I head home, and when I pull into the garage Thea’s out of the car before it’s in park.
I grab our ice cream and head in after h
er.
I find her bent over Xael in the rocker, kissing the top of her head.
“Thanks, Mom.” I kiss my mom on the cheek.
“She was a perfect angel.”
“Did she take her bottle?” Thea asks.
“Like a champ.”
I set our ice cream on the counter and go to look at Xael. I smile when she wiggles in her sleep, kicking her little feet. I bend and kiss her head. I’m always amazed at how soft and fine her black hair is.
“I hope you guys had fun,” my mom says, squeezing Thea’s hand. “I’ll head out. I’m tired.”
“Thanks for doing this, Mom.” I kiss her cheek again and she smiles. “I’ll walk you out.”
I head outside with her to her car. There’s a small dusting of snow on the ground, but not much, thankfully.
“I love you,” she tells me. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.” I wave, watching her slip into the car.
I head inside and find Thea with Xael in her arms, waiting to go upstairs.
Prue runs up ahead of us and I take the baby from Thea while she changes and cleans up. She then takes the baby from me so I can do the same.
When I come out of the bathroom I find her in bed with Xael, and the baby’s awake, feeding.
I lie in the bed, stretching out, watching my girls.
Xael looks around as she eats. Always the curious one.
I lean over and kiss her head.
“Goodnight,” I murmur.
It’s just one night, among many, but they all matter.
Thea
Four months later
It’s been one whole year since I found out I was pregnant.
That’s crazy to me.
So much has changed in that year.
For starters, I got pregnant, then I got a job, we bought a second house, a new car, had the baby, I decided to quit my job, and all the other little things in-between. It’s been one wild ride, but if I could do it over again I wouldn’t change a thing. Not one minute of it.
I’m learning that life doesn’t give us more than we can handle, and sometimes what we think is impossible is exactly what we need.
I didn’t want a baby.