I'd love to hear her ask me to take off her pants in any other circumstance, but here my sole focus is making sure she’s cared for and hopefully feeling a bit better afterwards. I grasp the waistband of her sweats, pushing them down and holding her steady as she steps out of them and into the tub.
I take a seat on the edge of the tub. We sit in silence for a moment before I lean over and get two pumps of her shampoo and gently rub it into her scalp. She relaxes into my touch, her eyes drifting closed. I probably spend more time than necessary to lather her hair, getting a little carried away.
“Do you want to brush your hair with some conditioner, or after you're out?”
“Probably with the conditioner.” Her eyes remain closed and she seems to be the most relaxed she’s been since I got home. I can’t help but feel a little pride over helping her to feel this way. After rinsing her hair out and then letting the conditioner sit, I run her hairbrush gently through her head, working the knots out and avoiding jostling her head around too much.
“You ready to get your body washed and then I’ll help you get to bed?”
“You are being such a mama bird right now.” She sighs at me, sounding exasperated. Her attitude coming back is a good sign. She pulls the drain before slowly standing and turning the showerhead on before shooing me and pulling the curtain closed. I relocate to the closed toilet seat.
“Maybe I am, but coming home and finding you sheltering in the dark while not having eaten all day warrants a little overzealous care for you.” I contemplate telling her that Sin will be here tomorrow before just spitting it out. “And Sin is coming to sit with you tomorrow.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Tate.” She sticks her hand out of the shower with a ‘give me’ motion and I grab and place her fluffy pink towel in her hand.
“I feel compelled to make sure you’re okay since I have some long days coming up. Just think of it like some bestie time.”
“It’s Sin. She’s going to be all over me.” I know and it’s exactly why I want her here, but Darcy doesn’t need to know that. The shower curtain flies open and I extend a hand, helping her step out before following her into her room. She heads over to the dresser, picking out a large t-shirt and a pair of black cotton shorts. Darcy pulling those shorts over her hips sans underwear is an image I store for later.
She rests a hand on the dresser for a moment. Fearful the lightheadedness just hit her again, I don’t waste time thinking. Reflexively moving across the room to lift her again. Pulling her sage green comforter back, I lay her down and tuck her in. Turning to leave, a small hand grasps my wrist and I pivot back to look at her.
“Stay with me? At least until I fall asleep.”
“Let me change out of these clothes.” I’m still donned in my white button-up and navy slacks from work today, not having changed before entering her room earlier.
“You’ve quite literally been inside me. I don’t think you need to be modest now.” She chuckles, “But if you want, your shirt is on top of the dresser. Just throw that on and lose the pants.”
“It’s more that I wanted to be comfortable laying in bed.” I wink at her, undoing my button-up and placing it where my shirt was. I shuck my pants off and place them with the shirt. I can feel her eyes on me the whole time, making my spine tingle. I try to flex my biceps a little more than necessary.
I slide into her bed with her, resting my back against the headboard and opening my arms to her just as I did a few weeks ago. Holding her is intoxicating. She snuggles into me, slinging an arm over my stomach.
“How are you feeling?” I ask her, keeping my voice low as I rub gentle circles on her back.
“My head is still pounding, but I think the shower and food helped a bit.” I feel her smile against my side.
“So, what do you want to do for the gender reveal?”
“I’ve seen a few viral videos where the parents have a cake made, then they each stick a champagne flute in and lift it at the same time. I feel like that’s easy and cute. Plus, we get cake out of it—who doesn’t like cake?” She continues, “Then, to share it with everyone we would make the video black and white and change it to color after our reactions so everyone could know if blob is going to be a girl or boy.”
“I love that idea. Do you want a boy or girl?”
“Truthfully…” Darcy pauses, briefly. “I don’t think I have a preference.”
“Yeah. Me either.” I imagine a mini version of Darcy running around, and that gives me heart palpitations. I can’t tell Darcy no, there's no way on this green earth that I would be able to tell a smaller version of her no.
“I think I need to rest. Thank you for caring for me even though you didn’t have to.” She says in a gigantic yawn.
“Goodnight Mama.” Within minutes her breathing evens out, and I tell myself I need to leave. To go shower and sleep in my own bed, but the lulling of her soft breathing has me closing my eyes and joining her in sleep.
Chapter13
Sleepy Voices
Darcy || 18 weeks pregnant, October
Iwake up to a warm body next to me and one toned, golden arm beneath my head. The other arm is tucked beneath Tatum’s head as he sleeps beside me. I know that I told him to go after I fell asleep but I’m glad that he stayed. I find myself studying his features, his dirty blonde hair sticks up in all different directions, his lips slightly parted as snores escape him, and his eyelashes flutter lightly as he dreams. I quietly lean up onto my right elbow to inspect his bicep tattoo up close. A cluster of roses, chrysanthemums, and daffodils sit along his bicep. Roses, I assume because of his mother's name. I’d also venture to guess that the other flowers might be his father's and sisters' birth month flowers. I’ll have to remember to ask him.
“Good morning, Mama.”
