Once he leaves, Noah pulls me until I’m sitting in his lap and he takes his plastic spoon and feeds me a bite of birthday cake. I swallow it down watching his face the entire time.
“That’s quite a boy we have,” he says.
“Yeah,” I whisper.
“You think we should tell him he’s going to be a big brother now, or later?” he asks and my stomach flips. I took a home pregnancy test two days ago and it was positive. We went to the doctor today while out picking up Ryan’s cake, and it was confirmed. I still feel like I’m on cloud nine.
“Maybe we should wait and tell him later. I think he has enough presents for now and besides…”
“Besides?” Noah prompts.
My hand goes down to my stomach and I swear in that moment I can almost feel the life inside of me. Noah’s comes over mine and I look into those beautiful brown eyes that I fell in love with in Montana—on a sunny day that seems like a million years ago—and I smile.
“Besides, I like sharing this magical moment with just you, for at least one more day,” I whisper. “We’re going to have a baby, Noah.”
“The first of many,” he says and I jerk, my eyes going wide with shock.
“Define many,” I murmur.
“We have to keep up with Dani and Crusher and they seem dead set on adopting all of the kids everywhere. But, I figure I could be happy with a smaller number…maybe ten,” he says with a shrug.
“Uh…. I don’t think I can handle having ten kids—at least not naturally. I mean adoption is a little easier on the body than labor, I’m thinking.”
“So, we’ll adopt the others and celebrate when the adoption comes through by having sex, and making a child the natural way.”
“That sounds like you have it all planned out,” I laugh.
“Someone once gave me the secret to the perfect relationship, Rory.”
“What was that?”
“A little give and a little take.”
“I thought you said the secret to a happy marriage was a blowjob every morning,” I mutter.
“That too,” he agrees.
I just shake my head.
“I love you, Noah Westin Cross. God knows why, but I do. I’ll love you for the rest of my life and for eternity after that.”
“I love you Rory Cross, I wanted you as a little boy and the reality is better than any dream I could have dreamed,” he vows.
“Mom! Dad! Look! I got my own camera! It does selfies!” Ryan squeals. “Let’s take a family picture!”
He runs over and gets between us and holds the camera up high. Noah helps him to steady it as we move in close together. Ryan snaps the picture and when I look on the screen it’s perfect. The three of us, my hand over my stomach, touching the spot where my child is resting.
A family.
Life can’t get any better than this… when Noah leans over and kisses the top of my head I realize I might be wrong. Every day I spend with Noah will just get sweeter and sweeter.
I just know it.
The End For Now.