Another Epilogue
Quinn
“How are you doing, Charli?” Dr. Greene asks from the opposite side of the curtain.
“Doing better now,” she replies, her eyes closed as she focuses on breathing.
They brought her down to the operating room and got her all set, while I waited in a small room right outside the main room. The spinal tap made her nauseous, and the anesthesiologist had to give her something to calm her stomach.
Now, the doctor is working to safely and quickly deliver our daughter.
Carefully leaning toward her, I watch her beautiful face as I whisper, “I need you to know, even though I may have agreed with you at the time, you were never some hook up to me, Charli. Never ever. You’ve always been the woman who owned me, heart and soul.
It might have taken you a little while to catch up, but now that you have, I want you to know I’m in this for life.
I know we haven’t talked much about what happens next, but I can assure you it’ll include my ring on your finger and you taking my last name. ”
Her eyes open and sparkle with unshed tears beneath the unforgiving light. “Awfully confident, aren’t we?” she asks.
“Hell yes, I am. Making you happy is my number one goal in life.” I press my lips to her forehead just as the softest cry fills the room.
“Congratulations, Mom and Dad. You have a beautiful baby girl,” she says, calling out the time on the clock.
“Did you hear that, sweetheart? You’ve done it. We have a daughter,” I whisper, kissing her tear-stained cheek.
“Can we see her?” Charli asks through her tears.
Suddenly, a little bundle of squishy cheeks and a button nose appears around the curtain.
She’s naked and screaming her little head off, clearly unhappy to be ripped from her cozy little cocoon.
The nurse holds her close to Charli’s lips so she can kiss our daughter.
She places her in the crook of Charli’s neck, letting mother and daughter touch for the first time.
Without giving it a thought, I dig my phone out of my pocket and start snapping photos. It’s the most breathtaking moment I’ve ever witnessed in my life. The two of them, mother and daughter. They own me.
“We need to get this little one cleaned up and do a few standard tests,” the nurse says. “I promise to bring her back as soon as possible.”
“Okay,” Charli mutters, sniffling.
The nurse whisks away our daughter, and I use my gown sleeve to wipe Charli’s tears away. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart,” I whisper.
“I didn’t do anything. I’m just lying here, strapped to a table,” she insists with a chuckle.
“You grew that incredible girl in your body. Don’t ever tell me you didn’t do anything. You just endured a major surgery, and you’ll spend your recovery taking care of an infant. You’re a fucking superhero.”
She smiles and shakes her head. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you,” I whisper, choked up on my own emotions. I let a few tears slip from my eyes, and don’t even bother to wipe them away. This moment is everything, and I’m not embarrassed to feel the weight of the emotions.
“Daddy, would you like to hold your daughter?”
I turn as the nurse approaches and places the wrinkly bundle in my arms. I want nothing more than Charli to hold her first, but I know that’s not possible right now. So, I keep her close, making sure the woman I love has a direct line of sight on our beautiful baby.
“She looks like a June.”
I can’t help but grin. “She does. My little June Bug.”
“June Elizabeth Garrison. She’s perfect,” Charli says. “I wish I could take a photo right now.”
“Let me,” the nurse says, taking the phone from my hand and snapping several first family pictures.
“I love you,” I repeat, holding her gaze before lowering my lips to hers.
Life doesn’t get any better than this.
The End