Until Cobi (Until Him 3)

“Hey, big guy,” I say, and he sets his head on my lap then presses his nose into Chloe’s leg for a couple of seconds before looking up at me. “I know it’s going to take some getting used to, but you’ll be okay.”

I stop rubbing Chloe so I can scratch behind his ears, and then move my hand back to her when she lets out a cry. Maxim lifts his head from my lap, tipping it from side to side, studying her before going and lying down next to her crib with a long groan.

After Chloe has burped and gone to sleep, I lay her down in her crib and turn on the baby monitor so I can watch her while I’m in the kitchen. Maxim doesn’t move from his spot next to her crib, but then again, when she’s in there, he never does. When I make it to the kitchen, I see Cobi left the news playing on the TV before he left to run to the store. I don’t change it; instead, I pour myself some orange juice, drink it, and then go to the couch. Taking the monitor with me, I set it on the coffee table before I lie down.

Cobi wanted us to move from the townhouse during my last trimester into an actual home with a yard, but I put my foot down and refused. The place is perfect for us, and just the right amount of rooms. I know that eventually we will build a house on the piece of property his parents deeded out to him and me as a wedding gift, but I don’t want to move before then. This place holds special memories for me, memories filled with falling in love and building a family. These walls hold our story, and even though I know we will eventually grow out of this place, I’m not ready to let it go just yet.

I feel fingers trail down the side of my face and open my eyes, sitting up quickly. “It’s okay, just wanted to let you know I’m back,” Cobi says, and I notice he has Chloe resting in the crook of his tattooed arm.

“Did she wake up?” I ask, feeling like a horrible mom if she woke up and I didn’t hear her.

“No, saw you asleep, went to check on her, and couldn’t resist picking her up.” He gives me a sheepish smile.

“I think we’re spoiling her.” I run my fingers across her cheek, and her lips pucker in response.

“And I don’t think I care,” he responds, looking down at her for a moment before lifting his eyes to mine. “I’ll always spoil my girls.” My face gets soft and I lean over Chloe and press my lips to his jaw. When I pull away, I touch my fingers to where my lips were.

“We love you,” I whisper.

“I know,” he whispers back.

He thinks he does, but he really has no idea the way I feel for him. I love him, but every time I see him with our daughter, and how devoted he is to her, I know I love him. He’s given me everything along with the proof that love is worth fighting for.

Cobi

A couple of months later . . .

I wake when I feel the bed shift, and watch Hadley through the darkness get up and leave the room. I start to sit up, but stop when I hear her through the baby monitor still sitting on my nightstand.

I listen, staring at the ceiling, as she talks to Chloe before starting to sing quietly. Since the day we brought Chloe home from the hospital, Hadley has jumped every time Chloe’s made the smallest noise. Always rushing to pick her up before I even have the chance to. I thought with a little time she’d relax, but she hasn’t, and it’s started to worry me. I know she doesn’t want to be anything like her mom was, and she’s not. She’s an amazing mom, devoted, loving, and beyond patient.

When her singing comes to an end, I get up and head out of the room. When I make it to the door to the nursery, I spot Maxim next to the crib asleep then lean against the jamb as my wife places our sleeping daughter in her bed. When she spots me after lifting her head, her expression shifts and pure love shines from her eyes.

I hold out my hand, and when she takes it, I pull her against me. “I would have gotten up with her, baby.”

“I know.” She smiles. “But unfortunately, you’re not equipped with what she needed.”

“I would have brought her to you,” I say as I lead her to our room. Once we’re both in bed, I drag the blankets over us and pull her against my side. I wait until she’s settled before I speak. “You’re a good mom.”