of my eyes. I’m sobbing, and when I turn to my husband, he’s doing the same. He’s crying so hard I feel like I need to console him. I hold my arms out to come to me, and he does. He wraps his arms around me and sobs into myneck. “I’m so happy, Mac. You’ve made me the happiest man on the planet. Thank you.”
“Here he is, Mom and Dad.” Sam steps away as a nurse sets our son onto my chest.
“Well, hello there Franklyn Sean Stone,” I coo. We had names picked out. If we’d had a girl, she would have been named Madelyn Margaret after my mom and grandmother. Since it’s a boy, we’re naming him after Pops and Sam’s dad. It’s perfect.
He’s perfect. He’s got a lot of blond hair on his tiny head. It’s hard to tell who he looks like yet but I see he’s got long fingers and toes like Sam. His sweet little mouth is puckering like he wants to cry. That, he got from me. I smile at my husband as he lets Frankie clutch his big finger. “He’s strong,” he says proudly.
“Just like his daddy,” I coo to my baby boy.
Minutes after I’ve been cleaned up and covered up, we’re inundated with family as Valerie, Perri, Lauren, and Gill step into the room to see our little man.
“He’s beautiful,” says Nana Valerie. “He looks a lot like you did, Sam. But I see a lot of Mac in him, too.” She wipes a tear away.
“He’s adorable,” says Auntie Perri. “We’re going to have so much fun together, aren’t we, Frankie?”
They all knew the names we’d chosen. I was concerned someone would have negative comments about one or both of the names, but they all seemed to like our choices. “He’s beautiful, Mac. Just like you,” says my best friend. “You feeling okay? He’s huge,” she says, looking concerned.
“Nine pounds, ten ounces. I may have to have reconstructive hoo-ha surgery, but it was worth it.” There’s laughter all around me. The nurses are giggling, and even the doctor, who is still standing by, laughs. “What? I wasn’t kidding. This boy is ginormous.”
Everyone in the room laughs, and in no time, I’m even giggling. The noise makes Frankie fussy, so after hugs and kisses all around, everyone leaves except Sam. The lactation expert comes in to show me how to nurse. It’s harder than it looks, and not just a little painful. Frankie’s not sure he likes it. I hope we can both figure it out soon.
