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“With every part of me.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding slowly.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” she said, her eyes glazing over with tears.
I reached over and placed my palm gently against her cheek before pulling her in for a kiss. Her eyes fluttered closed as her lips met mine. In that moment, I couldn’t tell if the taste of salt was from her tears or mine.
As we kissed, with our baby between us, I thought back on how much my life had changed in the course of less than a year. I never thought it would turn out like this. So extraordinarily different from the life I had lived before. I didn’t realize how empty I had been until all those hidden parts of me were filled. Filled by these two girls right here.
As Heart pulled away and rested her head on my shoulder, I smiled to myself. My birthday wish had come true.
Chapter 59
Addison
“I’m outside,” said Daniel through the phone. I smiled and walked swiftly to the window.
There he was, leaning against the town car in that effortlessly casual way, but instead of his suit, he wore jeans and a sweater. He must have felt my eyes on him because he looked up and grinned, making my heart pitter-patter. I wondered if I would ever get used to the sight of him, or if I would permanently feel this combination of goosebumps, jitters, and a racing heart.
“Be right down,” I said before hanging up.
“You going to go see baby?” asked Monica from the couch that had been her bed for several weeks.
I nodded.
After Bridgette was born four weeks ago, Daniel and I were able to stay a few more nights at the hospital, but eventually we had to leave to make room for other patients. I wished we could have stayed there forever, or at least until Bridgette was released, but that wasn’t how things with preemie babies worked.
It was the most painful thing ever to leave the hospital knowing she wasn’t coming with me. Daniel practically had to pry my hands off of her incubator and held me as I sobbed through the hallways. He took me back to his place to comfort me and I stayed for a few nights before going back to my apartment in Brooklyn with Monica. He only let me because he knew I wouldn’t be alone.
Since then, it had been a waiting game. Daniel came and picked me up from Brooklyn every morning with a cup of coffee, instead of tea. It felt so reminiscent of our first weeks together that it made me smile as we drove the long stretch back to Manhattan. Almost the entire time we would talk about Bridgette and wondering if that would be the day she could be released. In the other moments, we got to know each other more.
I learned more about his childhood. His vivacious mother and his serious father. A match that was likely to combust and everyone betted on it, yet it worked. Their wildly different personalities meshed well together like a pair of hands that were meant to hold each other. I could tell from the way Daniel spoke about them that he was very fond of them, but since they lived in Europe, he didn’t see them very much.
Little by little, I was discovering the different pieces of Daniel, and he was discovering mine. It was as if we were putting together our own puzzles, even though we fit together seamlessly.
When Daniel saw me step out of the building, he walked swiftly toward me and wrapped his arms around my lower back as I looked up at him. He just stared at me for a moment before gliding his hand up the length of my spine to the back of my head, gently tilting my face up toward him before meeting my mouth with his. I felt the breath leave my body as I leaned into him.
He pulled away and stroked my cheeks with his thumbs. “Are you ready to go see our girl?”
“Mhmm,” I said, still trying to right myself after his kiss.
Armand opened the car door and Daniel and I slid inside the backseat. As the car pulled away from the curb and began its journey to Manhattan, I lay my head on Daniel’s shoulder.
“Do you think today is the day?” I murmured.
“I have a good feeling,” he said.
I did too, but I was trying not to get my hopes up. Last week, Bridgette was able to be taken from the incubator and weaned into an open crib. It was a huge development and the doctor had told us it wouldn’t be long now. Today she was just past thirty-seven weeks and had already grown so much. She didn’t even look like the tiny baby we had met all those weeks ago. Her fingers were plumper and her cheeks were rounder. The doctor said she was strong. A tough cookie. Daniel made sure to let the doctor know that she took after me.
Instead of our usual chatter on the drive, we remained mostly silent. A bundle of anticipation. When we arrived at the hospital, we walked hand in hand up to the NICU. The nurses all said their hellos. They had grown used to us being here every day.
When we arrived to the special care nursery, we rushed over to see Bridgette, who was playing with her fingers and looking up at a cloud mobile that hung above her crib.
“Good morning, beautiful girl,” said Daniel.
Bridgette turned to him and cooed.