Chapter 26
Ollie
You For A Reason by Warren Zeiders
The nurse comes in, smiling, with paperwork, and says the words I didn’t realize I’d been holding out on and was scared to hear. “You’re cleared to take your baby home.”
My chest loosens all at once. “Home,” I repeat, like I need to hear it again. She gets to come home with us. Having the social worker and the CPS worker here made it seem as if that might not be possible. And I’ll be damned if I’m leaving her here.
“We still haven’t figured out a name,” I admit. Something so important takes time. Most people have their entire pregnancy to decide, and I had just a few hours. I double checked, and the nurse said Madison didn’t give the baby a name.
“You’ve got time to decide on a name,” she says. “For now, she’s still Baby Kendrick in the system. Here are instructions on what to do when you have a name.”
I look down at our baby, swaddled and sleepy in my arms. Baby Kendrick. Holy hell. This feels so real. I feel like I’ve been in a fever dream all day.
“Do you have a carseat?” the nurse asks.
I don’t have anything, but I don’t tell her that because I want to take her home, and I assumed I’d figure out the rest later. I completely forgot the carseat.
“Yes,” Violet says from across the room. “We have a brand new one in the box that they can have. I’ll order another one. One perk of early nesting is that I have a nursery started and supplies to get you by until you get whatever you want.”
Walker’s already on his phone. “I’m calling Mack,” he says. “She and her friends are at the house and can bring things.”
“I’ll text her exactly what to bring.” Violet is texting, and her fingers are flying across her phone.
Walker ends his call and says, “Violet went a little wild buying baby stuff early. There’s a whole nursery sitting there doing nothing. I told them to load up everything and bring it here.”
I laugh, the sound shaky but real. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I can replace everything or pay you back.”
“I won’t hear of it,” Violet says proudly and shakes it off. “Consider it your first baby gift. I’m so excited for you guys.”
True to her word, Mack shows up not even forty-five minutes later. I head downstairs to help and stop short when I see the back of her truck.
It’s packed full of boxes and bags. A bassinet wedged in sideways, still in the box. Diaper boxes stacked like a game of Tetris. Stuffed animals and toys peeking out of bags in the backseat.
“Wow,” I say. “It looks like you guys robbed a baby store.”
Mack beams. “Violet told us to grab everything that would fit in the truck.”
“I think we accidentally grabbed a lamp that wasn’t supposed to be in there,” one of her friends adds.
“Thank you, guys. I have no words. This is so amazing,” I say, gratitude and overwhelm filling me at the same time. I don’t know why I thought I couldn’t do this. We do have a pretty amazing village.
I grab the carseat box and haul it upstairs to the hospital room, my arms full and my heart pounding. Walker helps me set it up, showing me how everything clicks into place. I nod like I know what I’m doing. I absolutely do not and I’m still scared as hell I’m going to mess this up.
Violet hovers the whole time, bouncing on her toes. “I can’t believe this,” she says. “I mean, I can, but also I can’t. Look at her. She’s perfect.”
Poppy’s standing close to me, hand warm on my back, steady and grounding. I glance at her, and she smiles as she cradles the baby.
“We’re really doing this,” I say quietly.
She nods. “Yeah, we are.”
When everything’s finally ready, the nurse wheels us toward the exit. I buckle Baby Kendrick into the car seat with shaking hands, double-checking every strap like my life depends on it. She looks obnoxiously small in the carseat.
Violet claps her hands. “Okay. If you need anything, literally anything, I will buy it. I love baby shopping.”
Walker nods. “She’s serious.”
“I’m so serious,” she says. “I’ve been waiting for someone to have a baby for me to spoil.”
I look down at the baby one more time, her tiny chest rising and falling, and something settles deep in me.
We’re taking her home. I don’t know her name yet. I don’t know what tomorrow looks like. But I know that she’s ours.
“Alright, let me get the hot dad walk on video,” Violet says, holding up her phone as I pick up the carrier to head downstairs to the warm truck.
“What’s a hot dad walk?” I say, wrinkling my nose.
“Just carry her down to the car.” Violet winks, and Poppy laughs.
“I am not thinking of my brother like a hot dad,” Cami grunts.
“I think he’s a hot dad.” Poppy grins.
I wink at her.
“DILF,” she mouths and winks back.
“Gross.” Cami pretends to throw up.
Poppy follows as I hook the carrier under my arm, and we walk to the elevator. My mom is at the nurses’ station watching, and she narrows her eyes at us. I turn and look straight ahead. She’s not ruining our day. She gets no attention.
We get home, and everything is hauled up to our tiny apartment, which is comical.
It’s a lot of stuff and covers the entire space.
Diaper boxes are stacked in the hallway, baby gear all over the living room, and piled up in the corner of our room next to the bassinet Walker has put together.
Jack meets us there and helps unpack. “Man, I was in meetings all day, and when I finally check my phone, you have a whole ass kid?”
I shrug. “Apparently. She’s pretty darn cute, though.”
Jack stares down at her. “Yeah, she sure is.”
Poppy and Owen are sitting on the couch, and there’s a knock at the door. Maggie opens it and says, “Dinner’s here!”
Cash, the manager from The Black Dog, brings in bags and takes out carriers of food and sets it on the kitchen counters.
“Congrats, man,” he says, clapping my back. “I gotta get back to the bar, but Walker wanted me to drop off dinner.”
I stare at the Army-level spread of food and try not to laugh. It looks like we’re feeding a small army, not two exhausted adults, a hungry middle school boy, and a baby the size of a loaf of bread.
“You’ve already done so much for us,” Poppy says. “But thank you.”
“Not a problem,” Walker tells her, deadly serious. “You’ve added a whole new human to your household. You need fuel.”
Everyone filters out, giving us space, and suddenly it’s just us at the table. The baby is asleep in the middle, like she called a board meeting, and we attended like her faithful peasants.
We start eating. Then we… stare at her.
Poppy murmurs, “I don’t remember Owen being that small.”
I nod. “Yeah, she could fit in a bread basket.”
“She hasn’t moved,” Owen observes, chewing his pasta.
My chest tightens for half a second. “She’s breathing.”
Poppy leans closer. “Her hands are fists like she’s ready to knock someone out.”
“Already mad about something,” I say. “Probably not having a name yet.”
We take a few more bites, still watching her like she might do something wild.
“She looks like a grumpy old man,” Owen says and then squints. “She looks like she’s judging my chewing.”
“I already love her,” I say quietly.
Poppy nods. “Same.”
Owen shrugs, “I love her, too. But I’m not changing her diapers.”
I laugh and glance back at the tiny human who just rewired my entire life. “Also,” I add, “I’ve never wanted a nap more.”
“Same,” we all groan.
Weston schedules the DNA test like he’s booking a dentist appointment, which is how I end up sitting in a sterile office holding a baby while a nurse swabs her cheek and tells me to relax.
“I am relaxed,” I lie to her face. There’s been nothing relaxed in me since I got to the hospital and held my sister in my arms for the first time.
Weston was great about filing emergency custody paperwork immediately in case Madison tried to show back up and take her. I don’t think she will, but then again, Madison just left her there. I don’t know what she’s capable of at this point, and we’re not taking any chances.
The baby makes a tiny, offended noise, as if she knows something suspicious just happened. I immediately apologize to her because she doesn’t deserve this. I try to think about how we’ll have to explain this to her someday, and it’ll break her heart.
Welcome to the broken parents club. You’re an official member, too. You fit right in with all of us.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I promise I’ll never let anyone bother you again. Except doctors. And your Aunt Cami. She’ll definitely bother you.”
Poppy squeezes my knee. “You’re doing great.”
I don’t believe her, but I nod anyway.
The doctor tells us the results will come back in a few weeks, maybe sooner, and then waves us out like this is all very routine. Nothing about this is routine. It makes no sense, and our whole world has been turned upside down in the past forty-eight hours.
We take her out to Cami and Jack’s and tell everyone to meet us there. By the time we pull into the driveway, it looks like a town event. Cars everywhere. Lights on. People are already inside and baby decorations are everywhere.
Maggie opens the door before we even knock and lets out a shriek. “Oh my God,” she says, clutching her chest. “They’re here everybody!”
The house explodes into noise. Violet squeals. Walker laughs. Jack claps me on the back hard enough to knock the breath out of me. Owen parks himself next to the carrier like a bouncer.
“Okay,” Maggie says, leaning in dangerously close. “What’s her name?”
My heart starts pounding. I look at Poppy and lean in, whispering it to her first because that feels right. It only counts if she says yes. We’ve gone over every name we could think of for the past few days and we landed on the perfect one.
Her face softens instantly. She nods and kisses my cheek. “I love it.”
I clear my throat. “Eleanor Grace.”
The room goes quiet.
“Eleanor,” I say, my voice shaking just a little. “After my grandma Wilder. Grace after Poppy. And her mom.”
Poppy squeezes my hand. “We’re calling her Ellie.”
Violet melts completely. “Ellie Kendrick,” she says. “You are going to be ridiculously loved by everyone.”
Maggie wipes at her eyes. “I knew this family needed more chaos.”
I laugh. “No, we don’t. But she’s worth it.”
Jack grins at me. “You look terrified.”
“I am,” I say honestly. “But I’m also really happy.”
Cami nods. “I’m so happy we get her.”
Ellie makes a soft sound, as if she’s contributing to the conversation. Owen beams. “She agrees.”
Poppy slides her hand into mine without thinking, and I don’t pull away. I lace my fingers through hers like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Like whatever line we were pretending to stand on before quietly disappeared.
I look around at the people filling the room. The noise. The laughter. The way no one questioned this for even a second.
I’m freaked out, exhausted, and overwhelmed. I’m also so in love it’s terrifying.
This is my family.