Whiskey grabs my shirt. “Don’t you dare.”
“Why?” Obviously, this isn’t something we discussed.
“Because, right now your son is wrecking my vagina and I don’t—” Whiskey screams out again in pain. The next thing I know, our son is laying on top of her and Dr. Rosenbloom is showing me a pair of scissors.
“Would you like to cut his cord?”
I’d like to go back to the moment when she tells the room it’s a boy because I missed it, even though I already knew, I still want to hear the words. I take the scissors and cut. It’s not as easy as I thought, but I manage to get the job done. A nurse, not Rose, sets him on Whiskey’s chest as she reclines in her bed. Everything is happening so fast and, in a blur — I feel like I’m treading water in a riptide.
“Ajay, look at our son.”
I’m right next to my wife, looking into the eyes of the son we created, and I’m in love. My heart is bursting with so much love, pride and joy. “Whiskey, he’s perfect.”
“Does he have a name?” Nurse Rose asks.
We shake our heads. “Not yet.”
“You have time.”
They give us a few minutes before they ask for our son. They want to clean and weigh him but promise to give him back as soon as possible.
“You should see if Evelyn is out there.”
I don’t want to leave Whiskey’s side but know how important it is to Evelyn to meet her brother. As soon as I step out of the room, it dawns on me that I never called Quinn to tell him where we are. I reach for my phone, only to find my pocket empty. On my way to the nurse’s station, I hear my daughter say “Daddy,” and see Evelyn running toward me with Nola hot on her tail.
“How did you know?”
“We were right behind you,” she says. “Is he here?”
I nod. “The little guy was eager to meet his big sister,” I say looking down at Evelyn.
“Do you want me to tell everyone?”
“Who’s here?”
Nola smiles, “Everyone.”
I follow her down the hall to the waiting room and find the people who have become my family. Katelyn pulls me into her arms immediately, followed by Josie and Jenna. The guys pat me on the back and Liam opens a cigar box and tells everyone to take one. I’m overcome with emotion and taken back by their presence.
“Does he have a name?” Katelyn asks.
“Not yet. Whiskey wants Evelyn to be in the room when we name him… I just can’t believe you’re all here.”
“No other place we’d be,” Harrison says. “We’re going to take Evelyn home with us until Jamie’s parents get here. Quinn called to let us know and Katelyn called her mom; we arranged for their flight out.”
I open my mouth to say something, but there are no words. All I can do is nod and take Evelyn to see her mom.
Inside the room, Whiskey looks almost like herself again. She’s sitting up and holding our son. Evelyn clings to my leg until I pick her up and set her next to her mom, while telling Whiskey about everyone being in the waiting room.
“Hi, baby.”
“Hi, sissy,” Whiskey says, speaking for our son.
“He’s so cute but squishy.”
“He won’t be in a few days. Do you want to hold him?”
Evelyn nods and I help her adjust so she can cradle her brother. I try not to be jealous that Evelyn is holding him before me, but Whiskey sees something in my eyes. She reaches for me and I go around to the other side of the bed to kiss her. We talked about this, making sure Evelyn was included because it had just been the two of them for so long. Still, I want my moment.