Forty-Two | Cole
Forty-Two
Cole
“Are you ready?” I asked, covering Lyric’s eyes as we stood outside of her new studio.
“Yes!” she squealed happily.
I grinned and nodded for Ben and Kara to open the door for us while Chloe stood with my parents.
“Alright, just a few more steps and then open your eyes.” I lowered my hands from her eyes, trusting her to keep them closed while I helped her so she didn’t trip and fall.
Lyric moved slowly as I guided her with my hands on her waist, loving how natural it felt. I got her lined up in the doorway, then pulled my hands away.
“Welcome to your new studio,” I said, letting go of her so she could walk inside.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered, walking inside as we all followed.
It had been important to Ben and Kara to keep this space a secret from Lyric until it was ready. Ben helped me with the physical labor while Kara and my mom assisted with decorating. The space would have been ready earlier, but Kara insisted on adding a few more things.
“This is beautiful,” Lyric continued, taking her time to walk around the room and appreciate every little detail that I personally would have missed. “I can’t believe you guys did all of this.”
“It was our pleasure,” I responded, kissing her cheek before walking to the side to point out a few things.
“We created this area for storage, but you can use it for whatever you’d like,” I said, pointing to all of the fabric that was neatly organized on the shelves.
“There are also a few garment racks that I got from Mr. Kelp in town. He had a clothing store that recently closed, so he gave me the racks and a handful of full-body mannequins. I thought they might be helpful when you’re designing matching pieces, so you can see how it’ll look.
There were a few kid-sized ones, so I took those too. ”
Lyric’s smile was bright enough to light up the room as she shook her head in disbelief.
We kept walking until we got to the other side of the room, where we had set up office space for her. I knew she didn’t have much to bring back from New York, so I purchased her an L-shaped desk with a built-in hutch for storage.
The gray wood created a rustic, farmhouse vibe, which suited the room. I set it up against the wall with the desk side facing the window so Lyric could get some natural sunlight while she worked. I knew how much she enjoyed it and wanted to give her a space that optimized her creativity.
She sat down in the plush office chair and ran her hand over the wood, admiring it.
“You didn’t have to do all of this,” she whispered while Chloe played with the mannequins under the supervision of my parents.
“We wanted to.”
She lifted a shaky hand and wiped at her eyes, clearing the tears that had started forming.
“This is amazing. I’ve never had this nice of a workspace before.” She laughed and looked up at me. “Thank you so much. I love it.”
We walked through the rest of the space while Kara and Ben took over the tour, pointing out little things they had helped with. Just as we were about to leave, Lyric stopped at the large, full-length mirror and stared at it.
I hadn’t seen what she was looking at until I stepped closer and noticed a cluster of pink butterfly stickers hidden at the top corner of it. Lyric lifted her fingers and gently touched them, tears welling in her eyes again.
“I’m sorry,” Kara rushed out, panic etching her face as she noticed Lyric crying. “I thought they would be a fun touch because I know how much you love butterflies, or I thought you did. I can take them off—”
“No,” Lyric said quickly. “Please don’t take them off. I love them.”
Kara nodded, her lower lip beginning to tremble.
“I just thought because you have a tattoo of them that maybe they were special to you...” Kara replied, letting her voice drop.
I frowned because I didn’t know anything about this tattoo, yet I had seen Lyric’s naked body plenty of times recently.
“You have a tattoo?” I asked, knowing this wasn’t the time to ask, but I couldn’t help myself.
Lyric nodded, then slowly lifted her shirt, revealing six small pink butterflies tattooed on her ribs. I leaned forward and took a closer look, surprised I hadn’t seen it before.
“You’re usually distracted with other stuff,” Lyric whispered so only I could hear.
My cheeks split into a grin because she was right, I was usually focused on sucking her nipples or working my way down her body to eat her out. Still, I couldn’t believe I had missed something so significant and that meant so much to her.
“I got it when I moved to New York,” Lyric said, loud enough for all of us to hear. My parents walked over and stood beside Ben as they listened. “Each of the butterflies represents a baby that I lost.”
A sad silence filled the room, only to be broken by Chloe as she frowned in confusion.
“Were you playing a game?” she asked.
“No, sweetie,” Lyric said. “These were babies that were so special, they were taken straight to heaven.”
“Oh,” Chloe replied with a shrug before she ran off to play by herself.
“I’m so sorry,” Kara said, eyes wide with horror. “I didn’t mean to make you sad or remind you of—”
Lyric rushed over and pulled Kara into her arms as she held her. I could hear both of them crying, but we all gave them space while they comforted each other. Lyric pulled away slightly so she could see Kara’s face before she spoke.
“Please don’t be,” Lyric replied gently. “This was such a sweet and thoughtful gesture. I love it so much.”
“I don’t want to make you sad or remind you of what you’ve lost.”
Lyric shook her head and I noticed the serenity on her face when she spoke.
“I got a tattoo that I see every single day when I get ready. Trust me, sweetheart, I don’t mind the reminders of my babies. I think about them often, whether I want to or not. If anything, this just gives me another way to honor and remember them.”
“Okay,” Kara said with a bit of reluctance. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m very sure. Thank you for thinking of me and for doing something so special.
” Lyric kept her arm around Kara’s shoulder as she turned to Ben.
“Both of you have shown me so much love with what you’ve done for me.
Thank you so much for all of this. It’s amazing, and I can’t believe I have such an incredible space to work in. ”
Lyric held out her other arm, inviting Ben in for a hug, which he quickly accepted.
It was beautiful to see them come together to support one another, especially since Lyric had been so worried she wouldn’t know how to raise them. In just a few months, she had practically mastered it better than I could have.