Vaguely, I抦 aware of activity around me. By calling anyone, Asher apparently meant everyone. My father. Oliver. Josephine and Hanson梬ho is fully recovered from his health scare. Scarlett抯 family huddles with mine, whispering. Probably about me. Wisely, none of them approach me.
An eternity passes before Dr. Summers appears. I stand as soon as I see him.
揧our wife is asking for you, Crew.?
Relief hits me so hard I feel like my knees are about to buckle. 揝he抯 okay??My voice cracks between the o and the kay.
Dr. Summers smiles and nods. 揝he抯 okay. And you抳e got a healthy baby girl.?
A girl. I have a daughter. The thought feels foreign, even after months of knowing this was coming. 揅an I see them??My voice sounds like my throat is filled with rocks.
He nods. 揙f course. Follow me.?
Dr. Summers leads me to a different room than before. Scarlett is lying down, with a blanketed bundle resting on her chest.
揑抣l give you a minute,?he says, then disappears.
Scarlett looks up as soon as I step inside the room. Her smile is wide and brilliant. 揝he has your eyes.?
I reach the bed and catch the first glimpse of my daughter抯 face. She抯 perfect. And Scarlett抯 right. Her eyes are the same shade of blue as mine. The color I inherited from my mother.
揟he first time I saw you, I thought you had the most beautiful eyes I抎 ever seen,?she tells me.
I turn my head so I can press my face against her hair, feeling my eyes burn for the first time in my adult life. 揑 was so scared. So fucking terrified, Red.?
揑抦 okay,?she assures me. 揥e抮e okay.?
I look back at the tiny human we created together. 揥ow.?
揑 know.?Scarlett echoes my awed tone. 揇o you want to hold her??
I swallow. 揧eah. I do.?
The fake baby from the birthing class felt nothing like the real thing. Scarlett passes me our daughter, and she抯 tiny and perfect and real.
揥e should have decided on names sooner.?
I smile wryly. 揂nd ordered the crib, probably.?
Scarlett抯 eyes widen. 揊uck.?
揑抣l take care of it,?I assure Scarlett. 揝he抣l have a bed.?I look at my daughter. 揧ou抣l have a bed.?
揥ow,?Scarlett comments, staring at us. 揧ou抮e a total DILF. I mean, I figured you would be. But it抯 different that it抯 my kid too, you know??
I snort a laugh, and it feels good. Expels the last swirls of anxiety.
揥hat about Elizabeth??Scarlett asks.
I study the small, innocent face. That same tug from my wedding appears, wondering what my mom might have to say on a day like today. She would have known what to tell me when Scarlett was in surgery. I clear my throat. 揇on抰 feel like we have to棓
揑 don抰。？
揥on抰 your mom be offended??
Scarlett scoffs, but then sobers. 揑 mean卛t could be her middle name, I guess.?
揈lizabeth Josephine Kensington,?I say softly.
揧eah.?
揑 like it.?
揗e too,?Scarlett states.
揝he抯 here,?I tell her. 揧our mom. Your dad too.?
揜eally??
揂sher called them along with my dad and Oliver. I was厀ell, I wasn抰 in the mood to talk to anyone. And we hadn抰 talked about who we抎 call and when.?
Scarlett nods. 揧ou can see if they want to come meet Elizabeth.?
揂re you sure??
揑抦 sure.?
揙kay.?I抦 reluctant to relinquish Elizabeth. Loathe to leave this room. But I hand her back to Scarlett and retrace my steps to the waiting room. They抮e all still there. I wasn抰 sure if they would be.
I clear my throat. 揢h, Dad? Hanson? Josephine? Do you梔o you want to meet your granddaughter??
All three of them look stunned. Maybe it抯 just hitting them they抮e grandparents. Maybe they didn抰 expect this offer.
To my surprise, Hanson stands first. Josephine follows. My dad is the last to rise, but he does. I glance at Oliver. Go ahead, he mouths. Me and my dad trail after Scarlett抯 parents down the hallway.
揥e named her Elizabeth,?I tell him quietly, as we walk down the hallway. My father is often unpredictable. I don抰 want his response to the revelation梡ositive or negative梩o color the first meeting. ?31,?I tell Josephine and Hanson when we near Scarlett抯 room. They enter. I hear Josephine exclaiming. My father and I linger outside.
He squeezes my shoulder. 揑抦 proud of you, Crew. Your mother would be too.?
Then he heads inside. I抦 left standing in the hallway, crying for the second time today.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
SCARLETT
Crew is acting strange. He came home distracted, but on time, missing Sophie and Nadia抯 visit by only a few minutes. Pet Teddy and kissed Elizabeth before they went to bed, but it was autopilot. The same actions he does every night when he returns from work.