Bonus Chapter
Auden
It’s Storm’s thirty-second birthday today. We drove down to Campbellton for the weekend to spend some time with his family. Mostly for Frank to see the girls. Nathalie is seven going on fourteen; obsessed with nail polish and princesses. And our youngest daughter, Emma, is a quiet four-year-old who loves unicorns and sparkles.
We’ve really gotten into the swing of things during the past seven years. Storm has been amazing; truly stepping into the dad role. He stayed home with Nathalie until she was three, then we started her at daycare and I fell pregnant with Emma not even three months in. He’s the best father a wife can ever ask for. He did all the changes and tried to do the late-night feedings when I had a long day. But I chose to breastfeed both of them, and he still went above and beyond to do everything he could as I pumped bottles of milk and kept comparing myself to a cow. He laughed and told me time and time again I was the sexiest cow on the farm, and he’d be honored to eat me any time.
I went through postpartum depression after having Emma; something Storm had no idea how to handle. But when I sat in the shower and cried without reason, he sat with me, singing his country music until a smile crested my lips.
We made it work. Through thick and thin, we made it through everything.
We said we’d stop at two and let him get back to working; which he has. He rented a place not too far from Times Square and opened his bar called Auden’s Corner. His signature drink is the Tennessee Whiskey, which is nothing but Coke, maraschino cherries, and loads of lemons. It sounds disgusting, but it’s something I’ve craved throughout my pregnancies. And according to Millie, pairs well with vodka.
Work has flourished for me. Sean and I opened our own practice and it gives me the freedom to make my own hours so I don’t miss a single moment or have a late night away from my family. Storm was right when he said our life would work out. Everything would be perfect. And it is. It truly is.
I’m watching Storm run with our girls as Heath joins in; picking Emma up, holding her over his shoulder, and running with her through the sprinklers. Her cackles fill the silence. Rick and Maddison had another baby about a year after we had Nathalie. A little boy named Sturges, after their father. It’s lovely seeing the brothers together with their kids, a perfect, messed-up family.
I chuckle when Storm grabs Sturges and Nathalie, yelling as he lifts them and runs around the sprinklers.
Stevie places a hand on my shoulder, smiling as she watches our family playing in the water. “You all right, dear? You’ve been scrubbing the same dish for five minutes.”
I look down at the white plate with blue designs on it. The suds have completely washed away and I’m just scrubbing water at this point. “Oh, sorry. I’ve been watching them.”
She shakes her head no, shutting the water and handing me a dish towel. “I don’t believe that one second. What’s on your mind? You’ve been a million miles away since you got here.”
I have been, I know that. Storm and I have been busy with so many things lately. It’s a rarity to have this freedom to relax for a weekend. With Storm’s bar, my clients, the girls in ballet, and Nathalie in soccer, a free weekend is odd to me.
I place my hand on my stomach and breathe. “It’s just nice not to do anything.”
Stevie chuckles when Frank comes into the kitchen holding empty beer bottles. “How far along are you?”
I snap my head at her, heat rising in my cheeks. Frank smiles, coming toward us. “How did you know?” I ask her.
“You get this glow in your cheeks when you’re pregnant,” Stevie says right as Frank embraces me.
“Another grandchild? I’m up to my neck in them,” he says, kissing the side of my head. “Congrats, little lady.”
I try to force a smile, “I haven’t told Storm yet.” I run my fingers through my hair, that uneasy feeling sinking in my stomach. “He just opened his bar, I can’t let him give that up. I know he’ll want to stay home with baby like he did with our daughters.” I sniff, wiping under my eyes. “I’m thirteen weeks and I’ve had so much trouble telling him about this baby. I went to the ultrasounds and blood tests by myself. I even found out the gender on my own.” I shake my head, wincing at this comment. “We’re so busy lately, that I couldn’t see another baby come into this world. I feel so guilty for thinking about it, but I wanted to get rid of the baby at first. He’d never know and the stress wouldn’t fill our home—”
“Sweetie, hey,” Stevie says, pulling me into a hug. “You’re working yourself to the bone, but this time, Storm can work and you can take the time off. You didn’t take anything off with your daughters. Don’t you think you deserve that newborn bond with the baby?”
I sniff, nodding as I look outside and see that Sean has Nathalie over his shoulder, tossing her in the air. “It’s just…a lot.”
Frank touches my shoulder, rubbing his hand against my upper back. “You make it work, Auden. And once you tell Storm, this weight pressing on your chest will go away. You know it will.”
I release a shallow breath, smiling when Sean and Storm clap hands. They’ve become best buddies over the years; Storm saw the friend in him that he needed being away from his hometown. Sean helps out at the bar once a week, where they get to chat and Storm opens up quite a lot. He needed that camaraderie in someone who wasn’t me.
Sean working every Friday night is where he met his wife, Anna. She’s a fiery Latina who cooks like a queen. She’s perfect for him and we’ve become quite close, too. Especially when they had a baby boy four months ago. It’s surreal seeing Sean happy. It’s surreal seeing me happy, too. But holy fuck am I ever at my highest peak with Storm. I love this crazy man to death.
Frank taps my shoulder, taking the cake out of the fridge. “Let’s do the cake and you can surprise him with the news right after.”
I chuckle, smoothing out my loose summer dress. “The girls have a gift for him anyway.”
Stevie smiles, opening the window above the sink and calling out to the girls to come dry off. My parents already know about the baby. I told them right before we left on this trip. They weren’t able to make it, unfortunately. But Storm’s whole family is here. Rick is lying on the grass next to Lloyd, Maddison is chatting it up with Anna, and Denny is sitting back and smiling. Enjoying this moment. They’ve grown over the years, becoming brothers again. And got much closer the last four years when his girlfriend and I were pregnant at the same time. His daughter is shy, though. Sitting on his lap as everyone else runs around silly.
But this is our family. Our beautiful family keeps on growing into such brilliance. I can’t wait to see what this generation of children will bring us.
The girls run into the home, screaming as they do, and charge right for me. “Mommy, Mommy!” Emma says, body slamming into my legs.
“Uncle Sean threw me a thousand feet in the air!” Nathalie says, her arms open wide.
I chuckle, smoothing out Emma’s auburn-colored hair. “Why don’t we go dry off and get ready to give Daddy his gift.”
Nathalie takes Emma’s hand and brings them to the bathroom. I place a hand on my stomach, nerves eating away at me. I do not doubt that Storm will be happy, but we only have a three-bedroom apartment. We’re already up to our neck in toys and girl clothes; I’m still trying to wrap my head around how this can work. He just opened the bar a year ago, things are finally starting to pick up and he has a whole team under him. As for me, I have clients who depend on me. A company that Sean and I built that’s still fresh.
But when I hear Storm’s laugh moving through the soft breeze and trills of the insects, I smile. Maybe we can do this again. I’ll stay home with the baby, I’ll do all the things he did and still be able to work via Zoom. We can do this, right? No matter how hard things get, we always make it work.
Nathalie runs out of the bathroom first, wearing a t-shirt with “Big Sister” in sparkling pink letters that is tucked into a white skirt. “You think Dad will like our new shirts?”
“I think he’ll love them,” I say, turning her around so I can fix her wet hair into a messy bun. “Now go run out and tell everyone the cake is coming.”
Emma staggers out of the washroom, wearing the same outfit as her sister, only her t-shirt says “Little Sister” on it. “Mommy, I did it all by myself.”
I kiss her head, pull her wet hair into a messy bun as well, and push her along. “Go sit with Daddy.”
Picking up the presents I bought him; in one bag there’s an AppleWatch he’s been talking about for months, and a little blue onesie. Yep, blue. We’re having a boy. I paid extra to do certain tests to determine the sex of the baby. I know in my heart that even with my doubt about how this will work, we’re keeping this baby and giving them the best life like our girls.
I step outside, smiling before I look up. I feel his gaze no matter where I am, I know it’s on me. And as luck would have it, our girls are seated on his lap and his eyes are glued to me, watching as I make my way to the table.
“Hey, baby,” he says, dropping his head back so I can kiss him.
“Do you like our shirts? Look, Dad,” Nathalie says, pulling him away from my lips.
He chuckles, glancing between her and Emma. “They’re the best.”
Frank walks out of the house, holding the cake and everyone begins to sing an off-tune “Happy Birthday”. I don’t sing, I hold my husband’s gaze, biting my lower lip.
I know exactly how this happened. After having Nathalie, I didn’t want to be on birth control while I breastfed. So we were careful; condoms and the pullout method. Then Emma came, and we still were careful after giving birth to her. It came to the point where he wasn’t allowed to have sex with me unless he was wrapped.
But three months ago, Sean offered to watch the girls so Storm and I could have a night to ourselves. Sean would be up and at ’em anyway, because of his newborn, he figured he’d hit two birds with one stone and babysit.
Storm and I worked at his bar, something I love doing. Watching him in his element is beautiful. It’s what made me fall for him that stormy night. We were going to walk around the city when the shift was over and have late-night pizza before we headed back to the apartment. But as soon as the shift ended and we locked up, Storm had me pressed up against the brick wall of the bar, miniskirt at my hips, and his unprotected dick inside me; pounding roughly.
We made our baby boy that night, made him like we made our girls. Out of pure love; an unspoken bond that united us. It’s bliss.
Stevie starts cutting the cake as I leave another kiss on Storm’s lips. “Let’s open gifts,” I say, holding the AppleWatch out to him.
He adjusts the girls in his lap, pulling the white tissue paper from the bag and smiling. “Oh, thank you, baby. I wasn’t dropping hints or anything.”
I laugh, picking up the tissue paper from the floor. “You haven’t stopped talking about Sean’s watch. I nearly ripped it off his wrist and handed it to you last week.”
Sean cackles, bringing a beer to his lips. “You should say thank you to me. I’m the one who picked it up for you.”
I crumble up the tissue paper and toss it at him. “Shut up.”
Storm smiles, puckering his lips. “Thank you, baby.”
“There’s one more, Daddy!” Emma says, bobbing up and down on his lap. “It’s a special one from Nathalie and me. We made the card.”
My hands start to shake as I hold the bag out to Storm. He doesn’t notice, he’s too focused on our girls. And that’s okay, they’re our world. But Sean notices. He notices everything.
I place my hand on my stomach as Storm opens the card and laughs. “My God, that’s a lot of sparkles.”
I chuckle, taking a breath. Sean frowns, staring at my hand on my stomach and raising his eyebrows. Are you? he mouths.
I nod quickly, tears glistening in my eyes. Surprise, I mouth back.
His smile is everything. It’s that reassurance that things will work out.
Storm puts the card on the table and the girls jump off him, sitting on the grass to have a piece of cake. I haven’t moved. My feet are frozen, watching my husband pull the white tissue paper from the gift bag.
His smile drops when he pulls out a blue onesie that reads baby brother on it; face growing red and those green eyes shoot to mine. “Are you pregnant?”
I nod quickly, letting my tears flow. “Yeah.”
He jumps from his seat and captures my lips; his hands cradling my face. Our family is clapping, whistling, and cheering for us. Much like they were on our wedding day. The perfect moment. The perfect day. The perfect life.
I laugh against his lips, placing my hands on his chest. “This is a big surprise,” I whisper.
“We’ll tackle this like we tackle everything.” He kisses me again. “You’ve brought me back to life, babe. You’ve given me my angels and made me the happiest man this world has ever seen. And now, you’ve just grown my heart another size today. It’s the best birthday ever.”
I laugh, tears spilling free. “Our little boy,” I say, touching his face. “Our family just keeps on growing.”
“And I can’t wait to watch it grow by your side until it’ll be you and I watching our grand babies run around the yard.”
I wipe my cheeks, smiling at his beauty. “I love you.”
His lips meet mine and he pulls me flush with his chest. “I love the shit outta you.”
Sean wraps his arms around us, kissing Storm’s cheek, then mine. “It’s a boy!”
We’re laughing, holding our gazes as the hot sun beats on us.
The past seven years have been nothing but a roller coaster of emotions. And all the emotions bring us to this moment. The smiles and unspoken words we already know as we lock eyes. He’s my ending. My everything. We’ve come a long way since that stormy night and our life just continues to bring on surprises every single day.