“Baby, how long have you been having contractions?” I asked her.
Through a few puffs of air she said that she started having a lot of back pain and cramping in her stomach early that morning but thought it was natural when getting so close.
“Plus, you said you had a surprise for me later and I didn’t want to ruin it or miss it.”
“You could never ruin anything and I will always make sure to surprise you. Now that you surprised me instead, let's get you to the hospital.”
“Auntie Capri, are you going to have our baby cousin now?” Peyton asked, as she and Piper ran up to us while I helped my girl out of the chair.
“That’s the plan,” she said to the girls right before she let out another moan.
Bodie came up on the other side of Capri to just be there if needed and we moved through the backyard toward the house.
Once we were inside, I grabbed our hospital bags, and we made our way to the car.
Gemma stood next to the open passenger door. “We’ll meet you at the hospital and I’ll call everyone to let them know that baby Brewer is on the way.”
All of a sudden, Piper slid around Gemma’s side, squeezing in close to Capri and managed to hug her where she sat in the seat. Pulling back, she said softly, “You’ll be okay.”
Piper was so shy most of the time but had gotten a little bit better. But when she spoke, especially about something so monumental, it really hit you in the heart.
I watched as a tear slipped down Capri’s cheek and then raised my gaze to my sister who had tears in her eyes as well. When I looked behind her at Bodie, he had a pained expression on his face. The family had come a long way but in times like the birth of a child, after the twins losing their mother the way they did, it still hit home.
Peyton spoke up. “Of course she will be okay.” She took her sister's hand and everyone moved back from the car.
“We’ll be right behind you,” Bodie said before closing Capri’s door.
Capri turned to me and I leaned over and gave her a kiss. I pulled back and looked into her eyes.
“Ready, darlin’?” I asked, flashing her a bright smile.
“Never been more ready for anything in my life,” she answered.
* * *
Holy shit,I’m a dad.
My wife was amazing. After twelve grueling hours of labor at the hospital, our baby girl was finally born. I looked down at the most angelic, sweet face and into my daughter’s blue eyes and I cried.
So filled with love when I looked at my girls, my heart was bursting.
“Is there any way you can see if my sister Gemma is in the waiting room and ask her to come back?” I asked the nurse who was currently fluttering around checking on Capri and the baby.
“Sure, Mr. Brewer. I will send her back. If there are more people waiting to see her, they can come back in small groups.”
“Thank you. I’m sure there is a full army out there itching to get a peek,” I told her, laughing.
As she left the room, I handed our daughter to Capri. “I love you two so damn much,” I told her, leaning forward and kissing her soft lips.
She laughed. “Even after I cussed at you and almost squeezed your hand off?”
“Yeah well, I didn’t know you were cussing at me since some of it was in Italian. For all I knew, you were confessing your love to me over and over again.”
“Sure, we’ll go with that,” she said in a teasing tone.
The door opened then and my sister made her way in with Bodie, Peyton, Piper, and their baby Dalton in the baby wrap on Gemma.
“Please meet, Italia Sophia Brewer.”
