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“I’m sorry I’m crying. Crying. Leaking. Just… a mess.”

I squeezed her knee. “Baby, that’s normal. Everyone will cry and that’s okay.”

It wasn’t far to the house. There, in the circle drive that now strangely felt like home, an odd mix of luxury cars and hauling vehicles awaited us.

“Stay there,” I said as I parked the SUV.

I raced around to Chloe’s side to help her down. She had a complicated recovery with her c-section scar and didn’t need to be twisting. With my help, she landed on the driveway and waited for me to free the car seat from the backseat.

Tom slept like an angel in a turquoise onesie Chloe picked from the massive stash of gifted clothes. It was one that Piper and Leslie bought. She couldn’t deny the joy it would bring to have him arrive in it, so in the diaper bag it went.

“You ready?” I held the car seat.

“As ever,” Chloe said.

As we turned to the door, I spotted both our mothers in the doorway. They fanned apart so we could pass, mooning over the baby. Both saw him in the NICU. In fact, Chloe’s mother was there seemingly whenever we couldn’t be. It turned out despite being a little hesitant as a mother, Elise was a fabulously invested grandmother.

“There’s little T-man,” Chloe’s father said.

In the end, we decided Thomas wasn’t a bad name. After all, Chloe’s father was a good man, and it seemed fitting. We went back and forth so much before he was born, that it somehow clicked the minute he was in our arms.

“Let them in!” Elise barked. “Come on!”

She parted the sea into the living room where everyone milled. Piper rushed us. She’d been at the NICU, too. I could still picture the first time she held him—in tears and as in love as I could imagine.

“Hi there, baby,” she said sweetly. “Can I please hold him? Please!”

“Give us a minute.” I deferred to Chloe. “Let us get settled.”

“You can,” Chloe agreed. “Until he reminds himself he wants to eat.”

She sat as I transferred the baby to her. Piper followed suit, sitting on Chloe’s left. Leslie sat beside Piper. Wherever Piper went, so did her girlfriend.

“Here,” Chloe gently handed over the sleeping baby.

“You put him in our outfit!” Leslie lit up.

“I thought it suited him,” Chloe said. “It was such a lovely gift.”

I sat on Chloe’s other side, taking in the sight of our entire family finally home together. I spotted Brynn plopping into a seat across the way. She was due in about two months with their baby—a girl. Thankfully, she and Felix included Piper in their planning enough that our oldest child felt seen.

Brynn smiled, slightly tearful. It was then that I realized she felt the same thing I did. Here was our baby meeting another baby. Here was our new family. It would grow again when their baby arrived. All I could hope was that we could raise all three kids in some sort of happy circle. They deserved that much.

“We will have to get him some boots.” Jerry plopped cross-legged before Piper.

“But will they be tall boots or cowboy boots?” Fernando chuckled. “Only time will tell.”

“You’re in team cowboy boots,” Riley said. “But I’m invested in tall boots.”

“In paints, you can wear both,” Piper said. “So, he can have some of each. But, let’s be real, I hope he joins me.”

Piper spent her spring and early summer showing every weekend on Fable. Fable’s owner came down the month before to give the pairing her blessing. We settled up two days ago, finally having some downtime after Tom’s surprise early arrival and Chloe’s medical emergency.

“He will be perfect either way,” Chloe brushed the tiny tuft of blonde hair on our son’s head.

“And he will wear a helmet every ride,” Piper shot me a look.

“Yes, yes,” I agreed. “Same as you.”