Author Anonymous_ A True Story - E.K. Blair Page 0,14
been me and Landon. I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like with three of us.
“I got here as soon as I could,” Brooke announces when she barges into the room, but I’m in too much pain to talk.
She goes to Landon, allowing me time to breathe through the contraction that just hit me.
“How are you doing?” she asks him after giving him a hug.
“Anxious. The nurses just checked her and she’s dilated to five already.”
“Do you need anything? I can grab you a coffee or something.”
“Thanks, but I’m fine,” he tells her. “Where’s Chris?”
“He’s stuck in a meeting. He said he’ll call as soon as he’s free.”
A wave of nausea hits hard. “Landon, something doesn’t feel right.”
I grab my belly and tears spring from my eyes as a blast of pain shoots through my stomach. I’m loud when I scream out, and he takes my hand in his.
“It’s okay,” Brooke soothes as she stands on my other side and places a cold washcloth on my forehead.
Landon calls the nurse, and when she comes into the room, I cry out, “Please, stop the pain.”
She quickly checks me, and when I look down at her from between my legs, she gives me the worst news ever. “Too late for an epidural, dear. You’re ready to start pushing.”
Fear ignites like a wild fire in my chest, and I panic. “Landon, I can’t do this without an epidural. Please, do something.”
His face mirrors mine when he looks up, and then I hear Brooke hollering at one of the nurses that is now in my room.
“You need to call the anesthesiologist now. There is no way she’s having that baby without drugs.”
“Your friend doesn’t have a choice.”
“Oh, God! I need to push,” I cry.
Everything moves in hypervelocity as I grab on to my husband. He’s right by my side, kissing my head and repeating over and over how much he loves me. In a whirlwind, the doctor rushes in. Brooke holds my one leg as a nurse holds the other, and with Landon’s forehead pressed against mine, I bear down and push through the scorching pain, screaming with tears falling down my face.
It all happens so fast, and now, as I lie in the hospital bed, I look over to Landon who’s holding our baby girl. He looks familiar and different at the same time, and it’s astounding. Before my eyes, I watch my loving husband change into an adoring daddy. She’s wrapped in a soft pink blanket, bundled up and snug in Landon’s strong arms. I see him soften instantly as he looks down at our daughter and runs the tip of his nose over her forehead, and when he looks at me, his eyes are rimmed in teary joy.
He joins me on the bed and settles baby Jill into my arms. “I can’t stop looking at her.”
“It seems like a dream,” I tell him. “How is it possible that we were able to make something so perfect?”
“Because,” he says as he lifts my chin, “she’s a part of you.”
“And you.”
His lips drop onto mine, and we kiss slowly in this quiet moment above the new love of our lives. My chest aches in a pleasurable pain as my heart grows. Tears dampen my cheeks, and when Jill coos in my arms, our kiss is fractured by my breathy giggle.
“I swear to both of you girls, no man will ever love you like I do,” he vows. “I never knew life could be so good to me, and it’s all because of you, Tori.”
Landon bands his arms around me and Jill as I continue to weep. I rest my head against him as he comforts me like no other man has ever done before. An overwhelming sense of peace consumes me, and I bask in the euphoric bliss I didn’t know existed until this very moment.
I can’t even remember our life before our girls. I’m sure it was less stressful and more spontaneous, but I wouldn’t want to go back. Sure, the daily cycle can become monotonous, but I guess that’s what being a grown-up is. Brooke’s life with her husband and son is the same, but we love that our families have adapted to the uneventful routine of life.
Another reason why I love my job is it provides me an escape. And after the spat Landon and I just had, I need an escape.
I lean down and give my Jilly-bug a kiss, tucking the blanket in around her before shutting