Page 65 of Interception

They clamp the cord and hand Coop the scissors to cut it. He screws up his face, and it’s so cute. “That felt weird.”

The midwife hands him a blanket and tells him how to lift the baby from my chest. His eyes are glassy with unshed tears. As he lifts our son into his arms, I burst into tears watching them come face to face for the first time.

“Hey, I’m your daddy.” He sways from side to side, his eyes fixed on the tiny bundle in his arms. “Your mommy is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. She cooked you from smaller than a grain of sand. That’s pretty great, right? I know you’re probably wondering where your brother is right now. You’ve been roommates for months. He’s going to be here soon.” When he finally tears his gaze away from the baby and looks into my eyes, there’s so much love between us I can barely contain it. “Zee, he’s incredible.”

“Oh God. I need to push.” Faith has taken Coop’s place, and as grateful as I am, I feel the loss of his comforting strength behind me.

“You’ve got this, bestie.” She slides her hands into mine. “Let’s meet our second little guy.”

I can see Coop is torn as he watches me brace myself to push, but seeing our son in his arms is all the incentive I need. I’ve got this.

“That’s great, Zoey. One last big push.” It still hurts like a motherfucker, but this time I know the joy that comes after. The second he’s out, he lets his little lungs fly, rewarding me with a big beautiful cry. The doctor lays him on my chest and asks if Coop would like to cut the cord. He slowly lowers our son onto my chest next to his brother, and then he makes the cut.

“We need to deliver the placenta, but you’ve done all the hard work, Zoey. You did great. Two healthy boys and minimal tearing considering you just gave birth twice.”

“Tearing?”

“It’s normal. Once we get the placenta out, I’ll stitch you up, and we’ll get you settled in with these beautiful boys of yours.”

“Can you make it good and tight? I don’t want to have a wizard’s sleeve down there.”

Faith bursts out laughing behind me. “Wizard’s sleeve?”

“Laugh it up. It’s not your vagina that’s like an echo chamber.” I look down at our boys. They are identical. I know that sounds silly when I knew I was having twins, but I thought there would be something slightly different about both of them. Not the case. I have two mini Coops, and they are so beautiful.

Coop introduces himself to baby B, and I think my ovaries just exploded. “Hey, little man. Welcome to the family. Your brother is going to lord it over you that he was born ten minutes before you, but that’s okay, I’m sure you’ll milk being the youngest at times. I am your daddy, and the person giving you some amazing, warm snuggles right now is your mommy. I know how comforting her breasts can be to lie on, so I know you’re comfy. When you’re ready, then you can come give me some cuddles.”

“You guys are parents. That’s so crazy.” Coop helps Faith get down off the bed and props me up with pillows. “I’m going to go tell Hunter the good news and let you guys have a minute to enjoy your new additions to the family. I’m so proud of you, Zee.”

“Thanks. Love you.”

“Back at ya.” She disappears out the door, and Coop leans in, pressing his lips to mine.

“I love you, Zee. I can’t believe you just did that. People talk about men being strong, but there’s no way I could do what you just did. Women are the real men. We’re all just a bunch of wusses compared to y’all.”

“We did it. They’re here. Look at them. They are so perfect.”

“You’re perfect.”

“I must look such a mess right now. Try not to remember me like this when you think back to this day.”

“Are you kidding? You’ve never looked more stunning. You’ve given me everything I ever wanted in a single day. I became a husband and a father today.”

“Oh crap. You realize this means we’re never going to get to celebrate our wedding anniversary, right?”

“I’ll be celebrating being married to you every damn day for the rest of my life.” The aches and pains of my body fade into the background as I bask in our newborn family. I don’t think I’ve ever been as content as I feel at this moment.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“You better.”

* * *

“They won’t latch on. What am I doing wrong?” It’s been three days since the boys were born, and I have no maternal instinct superpowers. I’m pretty sure the boys prefer Coop over me, and they don’t want to drink my weird pre-milk, milky stuff. What’s it called? Colostomy? No, that’s not right. That’s when you have a poop bag attached to you. It definitely starts with the letter C. Colostrum.

“You’re not doing anything wrong, beautiful. The nurse said it can take some time and especially while you’re waiting for your milk to come in properly.”

“God, you make me sound like a cow.”

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