“Yes,” we say simultaneously.
We’ve been waiting for this moment for far too long.
“Baby number one” —she hands me one— “and baby number two.” She gives the other to Jace.
As soon as the baby is in my arms I cry, again, I can’t help it.
This, right here, is a miracle in the physical form.
“Hi, sweetie, I’m your mommy.” I look down at the pink bundle in my arms and she yawns. Even her yawns are tiny and perfect like her. Like the doctor said, blonde hair peeks out beneath her hat. Her little fist breaks free and I give her my finger. She wraps her tiny fingers around mine and I’m lost.
Every horrible thing I’ve been through in my life is worth it for this moment, knowing these two tiny humans are mine.
I look up at Jace and I can see he’s falling in love like I am.
“So, do we have names?” Dr. Illias asks, watching us with a smile.
I look at Jace and he looks back at me with a smile.
“This,” I start, smiling down at the beautiful baby in my arms, “is Astrid.”
“And this,” Jace adds, “is Elise.”
“Beautiful names for beautiful babies.”
It feels like hours before the doctor and nurses are out of the room and Jace and I are finally alone with our girls.
He climbs into bed beside me and we sit there, looking at our daughters, still in shock that they’re here and they’re ours.
I’m pretty sure life doesn’t get more perfect than this.
I look up at Jace watching as he smiles down at Elise.
The fact we’ve made it here is crazy. We’re starting another chapter of our life, together, and I know it’s going to be a wild but exciting ride, and there’s no one else I’d rather go through this journey with.
“Confession—” I whisper and he turns his attention to me. “I used to dream in black and white but now it’s in color, and it’s all because of you.”
Everything I am, and will be, is because of him.
Jace
Five Years Later
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”
r /> My two little dynamites barrel into my legs.
“Whoa, slow down, ladies.”
They giggle and smile up at me with matching grins. Their blond hair is a curly mess and their green eyes are alight with mischief. They look a lot like me, if I do say so myself, but they thankfully got Nova’s freckles.
“Mommy said you’d play dress up with us when you got home. You’re home,” Astrid tells me, like I don’t realize I’m home.
Astrid is the mouthier of the twins. Elise tends to sit back and let her sister talk for her.
“Is that what Mommy said, huh?” I ask, setting my bag down.
I’ve been gone for three days. I had to fly to L.A. to record some songs.