30. Drake
Drake
I've had a splitting headache for the past three hours during this meeting dealing with some of the most pigheaded clients.
Still, they are willing to invest a lot of money with my company, so I have to put up with them.
As much as I want to send them away, I must take care of this before my paternity leave.
“The money you invest with us is in turn invested into smaller fledgling businesses,” Tyler explains for the hundredth time as the Richardson children look at us blankly.
They were raised on trust funds and allowances from their father, and when he passed away and they inherited the estate, they invested money to earn more money without having to work.
Normally, that's a valid plan, but you need some market savvy to be successful. Tyler and I have that in droves, but the Richardsons don’t trust us.
All I can think about is how I want my children to be nothing like them. I know I’ll raise them right. They won’t be spoiled idiots like these two.
“I don’t understand why we don't just invest in a business ourselves,” Nadine rolls her eyes as if our business model is foolish. “Why don't you tell me what business you're going to be investing our money in, and we'll just do it?”
I can feel myself losing patience, and I get up and walk to the lunch spread at the opposite end of the conference room table to refill my coffee and take a moment away.
Banging on the conference room door catches all our attention, and I drop my coffee cup, spilling it everywhere. Leonard is standing in the doorway, pushing his way inside with a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. I'm angry.
We have had our problems, and we haven't spoken over the past few months. He and Olivia are on good terms now, and when they are together, I choose to get out of the way. But to come into my business and cause a scene is something else.
“What are you–” I begin, rushing around the table to pull him from the conference room before he does something drastic.
“Olivia's in labor,” he cuts me off, grabbing my arm as soon as I'm within reach and dragging me away.
“What? This isn't supposed to happen right now.” I yank my arm away and freeze for a moment, shaking my head. This can't be. We were supposed to have three more weeks to prepare. The nursery isn't finished, we don't have nearly enough diapers, and I'm not ready.
Just the idea of holding my children in a matter of hours makes my heart plummet to my stomach. I'm going to be sick.
“I know this is a lot for you to handle, but you need to get your shit together,” Leonard demands, pointing a finger at me. “My daughter is in the hospital right now, and she needs you.”
I don't say anything; instead, I follow him out of the office and hop in his car to drive to the hospital.
My feet tap nervously against the floorboard of the car during the drive.
Every red light feels like it takes hours to turn green, and I almost jump out of the car and start running to the hospital to avoid traffic.
When we get to Olivia's room, she is pacing in front of the bed, holding her hands on her back to help with the burden of her pregnant belly. When she sees me, she loses it, and I run over to her and wrap my arms around her.
“I'm so scared,” Olivia says. I hold her close, petting the back of her head to soothe her.
“I am, too. But this is what we've been planning for. Every doctor's appointment has gone well, and they're healthy. The only thing we need to worry about is what to name them,” I say, bringing her back to the bed and forcing her to sit.
Over the next several hours, contractions begin, and I let her squeeze my hand as tightly as she can as pain radiates through her.
I hate seeing her like this, but there's also something beautiful about it.
I never wanted this, but here I am, next to the love of my life while she is giving birth to our children.
Callie and Leonard come in periodically, checking on her and making sure she has everything she needs. They even go back to the house and grab the bag she wanted to pack but didn't have the time to. The contractions last all night, and none of us leave Olivia's side.
Around 7 a.m., when everybody is uncomfortably asleep in the room, I tiptoe out to go make myself some disgusting hospital coffee.
I need an absurd amount of sugar to make it palatable.
On the way back to the room, I freeze outside of the door as Leonard stands there, closing it as softly as he can.
“Can we talk?” he whispers, nodding to a waiting room a few doors down. I follow him there, and we take a seat across from each other with the morning news playing quietly on a television behind us.
“What's this about?” I ask, more defensively than I intend to.
Leonard looks at me while sucking his teeth. “You've proven me wrong. I thought you would run away and have a change of heart, leaving Olivia to do this all by herself. I can see that you really do care about her.”
“She's everything to me,” I say, nodding my head slowly.
“We're about to start a family, and this is it for me.
I love Olivia, and I'll never do anything to hurt her or our children.
I understand you being upset, you had every reason to be.
But I promise you I'm not going to do anything to hurt her.”
“I know that now. I can tell that she loves you, too,” Leonard says with a soft smile growing on his lips.
“I know the two of you don't need it, but if you're happy, this has my blessing.
I'll need a little more time before you and I are on friendlier terms, but for the time being, we can at least be cordial for Olivia's sake.”
I need to get back to her in the room in case anything happens, so I stand up and hold out a hand for him to shake.
It took a lot for him to admit he was wrong, and I respect that.
I'll always have love in my heart for Leonard, and I hope someday we can get our friendship back. I also understand it’s going to take time.
He shakes my hand and we walk back into the room to see Olivia and Callie awake, sitting groggily next to each other.
A few hours pass as Olivia endures more contractions and exhaustion begins setting in hard.
Around 10 a.m., the doctor comes in and ushers everybody but me and her out of the room because she's ready to start pushing.
I stand beside her, massaging her shoulders and letting her dig her fingernails as deep into my hand as she needs to.
She screams and cries, desperate for the pain to be over.
When we finally hear crying as the first baby is out, everything in my world shifts.
That first cry is the best sound I've ever heard.
I laugh as joy overtakes me. Even though she's still in labor with the second baby, Olivia is temporarily distracted and looks up at me excitedly.
I lean down and I kiss her as the nurse swaddles the baby and puts it in the cradle to take it to the NICU.
“One more, Olivia,” I say, rubbing her shoulders to encourage her as she screams and shouts, pushing the second baby out as hard as she can.
It isn't long after when the second baby comes and Olivia collapses onto the bed.
“We did it,” she groans, her eyes heavy as if she could fall asleep right away.
I bend over and kiss her, wiping the sweat off her brow with a damp washcloth. “We did it.”
Since the babies are premature, they're brought to the NICU before we can see them. Olivia and I are restless waiting for an opportunity to hold our children for the first time. We don't even know their genders yet.
“Will you guys finally tell us the names? I'm tired of waiting,” Callie says as she and Leonard come back into the room.
Olivia looks at her father and squeezes his hand with tears in her eyes.
“If they're girls, we're going to name them Maria, after my mother, and Mae.” Leonard's lip quivers and emotion overwhelms him.
He covers his mouth and turns away to avoid crying.
“If they're boys, we're thinking of James and Jonas.”
Everyone gathers around the bed talking about how excited they are to see the babies, and Olivia is getting antsy. After a couple of hours, a nurse walks in the room and everybody perks up, excited about the prospect of finally seeing the babies.
“Are you ready, Mom and Dad?” she says, dragging a wheelchair into the room for Olivia to use.
I help Olivia into the wheelchair and walk beside her as the nurse pushes us toward the NICU. Then, we enter the room and meet our children for the first time.
Olivia cries as she lays eyes on them. My eyes burn, too, as the nurse delicately lifts a baby girl and places her into my arms. Two baby girls, each just under 6 pounds. All the fear I had before is gone, and all I care about is giving my daughters the best possible life I can.
“They're so beautiful,” I say, feeling the small hands of my baby. I take a seat in a chair next to Olivia, and we look at our children.
“This is our family,” Olivia says as if she can't believe the words. “It's so beautiful. I'm so happy.”
Tears stream down her face and she does nothing to stop them as she leans forward and kisses Maria on the forehead. I look at Mae and smile, seeing a future I never imagined ahead of me.
I can't wait to celebrate their first birthdays, and kindergarten graduation, and stand next to them in their prom dresses.
One day, I'm going to get to walk them down the aisle, and I can't wait.
There's a life ahead of me I never thought I would get to have, and I'm more thankful than I've ever been.
“I love you so much,” I say to Olivia as I reach forward and squeeze her hand. “You've given me the world today.”
“I love you,” Olivia replies, her mouth shaking as she tries to hold back more tears. I kiss her carefully with the babies in our arms. “I love our family.”