17. Juniper
Juniper
The first time Juniper held her son in her arms, her whole world tilted on its axis.
She had loved him already, more every day as he grew and moved. But holding him in her arms and seeing his dear little face, looking into his newborn-gray eyes… that was something else entirely. She was floating on a cloud of oxytocin that hadn’t diminished in the days since his birth.
A heavenly smell filled the house as she dozed: buttery crust and rich chicken broth. She gathered her sleeping baby in one arm and made her way out to the kitchen, where Cody stood washing dishes at the sink.
“You’re awake!” he grinned at her over his shoulder and turned off the water.
“One of us is.”
“Our little Petrichor is snoozing, huh?”
“Absolutely not.”
Cody chuckled. “You don’t like it?”
“Great word. Terrible name.”
“It’s a great name!”
“Veto.”
“We could call him Pete! Or Petra!”
She laughed. “No.”
“Yeah, it was a long shot.” He reached out and put his hands beneath their son, who Juniper transferred carefully into his arms. “The chicken pot pies just came out of the oven, but you can dig into one of them now if you’re careful.”
Juniper’s stomach rumbled as she crossed the kitchen to regard the two gorgeous golden pies on the counter. She picked up a fork and poked a hole in one of them, releasing a vent of aromatic steam.
“Your mother taught you well.”
“My grandma gets credit for this one, actually.”
“Thank you, grandma.” Juniper blew on a piece of crust and bit off a corner. The nourishing taste of chicken gravy flooded her senses. “Wow. This is phenomenal.”
His grin lit up the room. “Glad you like it.”
She marveled at him. Their baby rested comfortably on Cody’s chest as he rocked slowly back and forth, both hands cradling their son. His sandy blonde hair was getting long again, all tangled and tousled around his ears, and his smile was as warm as sunshine.
“How do we feel about Sage?” She picked up a potholder and moved the pie to the table.
“As an ingredient or a name?”
“A name.” She speared a hunk of carrot with her fork and blew the steam off of it.
He hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t hate it.”
“Is it weird that Petrichor is kind of growing on me?”
Cody beamed. “The power of grandma’s chicken pot pie.”
“You keep feeding us this well, and you can call him whatever you like.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that.”
Maybe-Petra let out a mewling cry, and Jun’s blood pressure spiked.
“Is he hungry?” Cody asked.
“I just fed him.”
“I’ll go change his diaper. You eat.”
He carried their baby into the bedroom, and Jun took another bite. She looked at their long list of baby names while she ate, waiting for one of them to jump out at her, but none did. Nothing seemed quite right for their brand-new human.
She had eaten half of the chicken pot pie by the time Cody came out again, this time sans baby.
“A clean diaper and he went right back to sleep.”
“What a trooper.” She slid the pie towards him. “You hungry?”
“No, I’m alright.” He gestured to the couch. “Sit with me a while?”
“Sure.” She sat beside him and leaned into the circle of his arm.
It was the first time in days – ten months, really – that she hadn’t been right next to their baby, and that felt odd. Not bad, though. Being just the two of them for a moment, their baby sleeping peacefully in the next room, felt deeply nourishing.
Cody stroked her hair, lulling her almost to sleep.
“Hey Jun?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t want to go back to my cabin at the ranch.”
“Okay,” she said sleepily.
“Like, ever.”
“Good.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” He was quiet for a moment; his heart raced beneath her ear. “And I think we should get married.”
“What?!” She sat up so fast that her head collided with his jaw.
Now wide awake, she looked into his eyes. There was an intensity there that she had never seen before, love and determination tinged with fear. His hands gripped hers.
“Marry me, Jun.”
She was so surprised that she laughed. Then she clamped a hand over her mouth, scared that she’d hurt his feelings. Her eyes were stuck wide as she stared at him.
“We both turn eighteen next month. And whatever comes our way, whatever surprises are ahead… I’m sure of you, Jun.
I’m all in.” He squeezed her hand in both of his.
“You, our son… there’s nothing more important to me than our family.
I know that we both have a lot more growing to do, and things that we want to accomplish, but I want to do that with you. What do you say?”
“Yes.” She didn’t even have to think about it.
“You mean it?” He held her hand tightly, and tears shone in his eyes – which of course made her cry too.
“Of course I mean it.”
He took her face in both hands and kissed her passionately – a moment later, the baby cried. They broke apart with a laugh, and Juniper was on her feet in an instant.
They both walked into the room, where Juniper scooped their baby up off of the bed and put him to her breast. Cody stood just behind her, his chest warm against her back. The soft scruff of his jaw brushed her cheek as he looked down at their baby.
“Look what you made,” he said, breathless with awe.
“He made himself,” she reminded him.
“Out of your blood and bone.”
“That’s very dramatic,” she said, but her voice was warm.
“Blame the thousand epic fantasy books I read growing up.”
“I’ll do that.”
They were quiet for a moment, just gazing at their son.
Cody wrapped his arms around both of them, holding them up. Juniper leaned into him, admiring the muscles he had earned through a lifetime of farmwork.
Behind her, he sighed in contentment. “My family.”