“Don’t worry about it. You’re okay.”

“Do you need anything?”

“I can only have ice chips going forward, so maybe some of those?”

“Sure, I’ll go find some.”

I give Aundrea a wink as I pass by. As I leave the room, I hear Wendy say, “You two are so cute.” I stop, waiting for Aundrea’s reply. I can almost sense the blush creeping over her face.

“Thank you.”

“I love that he winks at you.”

“Me too.”

I smile and walk away. I’ll have to remember to wink more often.

When I approach the room, Aundrea’s voice echoes out into the hallway.

“Cocky.”

“Cocky?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “Who’s cocky?” Aundrea gives Wendy an “I told you so look” which makes me laugh. “I knew you were talking about me while I was gone.”

Wendy looks at Aundrea and she shakes her head, smirking. “We don’t always talk about you, Parker.”

“Nonsense. I’m always on your mind.”

Three hours later, the nurse comes into the room. “I’m going to do an exam, okay?”

“Yeah.” Wendy looks exhausted and I feel bad there isn’t more I can do for her. I stand up to give the nurse more room, glancing at Aundrea.

“Well, you’re at ten and the baby’s head is right here! I’m going to go page the doctor. Looks like someone will be pushing any minute.”

My heart speeds up. Aundrea takes my hand and I look over to her. “Ready, handsome?”

“More than ready.” I’ve been waiting for this moment. To hold our baby in my arms.

I give her a kiss, then one more for good measure.

Two nurses return, one pushing a small table with the baby bed under a large light.

When the doctor comes in, he’s all smiles. “Are we ready to meet the little one?”

“You have no idea,” we say together.

Aundrea and I stand on one side of Wendy and Ron stands on the other, taking her hand. Aundrea rubs her arm, speaking words of encouragement.

The nurse coaches Wendy on a couple practice pushes. I’m not sure what a practice push is exactly. It’s either you’re pushing, or you’re not. When she tells her she’s doing a great job, I do the same.

Wendy wasn’t lying when she said she had fast deliveries. After only two full sets of pushes the doctor tells her she’s starting to crown.

“I-is it supposed to look like that?” Aundrea asks with surprise. It takes everything in me not laugh. Everyone else does.

“Yes, it’s normal,” the doctor says.

She looks at me and smiles embarrassedly. “Uh, just checking.” Looking up at Wendy, she gives her an encouraging smile. “You’re doing great!”

Wendy barely gets out a chuckle before she goes back to pushing, bearing all her weight down and squeezing my hand.

“Holy, shit.” I can’t be sure if I say that in my head or out loud, but I say it again a couple more times.

“Okay, Wendy. One more really big push,” the doctor instructs.

I look over at Aundrea who’s holding onto Wendy’s leg like it’s her job. She looks so beautiful right now, coaching the woman who is about to welcome our child into the world.

Aundrea senses me watching and looks over. I give her a wink and rub her back. It’s a small gesture, but it’s something to let her know that I’m here with her.

This is our moment.

Wendy pushes with a groan, and I see a baby. All the air is sucked out of my lungs and everything begins to happen so fast. Words are being said, small body parts are becoming more visible, and, before I know it, a baby is being placed on Wendy’s chest.

A nurse begins cleaning the little one off.

“Dad, would you like to cut your little boy’s cord?”

A boy!

“Yes. Yes, I would.” Before I release Aundrea, I whisper, “It’s a boy.”

Watching our child be born is more than magical. It’s beautiful. We’re welcoming him into the world. This is a feeling of unconditional love I’ll never forget. I want to stay lost in this moment with Aundrea forever as I stare at our baby.

I take the scissors from the doctor and tears instantly sting my eyes as I cut the cord. After it’s done, the nurse takes our little man away to get cleaned and weighed.

“Seven pounds, four ounces. Twenty inches,” the nurse says. She wraps the baby and hands him to Aundrea. When our son is in her arms, Aundrea says, “Seeing you is worth every minute it took to get you to us. I don’t know how I ever made it through life before you.” She stops and looks over at me. “He’s a part of us, Parker, and he’s more beautiful and perfect than I could have ever imagined.”

I stand next to her, looking down at our baby boy. So tiny and small. Two dark eyes stare up at us. I read babies can’t see very far when they’re first born, so I get real close to his face.

“Hi, Mason. I’m your daddy. This is your mommy and we love you so much.” I bend down giving our baby a tiny kiss. “I love you so much.”

“I can’t believe this. He’s so beautiful,” Aundrea whispers.

I wrap an arm around her waist. “We did it.”

“We did it,” she repeats.

Looking back down at Mason I smile. I just got this beautiful baby and I already know I’ll wake up every morning vowing to do anything in this world to protect him.