Take a Chance (15 page)

Willow

I was mortified when my water broke sitting in my chair at the office. Wearing a pink maternity dress, it looked like I couldn’t hold my bladder and peed myself. Asher’s brilliant idea saved me from having to walk through the lobby of Wellington Corp., and the humiliation of everyone looking at me. I just love Asher so much. He would do anything for me even getting rid of all the employees just for my peace of mind.

Lying in bed hooked up to monitors and an IV
, the contractions haven’t been too bad but are slowly increasing in intensity. Nurses have been in on a regular basis checking my progress.

“Dr. Fleming is out of town
, but she has been called, she is on her way here now. No need to worry this is your first pregnancy, there’s plenty of time. She’ll get here in time for the birth,” a nurse tells me calmly.

I’m not so sure I like the sound of that. She has been there seeing me through my whole pregnancy
. She specializes in post cancer pregnancies. I was offered an epidural. I’m no saint, I take it. I called and talked to my mom, she will be on the next flight here. I know she won’t make it in time for the birth, but just knowing she will be staying with us for a week is a huge comfort.

It’s only been about an hour
, and Amelia is still not here. She called and said she needed to finish dealing with the fire department then she was headed straight here. A nurse comes in to check me one more time.

“Oh dear, you are fully dilated and ready to go. I’ll be right back
. I’m going to get the doctor on duty and we are going to have us a little baby.”

“No
, Dr. Fleming isn’t here yet, I’m not ready!” I say in a panic.

“You may not be ready, and Dr. Fleming may not be here
, but this little one is ready.”

The next few minutes are a rush of activity. Nurses are moving about
, an isolette appears, stirrups are inserted in the foot of the bed. Asher is standing on one side of the bed holding my hand, and Ava is on the other side holding my other hand. I’m silently freaking out. In walks a man whom I have never seen before.

“I’m Dr. Peters.
I understand we are ready to have a baby. I’ve read your file and have spoken to Dr. Fleming on the phone. She is still about an hour away but no worries. Let’s see if we can’t have ourselves a baby.”

Placing my feet in the stirrups
, I’m told to start pushing. After about twenty minutes and pushing what feels like a bowling ball out, I hear the baby cry. My baby is crying. Our baby is crying, and it’s the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.

“Congratulations
, it’s a girl!” Dr. Peters says.

Asher is kissing my face
, saying he loves me and how proud of me he is. Ava is taking a million pictures.

“Daddy
, do you want to cut the cord?” the doctor asks Asher.

Asher takes the scissors and cut’s the cord. He has tears running down his cheek
s and the happiest grin on his face.

“Oh
, Willow, she’s just beautiful,” Asher tells me.

The baby is wrapped in a soft pink blanket and placed on my chest. She is just beautiful
. She’s the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. Asher is bent over with his face so close to mine and our daughters. Ava is silently crying, snapping photo after photo. The doctor is still between my legs doing I don’t know what, and frankly, I don’t want to know. All my attention is on this perfect miracle lying in my arms. Untucking the blanket I count all ten perfect toes and ten perfect fingers. She’s just perfect, truly a miracle.

“Have you decided what to name her?” Ava
asks as she perches over the baby with her hand gently on the baby’s head.

“We have
. Abbey Olivia Wellington, meet your Aunt Ava,” I tell her.

In honor of the woman who helpe
d bring us together that helped keep us together, who without her this baby would never have been conceived. To honor the memories that Asher has of a beautiful soul that was taken from this earth far too soon. We chose to name our daughters middle name after a woman who means so much to the both of us.

The doctor has finished up and I am back covered up, Ava went out to get the rest of the family. Everyone’s standing around my bed while baby Abbey is being passed from grandparent to aunt to uncle. Everyon
e is falling in love instantly.

“Well congratulations
, again you have a perfectly healthy baby girl.”

Dr. Peters is about
to leave the room when in rushes Amelia with a huge arrangement of flowers in a vase that comes well past her field of vision.

“Please don’t tell me I missed it.” She barrels right into the front of Dr. Peters
. Dropping the vase, it hits the floor smashing in a million pieces. Both Amelia and Dr. Peters are covered in water.

Immediately
, Amelia is on the floor on her hands and knees picking up flowers and broken glass, cutting her hand in the process. Dr. Peters sees that Amelia has cut her hand and takes her hand in his.

“That looks deep, let me walk you down to the ER
. I think you will need a few stitches.”

Asher and I look at each other with that knowing look
. Dr. Peters is probably in his early thirties, completely handsome, and from the absence of a ring on his left hand, looks to be single.

“Oh I couldn’t, I just got here I
haven’t even seen the baby yet,” Amelia protests.

“Amelia
, go. We’ll be here for a while, go get your hand looked at. You can come back up when you’re done,” I tell her.

Dr. Peters wraps her hand with gauze and escorts her out of the room. Everyone breaks out in laughter knowing full well Dr. Peters didn’t need to escort her downstairs
to the emergency room personally. Obviously someone liked what he saw.

Amelia returned a few hours later saying
that the emergency room was very busy. She had six stitches in her hand and an unmistakable blush on her cheeks. I wonder if there is more to the story than that, but she hasn’t stopped oohing and ahhing at Abbey in her arms to tell us anymore.

The next day
, with my mother in tow, Asher and I headed home with our bundle of joy. Placing Abbey in her crib in her room in our house was a moment I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Asher

I won’t lie
, seeing the woman I’m in love with going through child birth was the scariest thing I have ever gone through. But at the same time it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. To see my daughter being born, and the woman I’m so in love with deliver her, was the greatest gift I have ever received.

Choosing
our daughters middle name was of course Willow’s idea, but I couldn’t have agreed more with the reasons why. Without Olivia coming to me in my dreams encouraging me to open my heart, to let the pain go and to love again, I don’t think I would have been ready to see things through with Willow at the time they presented themselves.

Both Abbey and Willow are
doing wonderfully. Having her mother stay with us for two weeks has been a huge help to Willow. I have taken off the next two weeks to bond with my beautiful baby daughter and wife. Willow insists on hosting a dinner at our house only four days after Abbey was born, I think she’s a little crazy but Judy offered to do all the cooking. My sisters are dying to get their hands on baby Abbey again. And I know my mother is a little jealous that Willow’s mom is staying with us and wants to have her grandma snuggle time.

The house smells amazing with Judy
cooking in the kitchen. My parents show up with T-shirts that say, ‘proud grandma of Abbey’ and ‘proud grandpa of Abbey’. Judy looked a little hurt until my Mom handed her one. With a big smile she immediately went into her room and changed into it.

Having everyone gathered around our dining room tabl
e with baby Abbey asleep in my dad’s arms brings a smile to my face, and a complete sense of peace to my heart. Although I thought my life was over when Olivia passed away, I had no idea there were other plans set for me that were well beyond my expectations. I have a healthy wife who loves me and accepts my previous marriage and the memories I have with her. I have a beautiful daughter who is healthy and happy. All is right in the world, and it all sits at my table talking and laughing with each other.

Willow

Sitting at our table having dinner with our family, I glance at my husband. He has the most peaceful look on his face. I know what he’s thinking, because I feel the same thing. From looking at my beautiful little baby daughter sleeping soundly in her grandfather’s arms to the look on my husband’s face, he is so happy and I am so in love with him.

To his brothers and sisters playfully joking a
nd laughing with each other, they are now brothers and sisters to me. To my mother who I never thought I would get reacquainted with sitting at my dinner table smiling and loving me and her granddaughter. To Asher’s parents who are so in love with each other, they are another set of parents to me. I went from being alone to being so blessed with a house full of family and a little sleeping miracle that is a piece of both Asher and I.

Everyone is having a nice time talking and spending time with baby Abbey except Amelia
, who has her head buried with her cell phone in her lap texting away.

“Who has you so interested over there
, Amelia?” I ask.

“What? Oh no one,
” she replies, turning a little pink.

Yes, it seems maybe Amelia is a little distracted talking to a certain doctor I might know. Although I probably shouldn’t think about it, if something ever happened between the two of them that man has seen
my business, that’s just weird.

“So it seems you two have named your daughter with an A name, does this mean you will stick with the theme?” Samantha asks
, as she stands to claim the baby from her husband.

“I don’t know
, maybe we will stick with all A’s, or maybe we’re just starting from the beginning of the alphabet, and the next one will start with a B,” Asher says, and my mouth hangs open at that statement.

I never really thought about it, but the thought of having more children with Asher just
pleases me straight to my soul.

After dinner
, we all sit around the family room. Asher puts in a DVD, we are all comfortably sprawled out all over the room. The movie starts and instantly I know it’s
The Princess Bride,
Amelia and Ava look at each other and say in perfect unison, “Mawage, mawage is wot bwings us together too-day. Mawage, that bwessed awangement dat dweam wifin a dweam.” Again, in perfect unison, Amelia and Ava say, “Hello. My name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” They even have the accent right

Asher and I break out in snorting laughter as everyone else sta
res at us with confused looks. Getting himself under control he says, “I told you I’ve seen this movie like a thousand times, my sister’s love this movie.”

Baby Abb
ey is just a dream. She is always content and loves to be passed around to all her family. With so many of them here today it seems like I haven’t even seen her all day. Taking her from her grandmother, I walk her up to her nursery and place her in her crib. Asher places his hand on my waist and pulls me close to his side. We stand there for several minutes just taking in the beautiful creature we created out of love.

“You did good sweetheart, she’s beautiful just like you.”

“She is beautiful, isn’t she? She has your eyes. I love that she has your eyes, every day if you’re not here all I have to do is look into my daughter’s eyes and know you aren’t very far and I will always be able to see your love through our daughter’s eyes.”

Asher

Standing next to my daughter
’s crib with my beautiful healthy wife by my side, my family downstairs, I can’t thank God enough for all his many blessing and miracles. Reaching over to take my wife’s face in my hands, I softly kiss her just hoping I can express an ounce of the overwhelming love and happiness I am feeling.

Watching my beautiful sweet little baby Abbey sleeping
in her crib, as I stand here holding my wife, I can’t stop the tears running down my face. Once I was so broken, now put back together by an accidental meeting, when a beautiful red head crashed into me and threw up on my shoes. I glance up at the pure white dove with a yellow rose in its mouth hanging reverently on the wall next to our daughters crib. Always watching, protecting from above, I know she’s her guardian angel watching over her.

I was blessed to have known Olivia and spend time in my life married to the wonderful woman that she was. I honor and cherish our memories and keep them in my heart. Blessed with the opportunity to find true love again and marry
my best friend. To create a beautiful baby girl out of love and respect, my life has been truly blessed.