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.”