Epilogue Two

Liam

I watched as the light turned red, easing down on the brake before looking over at Elena. She looked sleepy, and her smile was bright as she breathed in and out. Her hand was clutching my arm, and I reached over to squeeze her thigh as our eyes locked. “Ready for this, Mama?”

“Absolutely.” She’d sent a text to Marie and Ginger, who were both waiting as anxiously as we were and leaned back as she winced. “Lord, this hurts. I know I said I want to do it naturally, but I might give in to the temptation of an epidural. I can’t imagine how this must feel closer to delivery.” I saw the light turn green and hit the gas pedal as she held tighter to my arm.

“You do anything that you need to do,” I assured her as I saw the hospital a few blocks ahead. I never wanted her to go through pain voluntarily, to begin with, and I would never understand women that did that. The idea of seeing her screaming in pain made my stomach knot up, and I made it through another green light as I nibbled my lip. I was feeling so many things right now that it was hard to sort through the different emotions. I let out a sigh when I pulled into the lot and parked as close as I could before helping her into the hospital. A lot of people looked up, and once they saw her stomach, a nurse came forward with a wheelchair and the roller coaster ride had begun.

Elena was only dilated to two, so they set us up in a private room. It seemed like someone was checking on this or that every five minutes and I stared at Elena as they got an IV going and told her to rest up before the baby’s entrance into the world. I dropped into the seat beside her, kissing her hand as she looked over at me. “I love you so much.”

“I love you,” she replied as she frowned. “Whoever would have guessed that we’d end up here?” I saw a look in her eyes that took me back to the time when she wasn’t sure if I would be happy or not.

“I wouldn’t change anything apart from being away from you for a few months. I can’t wait to see her,” I told her softly as I held tightly onto her. Her phone chimed from the table, and I grabbed it with my free hand and laughed. “Aunties are getting dressed and on their way.” I looked at her. “Want me to call your mom or anything?”

“Text her. I think they’re gone, but you never know,” Elena replied as she smiled weakly. They’d been getting so much closer over the last few weeks, and I pulled up her number to let her know that the baby was on the way before setting the phone down. We took in the moment and the surroundings for a moment, cherishing this time to ourselves. We both knew that life was going to change from here on and I looked into her beautiful face for a long moment. “I can’t believe that there’s going to be three of us soon.”

“I know. I am going to be there for you every step of the way, helping any way that I can.” She smiled at me, showing me that she knew that.

Nurses came in to check Elena’s progress, and even Elena’s doctor stopped by to chat before the delivery. She made me proud with how positive she was and more than that, brave. Elena was everything to me, and I couldn’t help but stare at her as she spoke and laughed with everyone.

We heard squeals, and I braced myself for the arrival of Ginger and Marie. They burst into the room and hugged Elena in turn before jumping into my arms. It turned out that the three girls got along great and were close friends in the short time they’d known each other. I hugged each of them, kissing Marie on the cheek as she smiled brilliantly at me.

Everyone settled into seats and Elena smiled at us as her phone chimed. She reached for it, and her eyes lit up as she read the screen. “Mom and Dad are in the car headed here now. They might make it.”

“That’s good, baby,” I told her as I reached for her hand. I couldn’t stop touching her, and she gravitated towards me just as much. We were crazy about each other, and I think that showed when we were out together, though that got rare towards the end. I appreciated that we had friends that would help us as needed and give us time to be a couple since so much time had already been wasted while we were apart.

I think time started racing by once she started to dilate. Elena was just done getting her epidural at six centimeters, claiming that the pain was driving her crazy when he parents walked into the room. Elena looked at her mom as she walked forward to hug her tightly, whispering something into her daughter’s ear. Her dad stood back, holding pink balloons and roses as he watched the women in his life together with a loving smile. Something about this baby brought them all together, and after we’d all met for dinner and they saw how happy Elena was, it seemed like they wanted to be around more. The travel slowed down, and the phone calls increased, and the love that they had for Elena filled the room right now.

Ginger walked over to me, and I glanced at her. “She was so lonely when she started college. They were never home,” she spoke low and looked back at Elena and her mom. “Look at them now. You brought them together.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said as she laughed.

“You knocked her up, Daddy. It brings out the best in people.” Ginger winked at me as I smirked at her. Elena’s father stepped forward to hug her, making himself scarce once another nurse came in to check on Elena. He looked a bit pale, and I chuckled as he excused himself. The nurse told us that she was getting closer and the baby should be coming within a couple of hours, and people excused themselves to get coffee and stretched their legs, allowing me to kiss Elena. We snuggled together, whispering, and talking as we forgot about everyone in the room for a few minutes.

I looked up to see her mom smiling at us as she set up the flowers at the small table across the room. Elena looked a lot like her and I looked back at her as I stared into her eyes. We didn’t have long before she’d be delivering Alanna and our lives would be so different.

I thought back to the first time that I saw her and how much I was already drawn to her. I thought about the time we spent at the coffee shop, how beautiful and sweet she was as we got to know each other.

I thought about the first kiss and how she felt the first time I was inside of her. No woman had ever felt so sweet and perfect to me before Elena. The fear that we had of being caught by anyone the first time around was a bad memory as well as the way that we split up before I knew about Alanna.

It all came together in a rush of thoughts as someone announced that she was dilated and ready to deliver as my heart raced. This was it.

Her mom was on one side with me on the other as she pushed. Elena was strong and focused as she listened to the doctor, and I looked down to see my daughter’s head. I held onto Elena’s hand as I bent forward, marveling at the miracle that was happening before me. Alanna had a head full of dark curls, and as Elena pushed her out, she started to cry right along with our daughter. When the doctor placed Alanna on her chest, I watched as Elena saw her baby for the first time.

I knew that we were going to get married soon and that our life would begin, but for now, I wanted to memorize this moment. We were a family now, and I had never felt so full and happy.