“Thank you.” This is probably how new parents feel when it’s time to leave the hospital with their newborn baby. They wonder if the hospital is making a mistake in trusting them to take such a tiny thing home. I’m wondering if I’ve made a mistake in believing that I’m ready to assume full responsibility for Emma.
Too late, I think when Valerie walks into the room carrying Emma. I stand up and take her from her grandmother. Valerie’s eyes are red. She’s clearly been crying.
“Please come often to visit,” I tell her and Morris as I hold my daughter close.
“We will when we come back from our cruise,” Valerie says.
“You’re going on a cruise, how cool!” I exclaim.
“Yes, Morris says we need something big to get over not living with Emma anymore,” she says.
Emotion grabs me by the throat. For a few seconds, I’m too choked up to speak. “I wouldn’t have gotten to this point without your encouragement. Thank you for being patient with me and for being willing to let me raise Emma. I know you didn’t have to involve me in Emma’s upbringing but you did.”
“It’s what Jade would have wanted,” Valerie says. “And us too. A child is best raised by their parents if they are there and willing.”
Emma and I leave soon after. Morris and Valerie stand in the drive and wave at us until we turn the corner.
“Okay, my girl, it’s you and me now,” I tell Emma.
She makes unintelligible words but to me, they are the sweetest sounds I ever heard.
“I love you so much and I’ll do anything and everything for you,” I tell her, tears momentarily blinding me.
Emma makes happy noises from the back unaware of the importance of this occasion. My driving speed has decreased too since I started to drive Emma and Ivy. There’s something about having a baby passenger that makes you more aware of the perils of the road.
I chuckle as we drive up my street and I see a crowd in front of my house. Tired of waiting, they’ve all spilled out from the house and are standing outside. I spot Vanessa holding Ivy on her hip and my lips pull into a smile.
“Look, sweetheart, everyone’s here to welcome you home,” I tell Emma.
I slow down and enter the driveway. My sister comes to help and unbuckles Emma’s car seat. Emma doesn’t fuss even when Janice lifts and carries her to where everyone is.
“Welcome home,” calls ring out.
Emma is an absolute trooper and she doesn’t cry even when everyone surrounds and touches her. In the midst of it, Vanessa and I exchange a loving look. The kind of look which couples in relationships often share. I’m thrilled.
The ladies troop into the house but my brothers remain behind to help me carry Emma’s things in.
Josh claps me on the back. “I never thought you’d ever do this.”
I grin. “Me neither.”
“I’m guessing a lot of it has to do with Vanessa, right?” Stan says.
“She’s made being a single parent look doable,” I tell them while passing them a bag each. “The thought of raising Emma alone used to petrify me.”
We chat as we enter the house. Fiona takes Emma’s bags from us and carries them upstairs to the nursery. Everyone is scattered in the living room, chatting, eating. Emma is being passed from person to person and so is Ivy. It’s a beautiful scene, one that I can see being replaced over the years as each of my girls celebrate a birthday or another milestone.
Later, it’s nap time for both Ivy and Emma. I’m glad we set up the nursery with both beds and after we help Fiona put them down to nap, Vanessa and I leave the nursery. We pause on the first floor.
“Are you sure it’s okay that she has to mind both babies?” Vanessa asks, a look of concern on her pretty features.
I close the distance between us and kiss away the worry. “Very sure. I took care of it at the agency from the very beginning.”
“Thank you,” she says, her eyes simmering with unshed tears. “You are so kind to us.”
“You and Ivy are special to me.”
We head back to our guests, and spend the rest of the afternoon talking and just generally having a good time.
Later, after everyone has left, Vanessa and I clean up while upstairs, the girls are entertained by the nanny. I’m glad I settled for a live-in nanny. I can see how hectic it can get without full-time help.
“That was a fun afternoon,” Vanessa says as we stack dishes into the washing machine.
“Yeah, it was. Made me triple gladder that you and Ivy are in my life.”
She smiles at me. “You say the nicest things.”
When we are done, Vanessa excuses herself to go to her cottage to start her evening routine with Ivy. Suddenly I find myself out of sorts and I manage to convince Fiona to let me bathe Ivy. She stands at the bathroom door making sure that I know what I’m doing. Thanks to Vanessa letting me practice with Ivy, I’m pretty good at it.