Wednesday a little after nine-thirty a.m., Merit stood beside Mae as she hugged Ian with his back to her chest while they watched Maverick through the glass.
“He’s so little,” Ian said in awe.
“He’ll grow, Scoob. Just like you did.”
“How big was I?”
“Six pounds, five ounces. I’m getting used to you little guys.”
“He looks funny.”
“So did you,” she teased. “Like a wrinkly little alien.”
He giggle-snorted. “I did not look like an alien.”
Merit smiled as Mae shot him a grin. Then she dipped down to rest her chin on Ian’s head. “Hey, Merit and I wanted to tell you something.”
“What?”
Merit’s pulse skipped as she said to Ian, “He asked me to marry him, and I said yes. That means the four of us will be a family together. You okay with that?”
He spun around, eyes wide as he looked from Merit to his mom. “Really?” Mae nodded, and Ian suddenly fixed a very serious gaze on Merit. “Does that mean you’ll be my dad, too?”
His breath hitched at the direct question. Mae found and squeezed his hand as he gave Ian a hopeful smile. “If you want me to, yes, I would love to be your dad.”
Ian launched himself forward, and Merit caught him mid-leap. As the boy’s skinny arms wrapped tight around him and he buried his face in his neck, Merit reached blindly to draw Mae into the wet, messy embrace.
He ignored the nurses moving around them, didn’t care one bit if any of them saw him crying. He was proud of his family and the love he had for each and every one of them.
*****