Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
“You weren’t supposed to make me cry,” Aaron admonished.
Lena pursed her lips as if to stave off tears. “Sorry. What are you going to name her?”
“Well…” Aaron and I shared a glance. “We like Mia.”
“Mia Mendez-Sullivan has a nice ring to it.”
“Yes. Matt’s mom suggested it, so we know she’ll approve. For a middle name, we were thinking Rosa for my mom and Lena…for you. Mia Rosalena Mendez-Sullivan.”
Lena gaped. “I…don’t know what to say. I’m so honored. Thank you.”
“Thank you, Lena. You’ve changed our lives.”
Our friends descended on the private room later that afternoon with flowers, balloons, and contraband Italian takeout and homemade brownies.
“We couldn’t let you suffer with cafeteria food,” Jay insisted, peering over Aaron’s shoulder at the baby. “Look at this little miracle. So precious…like a biscuit.”
Aaron snickered. “Our daughter is not a biscuit. She’s a sweetie cake, aren’t you, Mia cariña?”
“I thought the guncles were gonna get some love. The ink isn’t dry on the birth certificate, is it? We could work Curtis into a girl name,” Curt said around a mouthful of brownie.
“Curta?” Jack suggested. “Curtina, Curtisa? What do you think, Peter?”
“I think you’re both high.”
We laughed and replayed the last twenty-four-plus hours for our friends—including our meeting with Xander. The mood was joyful and light…and hopeful too. We’d done all we could and now…we had to wait. And learn how to be daddies.
“You have to check the bottle, babe. See how much she’s had to drink,” I advised, clicking photos of Papa and baby for the Sullivan family group chat.
“It looks like she’s had an ounce.” Aaron held the bottle up to the light, smiling as Mia chased a phantom nipple.
I dabbed milk from her chin and put the spit-up towel over my shoulder. “I’ll burp her.”
Aaron ghosted a thumb along her cheek and beamed up at me. “Show her how it’s done, Daddy.”
I snickered. “No problem. Do me a favor and send my folks a picture of us. Mom doesn’t think I know how to do baby things.”
“Oh! She’s going to be so impressed.” Aaron snapped a few pics and sent one to Jess and Todd from my cell, requesting them to show it to Mia’s fur-brother. “Poor Murphy is probably wondering where we are.”
“Poor Murphy is probably getting some sweet table scraps and lots of extra kid attention.” I gently patted Mia’s back, grinning when she burped in my ear. “Hey, nice one!”
“Geez, you’re a natural, Matty. I don’t think—” Aaron stilled, his brow creasing as he read something on his cell.
I shifted Mia from my shoulder to cradle her in my left arm as I reached for the bottle. “What’s up?”
“It’s Gabby.” He positioned the phone so I could read the text:
Home inspection can be scheduled as early as tomorrow afternoon if that works for you and Aaron. Assuming all goes well, I can send the final paper work to you via email and arrange for Xander to go home with you Monday.
“Monday.”
That was…soon.
No problem. We could do this.
Aaron headed home first to get things organized, shower, change, and check in on Murphy. I took the next shift and enlisted Curt to help with baby latches. To be honest, I’d requested Jack, but he was busy with a motorcycle repair at his shop.
“I resent being second banana here,” Curt groused as Murphy sniffed the toolbox and nipped at a package of babyproof locks for the kitchen cabinets. “I’m a decent handyman.”
“You’re as decent as I am, which isn’t saying much, but hey…beggars and choosers and all that.”
“Screw you, asshole.”
“On the bright side, this doesn’t seem complicated.” I studied the directions on the package. “Between the two of us, we should be able to knock this out within the hour.”
Two hours later, we finally graduated from the kitchen to the bathrooms, thanks to some FaceTime assistance from Jack. We weren’t totally incompetent, but Murphy was an unreliable assistant. He’d chewed a sock he’d found sitting atop the hamper in our room, then dropped a roll of toilet paper and sent it streaming down the hallway. Cleaning the mess had taken a good ten minutes.
I owed Curt big-time for giving up a portion of his Sunday to do someone else’s manual labor, but that would have to be another day.
I slid a water bottle across the island, chuckling at Curt’s theatrical collapse onto a barstool.
“Don’t get too comfortable. I have to check in with Aaron and find out when the home inspection agent will be here. And I should take another shower. I stink.” I sniffed my pits and winced. “This was more work than I expected it to be.”
Curt sighed. “Yeah, I think we did a decent job, though. Honestly, I think there’re a couple of cabinets no one will ever be able to get into.”
I held a hand up for a high five. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”