Page 50 of Never Say Yes To Your Boss

Everleigh has taught me that I’m so much more than collateral damage. I’m not just some weird rich guy who can’t ride in cars and shuts himself away in an old kind of creepy house. I’m not someone whom no one will ever see because they can’t see past the money or my eccentricities.

“Hmm.” She pretends to consider, but I see the evil magic working behind her light blue eyes. “Think of all the ways we could do beast taming without love gloves?”

“My lord, Mrs. Anderson, you have quite the mouth.”

“And you, Mr. Bradford Darius Anderson the Second, quite enjoy it.”

Epilogue

Everleigh

Afew hours ago, I was screaming something to the tune of,goddamn that will and your grandma and you and your untamed wild beast that you insisted on unleashing on me. It doesn’t matter one whit that I freaking liked it at the time because I am never going through this again!Of course, I know that’s a lie now because everything is so utterly perfect in the world that I would definitely consider putting myself through eighteen-odd hours of torture once more. Or maybe twice more. I don’t know.

I threatened to muzzle, tame, and behead the beast, and I think the nurses thought I was crazy. After I pushed a nearly ten-pound human being out of me and the pain shut off, I was much more rational. Also, I’ve been enjoying the benefits of freezing for a while now, and it makes all of me numb, not just my ass, which, yes, still gets pins and needles when I’m nervous. That hasn’t changed. It’s weird, but I don’t know if it will everchange. Darius loved it when I finally told him about it because he thought it was hilarious. I guess it is kind of funny.

But anyway, now that the whole giving birth thing is over, I’m much calmer. Alright, so I’m kind of in awe of the product of all that pain, panting, pushing, and thinking I couldn’t do it. No, not kind of. It’s totally. Because I did do it, and now he’s here. Our son.

Bradford Darius Hans Nicholas Anderson the Third is pretty perfect.

That’s a big name for a tiny little bundle, but since we’ve just decided to go with Nick, I’m sure he’ll grow into it sooner or later.

Daddy D is officially a real daddy now. Hans actually burst into happy tears the minute he walked into the room, and we told him we’d given our baby his name to serve as one of many middle names. The Bradford Darius thing is just for family posterity.

My eyes tear up just looking at our perfect baby. I don’t know if there is ever going to be a time again when I don’t cry over everything, including puppy and kitty videos, random acts of kindness videos, and the sight of my beautiful little family.

And not forgetting my other beautiful family walking in through the hospital room’s door.

My mom and Heather have been in the waiting room for hours, but Darius just went out to let them know we’re finally in one of the private rooms so they can come and see us.

Heather, cancer-free for a year now, is gorgeous as always, and she’s rocking a scarf tied over her pixie cut. Her hair started growing back over a year ago, but she decided she loves the short look, and she’s really good with headbands, scarves, toques, and hats now. She felt they were necessary at one point in time, but now she just likes them. Her big metal hoop earrings andher massive grin glint in the overhead lighting. It’s three in the morning, but she doesn’t look one bit tired.

And neither does my mum. In fact, she looks absolutely wild with elation.

Nick will do that to a person. He’s the first Anderson grandchild and my mom’s first grandchild. Darius’ mom will be on her way to the hospital first thing in the morning. My mom and Heather have been staying with us for the last month, so Hans gave them a ride to the hospital.

“A beautiful baby, yeah?” Hans asks with a Swiss accent.

Heather rolls her eyes at him as she reaches into the little plastic bassinet and runs her finger over Nick’s chubby little cheek. He was overdue by nine days, and it’s freaking January out there, so he’s a little bit dry. I pity all the poor souls who have to venture into this world when it’s this cold out.

“Oh, a little of here…”

“A little of there,” we all finish.

Hans pretends to be put out, but I see him wink at Heather, and I see her cheeks turn a little bit pink. Just because I’ve been in labor for a day and a half doesn’t mean I don’t notice these things. I make a big sister mental note and file it away for later. Heather has been here for me, and we’ve spent more time as a family this past month than we have in a while because, being heavily pregnant, I haven’t been able to travel back to Philly. I wasn’t willing to drive myself all that way, and I couldn’t fly. The past month was uncomfortable, being as big as a house or whatever people like to say, but it was amazing having my family with me.

I never noticed Heather and Hans flirting. She and my mom are staying for another month to help with Nick before they head back home. We’ve been talking about moving to Chicago. I mean, they’ve been talking about it, and I’ve been getting excited and joining in on the conversation, but nothing has beenfinalized yet. I want it to be their decision, so I’ve been waiting and hoping.

Maybe if my sister had an extra reason besides a super cute nephew, a big sister who loves her like crazy, and a brother-in-law that she’s actually pretty fond of…

“Welcome to the world, little baby,” my mom croons, taking her turn to lean over the bassinet. Nick is sleeping, but my mom carefully lifts him out and cradles him in her arms. He doesn’t wake up. She’s got the special grandma touch already. I know it will probably come in handy this next month when we’re all extremely sleep-deprived.

She’s radiant with happiness, and I catch Darius watching and Heather leaning in to steal another peek. Even Hans looks like he has some mist in his eyes even as he tries not to cry again. My heart swells so big that it feels like it’s going to get lodged in my throat. I don’t even attempt to brush away the tears that trace their way down old and sticky tracks from before.

Darius walks over to the bed and sits down on the edge. He brushes a strand of hair back that is stuck in the tears and uses his knuckles to wipe my cheeks. Then, he kisses my forehead ever so gently.

He’s had two more surgeries in the past two years, and both of them have given him a better range of motion in his arm. I no longer mistake him for a drowning man when he’s swimming. He always likes to joke about that. I’ve never had any surgeries before. I’ve been so lucky. Now, sitting here with fresh stitches in my lady bits, I kind of get the mornings when he’d wake up, and the skin around his eyes would be white, his lips would be pinched, and he’d need a few minutes of walking around the room, working his shoulder, and doing some of those exercises his physiotherapist taught him before he could even say good morning. That only lasted for a few weeks, and the pain became lesser and lesser, and his arm was better for it, but those weekswere rough for both of us. Watching Darius go through pain like that was like watching my sister go through her treatments. It’s just so hard to watch the people you love in pain.

We’ve all been so blessed because Heather is healthy and strong now, and my mom is happier than she’s ever been. She’s gone back to college and is now majoring in marketing. She actually loves being a mature student. She jokes about it all the time. She switched her classes to online for this past year because as soon as I told her I was pregnant, she knew she wanted to come and stay before the baby was born and after.

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