After an hour or so of visiting, and everyone getting their turn holding Robert and whispering secrets of the universe to him, they began to filter out, eventually leaving just the three of us in our spacious recovery room. It usually was designed for two families, but we lucked out and it was just us. Ava and I sat up for most of the evening, deliriously happy with our new baby boy, and possibly delirious in general from a lack of sleep. I was so over the moon happy in that moment that I felt like it could never get any better.
“I love you, Ava,” I whispered as Robert fell back into a deep sleep in my arms. “And I love you too, Robert,” I said, kissing his head.
“I love you both,” Ava said smiling. I kissed her deeply, and she curled up around me on the makeshift bed we created out by pushing the futon next to the hospital bed.
In that moment, our baby between us, our foreheads touching, I felt like the luckiest man on earth, and knew deep down, it was only ever going to get better from here.The End