Epilogue 2
Isn’t She Lovely
“You were amazing, sweetheart,” I murmur against Charlie’s temple.
“She’s so much cuter than any alien or turtle, don’t you think?” Charlie muses, resting her head against my shoulder as she caresses our daughter’s cheek.
Charlie delivered our daughter an hour ago, and the last nurse just left. Now we’re soaking in a peaceful moment together as a family of three before everyone comes in to meet the baby.
“Can’t say for sure about the aliens, since I’ve never met one in real life,” I tease. “But she’s so much cuter than any turtle I’ve seen. Although she’s just as wrinkly.”
Charlie playfully swats me. “I can’t believe you just compared our daughter to a cold-blooded reptile.”
“In my defense, I did say much cuter than the others,” I counter, grinning.
I gaze down at the bundle cradled in my wife’s arms. Our daughter has soft rosy cheeks and tiny bow-shaped lips. I might be biased, but she’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen. Her little fists wave widely as she squirms, wrapped in the blanket Grams and Florence made for her.
I glance back at Charlie. “You still sure about the name we picked out?”
She nods with a wistful smile. “I’ve never been more certain.”
“Me either,” I agree, leaning down to kiss our daughter’s button nose. “Welcome to the world, Florence Jean Halstead. We couldn’t be happier to finally have you here.”
“Mommy and daddy love you so much,” Charlie coos.
We spent months trying to pick the perfect name, but could never agree on one we both liked.
After Florence passed, we talked about it again and realized we both loved the name.
It felt only right to honor her by using it for our strong-willed little girl, who already had a mind of her own before she was even born.
Still, we decided to wait until she arrived before making it official, and now that she’s here, there’s no doubt she was meant to be a Florence.
“Why is naming our baby easier than naming the cat living in our back alley?” Charlie jokes.
“Because he isn’t half as adorable as our Florence.” I shrug, running a finger along our baby’s arm. “She has an unfair advantage.”
“That she does,” Charlie answers as she draws our baby girl closer to her chest. “What about we name him Rocky? He’s scrappy and has that tough-guy energy.”
“I like it,” I say as I carefully adjust the blanket around Florence. “Speaking of, I’ll have Birdie stop by and feed him tonight since we’ll be staying at the hospital overnight.”
“Thanks for taking care of that,” Charlie replies, resting her head against her pillow as she looks at me. “I’m so happy, Heath. Happier than I ever thought possible.”
I brush my thumb across her cheek, holding her gaze. “Thank you for giving me the two most important things in my life. I couldn’t love anything more than I do my girls, and I’ll spend every day making sure you both know just how much.”
“We love you too, baby daddy,” Charlie whispers, tears glistening in her eyes.
I press a kiss to her forehead just as we’re interrupted by my phone going off for the third time in the past ten minutes.
Charlie glances toward the closed door. “We should probably let everyone meet Florence before Grams and Mama Julie storm the maternity floor.”
I stepped out into the waiting room after she was born to let everyone know the good news, and it was clear they were just as excited to meet the newest member of the family as we were.
A few moments later, as everyone we love most enters the room and fills it with laughter and unconditional love, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.
I thank my lucky stars that Charlie and I gave in to one night of pent-up chemistry, a moment that has since led to what I predict will be a lifetime of happiness and joy.