Page 71 of The MC's Surprise
We went quiet for a little while, just soaking in the moment. Mel showed up right when the baby started crying, breaking the silence. I looked up at her, panicked. “What’d I do?”
“Nothing,” she chuckled with a shake of her head. “It’s probably time for her first feeding.”
She walked me through breastfeeding, and showed me how to hold the baby so she was comfortable while eating. When she latched, I winced, and Mel’s smile tightened a little.
“Yeah, it’ll be uncomfortable for a little while. I’ve got tubes of lanolin that will help with that. Put it on after every feeding. It’ll help, I promise.”
“It hurts?” Justin asked, his expression full of concern as he took the tubes Mel offered.
“Not forever. Just in the beginning. But it looks like she’s latching well, which is great. We’ll switch sides when she’s ready. Your parents went downstairs to get something to eat. You can have clear liquids for now, but in a few hours, I’ll bring you something light. We want to ease into it after the surgery. Tomorrow is when you get all the good yummy stuff. Vegas, if you’re hungry, you can go downstairs to pick up something from the cafeteria.”
He shook his head, staying glued to my side. “I’m good. I’ll eat later. Is there anything I can do right now?”
Mel chuckled, raising her eyebrows at me. “How in the world do people think they’re bad when they all act like this?”
“I don’t know. But I’m determined to change their minds.”
“You and me both, sister. I’ll stick around awhile, make sure you get a good latch on the other side and show you how to burp her. Then Vegas gets to take over for a while so you can get some rest. You’ve been through a lot. You deserve a nap.”
She stayed with us as long as we needed her and showed up throughout the night, whenever the baby started crying. She’d already been working when we showed up, so I asked at one point if she was supposed to go home, but she waved me off.
“I told you, I’m sticking around in case you need me.”
It meant so much to me that she stayed with me through the whole thing. From the moment I showed up until my parents were back and I was finally allowed to get up and walk, she stayed and helped us both. So after Justin finally convinced her to go home and get some rest, I brought up an idea that popped into my head somewhere in the middle of the night.
“What about Melanie?” I suggested. Justin was sitting in a recliner shirtless with the baby asleep on his chest. He looked up at me curiously.
“Melanie?”
I nodded, looking at my daughter with so much love it hurt. I had to wonder if it would always feel that way.
“We can call her Mel.”
When he realized why I suggested that name, he smiled brightly. “Little Mel. I like it.”
“I do too,” Mom chimed in, offering me another bite of her sandwich. They’d brought a smorgasbord of food when she arrived this morning and Doctor O’Malley cleared me to eat a little at a time to make sure I didn’t upset my stomach. I couldn’tdecide between the four sandwiches they’d brought, so everyone was sharing bites with me so I didn’t have to choose.
“Melanie Martin-Taylor, or Taylor-Martin?” Dad asked from where he was relaxing at the table. He’d gotten his turn holding the baby, but he seemed more focused on me than anything else. I appreciated it more than words could express. It made me feel loved.
“Martin-Taylor has a better ring to it,” Justin commented, twisting a little to look at the baby’s face. “What do you think, princess? You wanna be Little Mel-Mel?”
I snorted, raising an eyebrow at him. “Mel-Mel?”
He grinned wickedly. “Ellie started calling her that, then Zoey. Now the nickname has latched on and I refuse to let it die. She can’t stand it, and if this one shares the nickname, she won’t be able to argue with it anymore.”
Okay, well, I’d picked the name to show how much I appreciated everything Mel had done for us since we got here, but if Justin wanted to go another way, that was his business. I wiggled my fingers, pouting at him.
“My turn?”
He let out a dramatic sigh, winking at me to show he wasn’t actually upset. “I guess. Do I have to put my shirt back on?”
Laughing, I looked him up and down. “I mean, I’m not complaining.”
“I am,” Dad grumbled. “Put yer damn shirt on, son.”
Justin carefully handed me our daughter, leaning in to whisper in my ear. “I think he likes me.”
I just laughed. Of course he did. Everyone did. Justin had a way with people that drew them in. Just like he’d done to me. He’d drawn my attention, stolen my heart, then given me the greatest gift I could have ever asked for. I didn’t care anymore that my business failed or that I had to come back home with mytail between my legs. It all led me back to him. And I couldn’t be more grateful for that.
