Epilogue
Charlie
Three years later…
“Daddy, are we going to see the new baby now?” our precious Marley asked.
“Yes love, as soon as Papa gets the car seat in and we put Maxy away. Come on, Marley, let’s bring him inside,” I told our four-year-old daughter as she raced me to the back door to let her puppy back in.
“Come on, Maxy boy,” she called to our two-year-old fawn boxer we’d adopted from Northwest Boxer Rescue last summer.
Maxy sidled up beside her, bathing her in doggie kisses while his nub ran wildly behind him. Her laughter made the dog drool I was constantly cleaning up worthwhile.
As I finished drying the Seattle rain from Maxy’s coat, Alex came back in. “Come on, you two, Sydney’s in labor.”
“We’re coming, Papa,” Marley told him.
He scooped her up in his arms, blowing raspberries on her tummy, and the sound of her laughter echoed through the house. How I thought for a single moment I didn’t want children was beyond me. Marley was one of the best things that ever happened to us.
“Alex, why don’t you put her coat on while I finish up with Maxy,” I asked, tossing the wet towels into the washing machine.
“Come on, baby girl. Grandma and Grandpa are going to beat us there if we don’t hurry,” Alex told her.
“Wait, Papa, I need to get Tigger. He wants to meet Austin too.” She headed up to her room, returning with her favorite stuffie.
We spent the first year after our honeymoon remodeling the house. Once we decided to start a family of our own I wanted everything to be perfect for the little one.
Shortly after we adopted our sweet Marley Anne.
She was our second anniversary gift to each other.
We chose to have our second child via a surrogate named Sydney Crawford.
Alex insisted we use my sperm, so I’d no longer be the last of my bloodline.
He had no idea how much that meant to me.
He always put my thoughts and feelings first.
We followed Sydney’s pregnancy like hawks, taking her to every appointment she had, and found out we were having a boy at her three-month ultrasound.
And now, Austin Lee was coming into the world today at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, and we couldn’t be happier.
Marley has been asking for him daily since she saw his sonogram pictures.
We let her choose what color to paint his room and what theme to decorate it in.
She picked a light, baby blue and, of course, Pooh and friends for the décor.
Marley was so excited each time we went shopping for something new for little Austin.
And his room was perfect, filled with love.
Marley didn’t have a great start to life.
She was born to a mother who was an addict, but somehow our little princess survived the first two years of her life on the streets.
When her mother passed away from a heroin overdose, she became a ward of the state.
Luckily, our adoption case manager worked alongside child protective services and told us about her right away.
We’d already completed the necessary paperwork months before and sat on the list waiting for a toddler.
When we first met her, it was love at first sight.
She was frail and thin, malnourished and undersized for a two-year-old, and skittish.
All we wanted to do was hug her and take away the pain we saw behind her big brown eyes.
Little by little, she came around, and every day I was thankful I’d decided to stay home full time.
The more we worked with her, the more she came out of her shell.
We’d never know what she experienced while living on the streets with her mother.
She barely spoke when she came to us and what few words she said you couldn’t quite understand.
Now, at the age of four, she was more than ready to start kindergarten in the fall as she’d be five in June.
She knew her ABCs and could write her name and count to twenty without stumbling. Marley was truly a remarkable child.
As we pulled into the parking garage at the hospital, we spotted Mom and Dad at the same time Marley sang, “Daddy! Papa! There’s Grandma and Grandpa.”
We had barely parked before Mom opened the back door and whisked her granddaughter out of the car seat and into her arms. “Are you ready to meet your baby brother, sweet girl?”
“Yes.” She turned to Alex. “Papa, did you bring Pooh for him?”
“Silly girl, of course I did. He’s in the diaper bag.” He patted the bag on his shoulder. She had us put it in the bag the day she picked it out.
We stopped at the gift shop to get Sydney a bouquet of flowers before taking the elevator up to the maternity ward. After checking in, we were guided to the waiting room and informed she was still in labor. Three hours later, a nurse appeared.
“DuBois-Travers family?” she asked.
Everyone stood. “That’s us,” Alex told her.
“Would you like to meet your son?” She smiled, and we nodded. “Follow me.”
She took us to the glass window that divided the nursery from the hallway and pointed. “Second row, third one in. Alex and Charlie, if you will both come with me, we’ll get you suited up, so you can hold your son.”
We handed the diaper bag and flowers to Dad, following closely behind the nurse through a set of doors. After washing and gowning up, we were taken to our son. She picked him up and placed him in my arms..
“He’s beautiful,” Alex said, wiping the tears from my face before they landed on the blanket our son was swaddled in.
“Yes, yes he is. Hello, Austin Lee, we’re your daddies.” Unfocused eyes stared blankly back at me, but he didn’t cry.
“How’s Sydney doing?” Alex asked the nurse.
“She’s resting now. Ten hours of labor will drain you.
Austin was eight pounds, four ounces, and is twenty-two inches long.
You have a very healthy boy there. The doctors will monitor his vitals tonight, and you’ll be able to take him home in the morning,” she told us while tending to another crying newborn.
“He’s a blondie, just like you, Charlie. I hope he has your curls,” Alex said, skimming his fingertips along the baby’s head. “Walk him over to the glass so everyone can see him.”
We walked the few steps to the front where Marley had her tiny face pushed up against the glass.
Mom was crying, and Dad was close to the same.
Our little family had grown leaps and bounds over the last couple of years.
No longer did I feel alone or unloved. Not that Alex ever made me feel that way, but not having my own family around left me with an empty feeling.
A feeling that had long since left me, as my heart was filled with a love that sated me like no other.
After Alex took his turn holding Austin, we handed him back to the nurse for his feeding before going to see Sydney.
She was still sleeping, so we left the flowers on her bedside table, but as we were leaving, she woke.
We both hugged and kissed her telling her what a great job she did and let her know he was perfect.
She thanked us, too, as our financial contribution for her surrogacy helped make her dreams come true as well.
The next morning, Mom and Dad showed up with bagels and coffee. “Thought you two could use a java fix and figured we’d stay here with Marley while you went to pick up Austin,” Dad said, handing Marley the chocolate milk they got her while Mom put her in her booster chair at the dining table.
“Very thoughtful,” I said, desperately needing the glorious caffeine infused nectar.
“Good morning,” Alex said as he walked into the kitchen and kissed the top of Marley’s head. “The hospital just called and said we can pick up Austin at ten.”
“Yay!” Marley cheered. “Brother Austin is coming home to play with me.”
“Yes, sweetheart, a brother just for you.” I didn’t have the heart to tell her it’d be a while before he could play. But she’ll figure that out on her own.
The trip to the hospital was filled with excitement, I rattled off everything I thought we’d forgotten to get, only to be corrected by Alex telling me we hadn’t.
“Calm down, babe, it’s under control. We have a mountain of diapers and enough cans of formula to feed a baby army.” He patted my knee.
“Sorry, you know what a control freak I am.” I linked my fingers through his. “Our family is complete.”
He squeezed my hand. “Yes, my love, it is.” He kissed my knuckles as we parked in front of the hospital entrance.
When we got to the maternity wing, we were told that Sydney had already left and that our son had been changed, fed, and was ready to go. I was sad we didn’t get to say goodbye and hug Sydney, but I had a feeling it might be hard for her to say goodbye to Austin.
We picked him up, gently placing him in the carrier before saying goodbye to the wonderful nursing staff in that ward. No one had any issues, at least not visibly, about two men taking their son home.
Austin slept all the way home, but once he was greeted with multiple voices, his little ears perked up. We sat the carrier down so Marley could get a good look at her brother. She ran to the diaper bag, pulled out Pooh bear and sat down beside him.
“Hello, Austin. I’m your big sister Marley, and this is Pooh.” She wiggled the bear in front of him. Confusedly, he stared back at her. She looked between me and Alex. “Why doesn’t he talk, Daddy?”
“He’s just a baby, sweetie. He hasn’t found his voice yet,” Alex told her.
“Is it lost? I can help him find it,” she replied.
“Oh, we have no doubt you will, love,” I told her, laughing to myself. “But for now, sweetie, we’ll have to be very quiet, so he can sleep. Babies need a lot of sleep, so they can grow up to be big like you.”
“Ssshhh,” she put her finger to her lips. “I’ll be quiet, baby,” she told Austin.
Everyone took turns holding him and snapping pictures. I glanced around the room, the walls decorated with photos we’d taken over the years. Alex and me in high school, college, our wedding, the Bali honeymoon, Marley, and now we’d have pictures of Austin to add to our collection.
I picked up a photo of Alex and me with Adrianna, the memory of the moment still fresh in my mind. We’d taken her to the Seattle Aquarium that day. As I placed it back on the shelf, Alex came up behind me and slid his arms around my waist. “We’re complete, my love.”
Leaning back, I tilted my head to the side, our lips mere inches apart. “Yes, we are.”
He met me in the middle for a kiss when a little voice started singing, “Ooh, you guys are kissing. Daddy and Papa sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G.”
The eruption of laughter startled Austin, and Mom scooped him up, cradling him in her arms, singing until he calmed down.
“Well, pretty soon, spelling naughty things to each other will be a thing of the past,” Dad warned.
I had no idea who taught her to spell kissing, but obviously it was something she wasn’t going to forget.
Mom and Dad spent the day with us, and we all took turns feeding and changing Austin.
Mom whipped up a potato salad while Dad grilled burgers for dinner.
Marley missed naptime so after her tummy was filled, she fell asleep in her booster chair.
Alex carried her upstairs and we gave her a quick bath before putting her to bed.
After dinner was cleaned up, Mom and Dad left, and Alex and I plopped down on the couch to watch a bit of mindless TV while we wound down. The opening story on the news, which we rarely watched, caught our attention:
“Breaking news tonight. Local museum curator Nolan Bradley has been missing for six months. Mr. Bradley is most notably famous for bringing indigenous artifacts back to the Seattle museum where they’re currently on display.
His assistant said he’d been coming and going for a while now, but that this was the longest he has been gone for.
If anyone sees him or knows of his whereabouts, you’re urged to contact the Seattle Police Department. ”
Alex and I stared at each other, both our mouths hanging open. “Do you think?” he asked me.
I swallowed hard, shaking my head. “Only time will tell.”