“Damn, that was ama—” he starts but is interrupted.
A wail sounds in the next room and I start to laugh. “Autumn has great timing.”
He pulls away from me and crawls out of bed, slipping on a pair of sweats that he’d thrown over a chair. “I’ll go get her,” he says, the look he gives me so full of unbridled emotion a shiver steals through me, making me hot. For him.
I have the best husband in the entire world.
Drew
I bring Autumn back into bed with us and she lies in between us, Fable back in her panties and a fresh T-shirt, her hair pulled into a sloppy knot on top of her head. She looks pretty and young, much like she did when I first met her, and I have no idea why she’s so worried about her weight. I think she looks f**king amazing.
“She’s spoiled,” Fable says, tickling Autumn’s chubby belly and making her smile.
“Why do you say that?”
“We’re going to give her everything she could ever want.” Fable sighs. “She’s a lucky little girl.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” I grab Autumn’s fist, pry open her tiny, perfect fingers, and she curls them around my index finger. “Damn, this girl has a strong grip.”
“Don’t say that word,” Fable says primly. “Her ears must remain pristine.”
“Please.” I roll my eyes. “You’re taking this too far, Fable.”
“Whatever. She’s a perfect little princess who will never, ever hear one filthy word uttered from any of us. Right, sweetie?” Fable smiles down at Autumn and my chest grows tight.
My girls are everything to me. I don’t know what I did to deserve them but I’m thankful. So damn thankful that I even wrote a little something about them both last night …
“I have something to show you,” I tell Fable as I get off the bed and go to my dresser, where I stashed the piece of paper I’d scribbled on.
“What is it? A diamond ring in exchange for me giving you your daughter? Is it my push present?” she asks hopefully.
I turn to look at her, frowning. “Push present?”
“You haven’t heard of it? Yeah, pregnant women get a push present. Usually something extravagant and expensive that they feel they deserve for going through the agony that is known as labor,” she explains.
“Do you want a push present?” I’ve never heard of such a thing and it sounds bogus. Yeah, she went through the agony of labor and that shit got real there those last few minutes when she was pushing. I’d hated seeing Fable in so much pain, especially since there was nothing I could do about it.
But a push present? That’s reaching.
“No.” She laughs, the sound filling me, making my heart light. “I was just kidding, Drew.”
I’m relieved, because how the hell am I supposed to know about this stuff? I’ve never heard of a push present before.
Grabbing the folded piece of paper from my top drawer, I walk back to the bed and hold it out to her. “For you.”
She sits up, bringing Autumn with her, and takes the piece of paper from me. “What is it?”
“Read it and see,” I say.
Her fingers shaking, she releases a shuddery breath and then glances down, slowly unfolding the piece of paper and reading silently.
I hope she doesn’t think it’s dumb. I’m a little rusty with this sort of thing now. I plan on getting a tattoo of Autumn’s name on my arm or maybe my chest. If I were a real poet, I’d turn something into Autumn’s name but damn, it’s long and has crazy letters.
I’ll save that attempt for next time.
My girls
Are everything
Real to me.
Sweet and full of
Hope
My girls
Are my
Lifeline. My
Love for them
Overwhelms me
We’re lucky we have each other.
“Oh, Drew.” Her voice cracks and there are tears streaming down her cheeks. I swear I’ve seen her cry more these last nine months than in all the years we’ve been together. “I love it.”
“You don’t think it’s lame? I haven’t written one of those in a long time.”
“That you still want to write them, I …” She shakes her head, seemingly overwhelmed. “I love them. I’ve saved them all. Thank you. It’s beautiful.”
I go to her and settle on the bed beside her, then reach over and take Autumn into my arms. She tries to lift her head to look at me, doing a little bob and weave that I always find amusing, and I start to laugh, rubbing my thumb against my baby’s cheek. “I’ll attempt a poem with her name next.”
“That ought to be tough. There’s a U in her name. Two of them,” Fable points out.
“I think I’m up to the challenge.” Leaning in, I drop a tender kiss on my wife’s lips. “You ready for more?”
“More sex?” Fable asks hopefully, making me laugh. “But Autumn just woke up.”
“I wasn’t meaning more sex, though that’s definitely on the agenda.” I look at her, schooling my expression into serious mode. “I meant more babies.”
Her jaw drops open. “You have got to be f**king kidding me.”
I cover Autumn’s ears, scowling at my foul-mouthed wife. “Your pretty princess just heard you drop the F-bomb.”
“Drew.” She slaps my arm. “Here I am still recovering and you want to knock me up again. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I like babies. I want lots of them. Don’t you?” I drop my hands from Autumn’s ears and smooth one over her head, her dark hair so like mine. “You need a brother or sister, right, sweetheart?” I say to her.
“Yeah. She does,” Fable finally says, her voice soft, her eyes glowing. “I do want more babies. Just not right now.”
“That’s what I thought.” I kiss her again. “You need to apologize to your daughter for saying such a naughty word.”
“She’ll get over it,” Fable says, leaning her head on my shoulder. She settles her hand on my thigh and her touch burns through the thick cotton of my sweats. “I love you so much, Drew.”
“I love you too, Fable.”
She looks up at me. “Forever?”
I smile and drop a kiss on the tip of her nose. “And ever.”