43. Sully
Sully
“ H ey love,” I whisper softly as I smile down at my tiny daughter. Ten finger and ten toes and the sweetest little face I have ever seen. Six pounds of perfection.
I press a kiss to the top of her forehead, the fresh scent of baby powder overtaking the harsh antiseptic of the hospital.
Tia’s little eyes crack as she blinks up at me.
Tia Hope Murphy didn’t give us quite the scare her brother had. After a few weeks of bed rest the doctors decided it was time for a c-section. The whole thing went as smooth as any c-section can go, and now my wife is resting in the bed beside me and our daughter is lying in my arms.
Happy can’t possibly describe this feeling rushing through me.
Tia yawns and her eyes drift closed again so I glance over at my gorgeous wife, who’s sleeping peacefully.
The peace is fleeting. Cal will be here with the boys any minute now.
“Mom! Dad!” With a knight helmet on his head and a sword in his hand, T.J. bursts inside the hospital room .
“Shhh.” I nod toward his mum who is already stirring.
As soon as he spots us, T.J rushes forward. Quickly, I twist to keep the baby away from the plastic weapon.
“T.J.,” Lo huffs as she, Cal and Murphy hurry in after him. “We aren’t allowed to run.”
My son shrugs and drops his sword on the empty chair before he moves toward Sloane again. “I was excited.”
I reach out and catch T.J. with my free hand, stopping him from reaching his mum.“Be careful. She has a hurt stomach.”
T.J. frowns but he stays a step back, and I can see the concern on his little face.
“We’re excited to see you too.” Sloane clears her throat, attempting to get rid of the husk in her voice. “What’s with the costume?” Her eyes move from T.J to Murphy. She shift and then winces as she moves to give T.J. a hug.
That’s when I notice that all four of them are wearing matching pink t-shirts.
My son looks down at the shirt he’s wearing which announces he’s the best big brother. “Well Uncle Cal said we need to take care of the people that we care about and that sometimes that means doing things we hate.” He scowls and grumbles, “Like wearing pink to claim our sister.”
Cal beams. “I got you both shirts too. Best mommy and better daddy!”
I glance at the best aunt , best uncle, and best cousin shirts that the three of them are wearing and then glare at my brother. “Really, I don’t get best daddy?”
Cal shrugs. “We all know I’m the best daddy. Don’t worry though, we know you’re trying.”
A half scoff, half laugh breaks through my lips. My brother, the king of humility. Motioning to T.J., I say, “Take off the helmet and come see your sister.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot about the helmet,” T.J. mutters as he pulls it off his head. “We took a horse ride through the park to come meet the princess.”
“It was an adventure,” Cal explains as he wraps an arm around Lo’s shoulders. “The king and queen and their best knights took a horse drawn carriage just like in the old days.”
Murphy glances up at his father. “It was awesome until the horse pooped and it smelled.”
Sloane perks up. “Wait there were horses in the park?” She glances at me and my face settles into a frown.
“Yeah.” Lo leans into my brother, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “We were planning to walk and fight some trees along the way. Ya know get some energy out. But, this guy—” she points over her shoulder—“took one look at the line of horses and changed plans.”
Murphy shrugs. “So we didn’t get energy out.”
“But we had fun.” Cal and T.J. say almost simultaneously.
“That’s odd. I heard they didn’t do those horse rides anymore,” I mutter, standing up and offering my seat to T.J.
Lo giggles. “Oh, some companies say that to gullible schmucks to get them to ride the bikes instead.”
Sloane snorts and her eyes find mine. “Schmucks, huh?”
For a second I think about apologizing but then I stop. “Ya know what? I think those bikes can make for a perfect date.”
My wife’s smile softens and I know without a doubt she’s remembering our second first date. The pride of knowing my wife well enough to read her thoughts again warms my heart. We’ve come so far. And although I hate the pain we went through I can’t say I’d change where we are now.
“Dad! I want to hold her!” T.J. whines, drawing my attention back to him.
I bend down, and help T.J. adjust his arms before gently placing a swaddled Tia into his arms. The second she settles against his chest, my heart explodes. I blink hard. Across from me my wife’s eyes fill with tears.
A perfect moment .
T.J. blinks down at her. “Why doesn’t she have arms?”
Lo snorts and I huff out a breath. “There inside the blanket buddy.”
He shrugs. “Weird.” Then he shifts closer.
“I guess she’s kind of cute,” he says, and I think he’s about to press his lips to her nose when she lets out a miniscule burp.
T.J. rears back. “Ewwww. What was that?” He looks on horrified as she burps again and this time she spits up too. “Get it away from me,” he cries.
I grab Tia back as gently as I can before T.J.
throws her, but hardly have her settled in my arms before Lo swoops in with a burp cloth.
“You have to share, Sully,” she teases before taking my daughter and settling beside Sloane on the bed.
The two women whisper back and forth as they stare down at our girl.
I catch my brother staring at Lo, a look of longing in his eyes. “Ready to add to the family, huh?” I tease.
He licks his lips nervously. “She wouldn’t even marry me.”
“After two weeks of dating. Like a reasonable person she said no. I bet now she might feel different.”
He swallows but before he can say more the door behind us opens again and Brian appears wearing a pink shirt that labels him the second best uncle. Clearly, a Cal special. “I heard we have a cute addition for our awful apartment!” Brian jokes.
“No she pukes, that’s not cute.” T.J grumps before he sees the beverage carrier in Brian’s hand. “Slushies!”
“Yup. One for the big brother. And the big cousin.” He hands them out. “And one for the funny man.” He passes one to Cal and my brother completely lights up, all thoughts of Lola’s rejection to his ridiculous proposal months ago long gone.
Brian heads for Sloane, a tray of coffee in his other hand. “And for mommy,” he says, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “A tray full of caffeine as requested.”
“You’re the best,” Sloane mutters as she grabs one of the cups from the tray .
Brian sets the other tray down and then rubs his now empty hands together. “Now give me the little girl.”
“Ya know,” Cal says swallowing his blue sugar rush. “I think we need to schedule a session with Madame E.”
I send him a side eye.
“No really.” He lowers his voice. “Look at that guy. He’s totally ready for a new shirt. Maybe he can be tied for second best daddy .”
Even as I shake my head, I can’t deny as I watch my best friend coo down at my daughter that I see what Cal means. Brian might not realize how ready he is for his own happily ever after, but it’s obvious to the rest of us.
“I think we can make it happen,” Cal sings.
I glare at him. “Butt out.”
Cal laughs and shakes his head. He’s totally not going to listen.
Our women glance over, wondering what Cal and I are arguing about. Meanwhile, Brian ignores us completely and the boys play quietly in the corner. I smile, loving this moment with our little family. It might not always be perfect, but I wouldn’t change a thing.