“Slow down, honey. Let the people breathe,” Drew said.
I stood up and embraced both of them as our son continued to eat.
“Oh my gosh, he’s beautiful,” Anna said.
“You don’t even know if it’s a boy yet,” Drew said.
“It’s a boy,” Hailey said with a grin.
“Well, now we do,” Drew said.
Everyone cooed over the baby as he ate and rested on Hailey’s chest. No one tried to take him away from her, and everyone was incredibly supportive. We used video chat to contact Hailey’s parents in Phoenix so they could see their grandchild, and they doted on him from afar. I could see the slight pang of hurt in Hailey’s eyes. I knew she wanted her parents to be here. I took her hand during the phone call as Drew held the camera up, letting them get a good look before the video was done.
“Can I say something?” Hailey asked.
“You can say whatever you want,” I said.
“I just want to say two things. Bryan, none of this was your fault. We knew the risks going into labor, and there was a good chance my uterus would’ve torn in the middle of labor,” I said.
“Wasn’t his fault?” my father asked. “What happened?”
“It’s such a long story, Dad. Can we fill you in later?” Bryan asked.
“What’s the other thing?” my mother asked.
Hailey panned her gaze over to my mother as she sighed.
“I want this to be a new beginning. A fresh start for all of us. We’ve been through so much and lost even more, and I’m tired of the past bogging all of us down. Can we do that? Can we move forward and try this again?” Hailey asked.
My mother smiled down at her before she pressed a kiss to Hailey’s forehead.
“I am so sorry for the person I have turned into. I admit I have a lot of things I need to sort through. Michael was a big help in finding me someone to talk to, so I can sort through all of these pesky emotions.”
Everyone in the room chuckled as we watched the spectacle unfold before us.
“Hailey, I know you want your parents here. And I don’t know what your relationship is with them, but I want you to have one with us. I want to be a support to you and Bryan, not a hindrance. If you can truly forgive me, I’d like to move forward with you,” my mother said.
A tear leaked out from Hailey’s eye as I tried to choke back my own.
“I would love nothing more,” Hailey said.
“I hate to bust the moment, man. But I really wanna know what you guys are gonna name this kid,” Drew said.
Hailey and I looked at one another as a smile crossed our faces.
“This child, our son, is a culmination of a series of events set off by one person. This little one brings a full-circle mentality to the roller coaster ride we’ve all been on for the past five or so years. There is a light in this child’s eyes that doesn’t belong to either Hailey or me, a light that is reminiscent of a man who, if he were here today, would be the first one in line to teach our son how to draw. Despite who his mother is.”
I felt tears crest my eyes as my mother gasped.
“You guys, I’d like to introduce you to Johnathan Reid McBride,” Hailey said.
Everyone in the room was wracked with emotion. My mother was crying, my father was shaking, and Drew was comforting Anna. I looked down at my little boy who somehow had the eyes of my brother and smiled as he nuzzled against Hailey’s chest. Through all the pain and all the heartache and all the tears I’d cried during all the lonely nights, it had brought me to this moment where I cradled one hand around the woman I loved and one hand around the head of my son. My family, this family I had created, had repaired the cracks in my soul. I no longer felt like I was struggling to get by or surviving on what I could. I felt hope blossoming within me. I felt a light encompassing my heart as I gazed down at my family.
Hailey had saved my life, and I would spend the rest of my life thanking her for it.
Chapter 28
Hailey
DURING OUR HOSPITAL stay, everyone was so helpful. Drew kept checking on the art gallery for me to see how his patchwork was going. When Bryan told Drew about what went down in the art gallery, Drew offered his patchwork services to fix up the place. There were several bullet holes that needed to be fixed and a couple of pictures had gotten damaged that needed to be replaced. He was taking care of the fixes while Kelly was going through my stored paintings, trying to figure out which ones to hang.
I was lucky to have them both since I wasn’t going to be in the gallery for a little while.
Bryan’s parents kept taking the night shift with Little Johnny so Bryan and I could sleep. There wasn’t a moment where I was alone, and I enjoyed it that way. Even though most of the baby books told me alone time with my newborn was important, I didn’t have the stomach to be alone yet. I was still reeling from the events at the art gallery, and I wanted someone around. It felt like I had been alone during my anesthesia, I felt like I had been alone during my surgery, and it felt like I had been alone during my encounter with Ben.
I was done with being alone.
But now, we were all being discharged. I was healing well from my surgery, my appetite was back, and Little Johnny was doing fabulously. He had a healthy appetite, he had all his newborn vaccinations, and all his vital signs checked out despite the fact that he had come early. I cradled him close as the doctor scheduled our first visits back to be checked on in a week, and then we were off.
Bryan, however, insisted that I be blindfolded.
“Blindfolded? Are you crazy?” I asked.
“Look, there’s something I want to show you, something I’ve been working on. But it’s a surprise, okay?”
“I’m not being blindfolded. I’m sitting in the back with Johnny,” I said.
“I promise you, the mirrors are calibrated. I can see him from my rearview mirror,” he said.
“But I want to see him, Bryan.”
“Please? It’s only a fifteen-minute ride. If you want Anna to come and sit in the back with him, then that’s fine,” he said.
“No, don’t ask her to do that,” I said, sighing. “But you owe me. I want alone time with my son in his nursery.”
“I wouldn’t have expected anything less once we got home,” he said.
Now, I was blindfolded and riding down the road. It was bumpy and winding, and I was growing more and more concerned about how Little Johnny was riding. I was gripping the handle of the door tightly, but I was thankful for Bryan. He knew how nervous I was, so every couple of minutes he would give me an update.
“He’s sleeping right now. Drooling a bit too.”
“Oh! His eyes are open. He’s looking around. He probably misses Mom. I bet he does. I would miss Mom too.”
“He’s back asleep again. I think he likes the open road.”
“There goes his tongue! He sticks it out when he sleeps. You do that sometimes, you know.”
His updates made me smile. They relaxed me, and I could hear the excitement of being a father in his voice. I knew Bryan was going to make a wonderful dad, and I couldn’t wait to watch him interact with our son. I was glad Anna ended up buying me that breast pump because I was going to need it. Bryan was already striking me as the type of dad who would want to feed his child, so I would have to make sure bottles were ready for those nighttime feedings.
But then, I was pulled from my thoughts when we came to a halt.
“We’re here,” Bryan said.
“Where’s here?” I asked.
“Home,” he said.
“Why in the world did you blindfold me so we could go back to the house, Bryan?”
“Because I think you’ll like our new one.”
I furrowed my brow as Bryan opened his truck door. Did he say new one? My heart was slamming in my chest, and my palms were beginning to sweat. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. I could hear Bryan opening the back door of the truck, removing Johnny’s car seat from its base. I felt my heart fluttering at a thousand miles a second.
I didn’t want something new. I wanted something old and familiar. Something warm and comforting.
What did he mean by new one?
I heard him padding around to my side of the truck. I was taking deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves. I needed to trust him. I needed to put up a strong front. I wasn’t going to like having a new home, I could feel it. But with everything we had just been through, new was probably a good thing synonymous with a fresh start, which was what we all needed. I had to trust Bryan and his judgment. I had to trust that he had read all those books and knew how I was feeling and had my and our child’s best interests at heart.
My truck door opening pulled me from my thoughts as Bryan leaned over me and unbuckled my seat belt.
“I’ve got Johnny. Let me help you out,” he said.
I took his hand and slid from the seat. I was standing on a driveway I didn’t recognize. I was surrounded by smells I didn’t recognize. I couldn’t hear the busy street of our home. Instead, I heard the skittering of animals and the whipping of the wind through leaves.
Lots and lots of leaves.
“Before I take your blindfold off, can I say something?” Bryan asked.
“How’s Johnny?” I asked.
“He’s doing wonderfully. Asleep again,” he said.