“I don’t think my body’s quite ready for this,” I said.
Bryan smirked into my shoulder as he pulled away. And not a moment too soon because Little Johnny started crying.
“I think someone’s hungry,” I said.
“Well, why don’t you break-in your chair out on your balcony?” Bryan asked. “You could wrap Johnny up in a blanket and have your privacy while enjoying the view.”
I shook my head in astonishment before I leaned up to his lips and kissed him again.
“Plus, it’ll give you that alone time. Anna and my parents are picking up the last of the boxes from our old home and bringing them here. So there will be some commotion. But you’ll be protected from it back here,” he said.
“I just have one question,” I said.
“What’s that, beautiful?”
“Where’s our room?”
“Down this hallway, there’s a door on your right just before you hit the corner where Johnny’s bedroom is. That’s us. We aren’t too far away, but we’re far enough to feel like we have our own space. And our bathroom is attached to the bedroom. It’s also fully-stocked like Johnny’s.
“You mean we have a jet tub too?” I asked.
“And a walk-in shower,” Bryan said.
I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him one last time. Then, I took Johnny from him so I could start feeding him. Bryan backtracked out of the room, leaving me to feed my son in the quiet, and as I sat down on the balcony, all I could do was cry. I held my newborn son to my breast and felt him pulling his sustenance from me. He curled into my bosom as the wind slowly fluttered against my skin. I loved the house. It was perfect for all of us. Just big enough for us to grow into without feeling overwhelmed. It had been tough for us, the past year or so. Obstacles I never would’ve dreamed of had hit us like a surprise thunderstorm. But somehow, we had always managed to come out on top, holding one another instead of against one another.
As I listened to the cars pull up in the driveway, I smiled. I closed my eyes as my son ate from my breast and allowed the wind to whip through the hair that was slowly growing back. I took in a deep pull of the air around me, relishing the trees and the grass and the wildlife that surrounded us.
Bryan and I had earned our happy future.
And now, we were going to be able to enjoy it at last.
THE END