“I love you.”
Thea squirms in her lap as she finishes eating, and Lydia passes her to me to burp.
“Hey, pretty girl,” I say with a smile, smoothing the curls on the top of her head, resting her on my shoulder, and patting her back.
Here with my two girls, life feels pretty damn good.
EPILOGUE
LYDIA
FIVE MONTHS LATER
Thea shrieks with excitement in my arms, a giant, gummy smile spreading across her chubby cheeks when she sees her dad skating toward us. I hold her a little tighter as she tries to squirm away.
“Hi, ladybug,” Fletcher says, taking off his glove and squishing her cheek.
She squeals in delight, kicking her little legs.
“And hello, my Lydi-bug.” He pecks me on the lips, offering me a smile.
“I think she missed you,” I say with a laugh.
“Maybe a little.”
The coaching event he and Calvin were running today is nearly done, but Fletcher asked me to bring Thea out so we could have some time alone on the ice. We haven’t been able to skate together since that date night at the arena, and I’m looking forward to spending some one-on-one time on the ice with him.
Fletcher takes our daughter in his arms, and shesquawks happily. She loves her daddy so much. I think he’s definitely her favorite person, and I can’t even be mad about it. He’s my favorite person, too.
Fletcher adjusts her Minnesota Blue Herons hat so she can see better, and he shifts her so she’s facing outwards while they skate. She has on the cutest pastel pink fleece snowsuit, one of my favorite things of hers. I get a wild amount of cuteness aggression when she wears it.
Calvin bends down to smile at Thea, who giggles at her uncle. She loves all of her aunts and uncles so much, and they adore and spoil her.
We’re going to her first hockey game early next week for the home opener, and I’m so excited. The last five months have been so fun. Fletcher convinced me to take the whole summer off, and I went back to work only a few weeks ago. It’s been a big adjustment, and I miss my baby when she’s at daycare, but the daycare they have for the players is amazing. I feel good leaving her there every day.
Fletcher is the best dad. He’s a natural, and sometimes, he’s the only one who can get her to settle when she’s crying nonstop. She started teething the week I went back to work, and it made the transition hard, but even though Fletcher was in the middle of pre-season, he was up with her in the middle of the night for feeds or comfort whenever she woke up.
I haven’t spoken to my mom or my dad since that night in March, and I’m better off because of it. They were never going to change, and while I wish I’d realized it sooner, I’m glad I cut them off when I did. My mom tried calling a few more times, but eventually, I blocked her number. A small part of me is sad my daughter won’t know my parents, but it’s for the best. She doesn’t deserve to feel the pain I did,and besides, Ron and Dottie more than make up for my parents’ absence.
Thea squeals when Fletcher skates a little faster, but never too fast. They finish up the event, and I grab my skates from my bag, putting them on and lacing them up.
When all the kids are gone, Calvin skates toward me on the bench. “Have fun, Lydia!” he practically shouts as he races by me, not even stopping to say hi.
Weird.
Usually, Calvin will stop and talk your ear off or at least make some sort of joke. I wonder what he was in such a rush for.
With the rink empty besides Fletcher and me, I step onto the ice, the glide under the blade of my skates familiar and settles a piece of my soul. I skate toward my little family, my heart clenching when Thea gives me her gummy smile.
“Hi, baby,” I coo, taking her little hands in mine. “Did you have fun skating with Daddy?”
She squeals, and I giggle. Being a mom is one of my favorite things in the world. The first month or two were super rough; the lack of sleep and breastfeeding took a toll on me, but once we switched to formula and she started sleeping better, it got much easier.
“We had lots of fun.” Fletcher leans in for another kiss.
Our relationship has grown so strong, too, as we became parents. We always had a strong friendship, and when we started dating, it was natural, and while parenting brought different challenges, we took them in stride and leaned on each other to get through them.
We skate together for a while, passing our daughter back and forth. Fletcher gets me to teach him a new jump, and he lands it a few times, but only after many falls.
