She stands up so that Leah can sit in the rocking chair. When she hands her Beth, Leah looks down at the cute bundle in her arms.
In just a few short months, she’ll be holding our baby. I can’t fucking wait.
Liz says, “Can you guys handle the baby for a second? I’ve had to pee for like an hour.”
“Sure,” I say. “But why didn’t you get up before now?”
She points at her daughter. “Have you seen her? She’s freaking adorable. I didn’t want to stop looking at her sweet face.”
When we’re alone, I kneel next to Leah as we both stare at Beth’s face.
Leah holds her little hand. “Look how tiny her fingers are.”
I say, “Give it time. Liz and Jack are both giants. Pretty soon, she’ll catch up.”
“Do you think ours will be this cute?”
“Oh, for sure. Don’t tell Beth, but I think ours will be even more adorable.”
She looks at the baby and gets lost in her thoughts for a minute.
“Leah, you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s still just a little surreal to me that you and I are going to have one of these pretty soon. It’s not like we just hold her for a few minutes. We will have her for the rest of our lives.”
“Does that freak you out?”
She looks at me. “A little bit.”
“Can I be honest?”
“Are you ever anything but honest, boy scout?”
“I’m scared too.”
Her eyes get big. “Really?”
“Of course. Having a baby is a really big fucking deal.”
“So, how are you not entirely freaking out?”
“Because my excitement far outweighs my panic. I know we’ll figure it out.”
“You sure?” She asks. “Because I’m almost positive this is one of the only times I’ve ever even held a baby.”
“Well, looks like you’re doing a great job. I mean, she’s alive.”
“Dylan, it’s been like two minutes. It’s only a matter of time.”
“You’re doing great,” I try to reassure her.
A few moments later, Jack comes in. “I’ve come to get the sweet little princess for a diaper change.”
Leah hands Beth off to him, and Liz comes back. “Jack doing a diaper change?” She asks.
“Yep,” I say. “How many of those have you done so far in the past week?”
“Uhm.” She holds up her fingers like she’s counting. “Zero.”