Epilogue
Augie
Adjusting to fatherhood took a lot of flexibility and pivoting.
In some ways, we had it easier than most because we already had messed-up sleep schedules.
Losing sleep because our little one was hungry was no big deal, in that regard.
The most difficult part for both of us had been leaving her to go to work.
Both of our businesses were in their infancy, and we wanted to keep the momentum going without missing out on her early days.
I tried to work while Dante was home and vice versa.
As difficult as that was, I wouldn’t change a minute of it. Every day was a brand-new adventure. Evelyn was constantly learning something new, and I was loving it.
The bakery was still thriving. At first, I assumed that the surge from the trending social media pictures would die down, but it hadn’t. We’d steadily increased our customer base, and now there were at least two of us baking every morning.
While I loved muffins and breads and cakes, I lived for making the cute treats, and that had become my full-time job in the morning. Giving up the other baking to Sierra also meant that I could start a little bit later, which was good for family time.
My favorite day of all was still Sunday, when all of us had off. Although, Evelyn didn’t like it if we didn’t go downstairs for at least a little bit. The bakery had become her home away from home. The staff and a few of the regulars were her family.
When we told Marty that she was named Evelyn Sue, I thought the man was going to cry, he was so happy.
He said the world needed more Evelyns, and we couldn’t agree more.
What was even better was that his wife was coming with him to the shop at least a few times a week now.
It was so she could see the baby, her namesake, and at first had visibly been a struggle for her.
It seemed less so recently. Marty said it was good for her to keep moving, even when it was a struggle, because it slowed the progression of her mobility issues.
At least, that was what his interpretation of the doctor’s advice had been.
It was wonderful to see her face, and our Evelyn lit up when she saw her adopted grandma.
This morning, Evelyn had taken to speed crawling.
She’d been crawling everywhere for a while now, but today, she was doing it like it was a race, and I was a little hesitant to bring her downstairs.
It was safe enough to crawl upstairs, but not in the bakery.
I knew the second we got there, she’d want to go down.
“Da da da,” she’d say, and it would break our hearts not to give in. No one warned you that saying no to your little one was painful.
“I think it’s Papa Baby Wearing Day,” Dante said, and grabbed his baby carrier. It was covered in dragons. I couldn’t resist getting it for him. It was too cute for words, and I was the king of cuteness. He put it on and picked up our baby girl. “We’re going downstairs, but you’re staying with me.”
She stuck out her lip. Our smart girl knew exactly what he was saying, but she didn’t complain beyond the pouty lips. Instead, she snuggled in close as he attached the clips.
I was introducing a new addition to the puppy-mousse case today—kittens, because people do love kittens. After some prompting from Sal, I’d been teasing them online and had gotten a ton of positive feedback for them. I wanted to be there when we opened to see how they were received in person.
Downstairs, after letting Evelyn greet Sierra, Sal, and the new guys, Dante went in front of the counter and sat at a single café table there with a sugar cookie for Evelyn.
It wasn’t ideal for her to be getting cookies, but she was a bakery baby, which sort of made it a necessity.
She sucked away on her cookie, and I helped Sierra box up the orders which were coming in faster than I’d dared hope for their first day.
“They’ll be gone well before ten,” Sierra said. “Good call on the kittens, boss.”
“Thanks for helping me tweak the tail.” Sierra had been learning all my tricks and teaching me some of her own. I wanted to give back the way others had given to me, and teaching Sierra the ropes felt like a step in that direction.
At the same time, I didn’t want her to ever leave. I didn’t get the sense that was her goal, but if it was, I’d help her find her next stop. I might be grumpy about it when she wasn’t around, but I’d never put obstacles in her way.
After the midmorning rush, Dante and I packed up the car with our baby bag and stroller and headed to the local play place.
Evelyn was at the “wanting to explore every inch and climb over every item” stage, and it was the perfect location for her to do that.
We didn’t have to worry about her grabbing something she shouldn’t or getting up too high there.
It was the ideal adventure for a mid-Saturday morning.
We had a season pass and tapped in with our card, taking off her shoes and then letting her go free.
She giggled the second she reached the floor. Just like she always did, she crawled straight to the garden, only this time at super speed. It was less of a garden and more of a play structure with flowers painted on it, but we heard a little boy call it that on our first visit and it stuck.
She crawled around for a while and then started her new trick, which was pulling herself up.
“It’s not gonna be long before she walks,” Dante said, standing behind me and wrapping his arms around me as we watched her go.
“Don’t remind me. If she can crawl this fast, can you imagine how quickly she’ll run?”
“Pretty sure it would be sprint-worthy,” he chuckled.
Then we watched as, for the first time, she let go and took a step—just one—and then she toppled down.
“That counts, right? That’s her first step.” I was so proud of her, but trying not to make too big of a deal of it and accidentally distracting her from her mission.
“It one million percent counts.” He kissed the side of my head. “Everyone at the bakery is going to be jealous they weren’t here to see it.”
“We should take a video, in case she does it again.”
We were officially those parents. We had our phone’s cameras out at the ready, waiting for her to take another step, which she did.
We filmed every second and couldn’t fire those videos off fast enough.
Anyone and everyone who was in her life got a copy.
Seconds later, our phones exploded with replies.
“I think it’s pretty safe to say that our sweet girl is never going to feel alone,” I said.
“It’s wonderful, isn’t it? That we can give her this life with parents who love her and surrounded by people who would do anything to keep her safe and make her happy.” There was a longing in Dante’s words, and I gave his hand a squeeze.
“Yeah, it is. But you know what else is wonderful?”
“You?”
“Well, maybe,” I said. “But I was going to say finding you.”
I came to the city to find my dream, and I had. But it wasn’t until I met Dante that it had been worth it. Sharing my dream with someone I loved and raising our family together… That was everything.
“Not as wonderful as it was finding you, omega mine. I love you.”
“And I love you.”