Page 69 of A Treasure To Keep
He takes a step back, whistling slightly as he refuses to make eye contact with me. “About that.”
“What did you do?”
“The hospital asked for a name for the name tag, and I panicked. I made sure to pick the first name from the top of our list. The middle name was inspired the moment I saw him. I know you don’t practice religion, but the meaning of his middle name made sense. Some force was with you, with both of you, to ensure you two were safe. We have about a week and a half to sign everything if you’re not happy with the name.” His eyes shift to the name card on the box, listing our son's name. Théodore Emanuele Beaumont-Cornado.
That’s a mouthful. But baby Theo! So adorable. Andrea is right; some force was with Théodore and I. Maybe it was God;who knows? Regardless, his name will always mean God is with us. On the other hand. “Who said we were hyphenating with your name?”
Andrea’s face only says one thing ‘Oh shit.’ I raise my eyebrows, keeping his brain spinning for another few seconds. “My love, I’m kidding. We both know I’m taking your last name when we get married. Speaking of, where’s my ring?”
“Somewhere safe. I’m considering re-proposing.” He winks cheekily, trying to make me smile after this shithole of an event. Too bad my attitude is a thousand times bigger than his.
“You re-propose, and I’m not sucking your dick for a year.” The nurse who helped me earlier freezes after putting down a baby, and a few families caught wind of what I told Andrea.
“You said that louder than you realized. Also, here’s your ring.” Andrea grabs my left hand, sliding the ring on my finger while I keep both hands on my son. The kiss he gives me is soft and full of his love until his phone rings, snapping it out of the sweet moment.
He makes a noise that sounds like he’s trying to suppress a gasp as he answers the phone. “Bonjour. Yes. Mhm. Okay. Sure. Sounds good.”
When Andrea hangs up, he slowly puts his phone in his pocket, whistling quietly. Oh no. Who was that, and what annoying news does he have this time?
“How mad am I going to be?”
“I’d say about an eight. Maybe an eight and a half.” Oh shit. That’s not good. “Marco is here. He was here last night too until we knew you’d be okay. He left pretty abruptly after that. I need to go grab him, though.”
He rushes out of the room, taking advantage of the fact that I can’t move quickly because of the accident and that I’m holding Theo.
I should have expected this. Theo wiggles around when my heart rate speeds up, forcing me to inhale deeply to settle my nerves. I kiss my son’s head, whispering to confirm everything I logically should know. Even though my emotions say otherwise.
“Chill the fuck out, El. It’ll be okay. This will all be okay.”
Chapter 75
Andrea
Seeing El with Théodore has made this terrible event worth it. I’m confident motherhood will come naturally to her. It is already by how she holds him and the love in her eyes when she focuses on him.
I’m taking my sweet time walking to the hospital entrance to grab Marco. I will admit I took the coward’s way out by racing out of the NICU. I’ve been uncomfortably stuck in the middle of El and Marco for her entire pregnancy. And while I’d sell my soul to support El in any way she needs, I can’t deny that Marco deserves to know his son. Lord knows I would have liked to meet ma père, even though ma mère gave me everything she could. I wouldn’t be alive without her determination to get me the best treatment possible as a child.
When I reach the entrance of the building, the automatic doors open, and I notice Marco pacing back and forth in front of the door. His large body is what’s triggering the doors to slide open.
He must sense my presence when he turns his head, pausing before rushing through the doors. He stops in front of me, his daunting frame as intimidating as always. There’s a slight shift of uncertainty in his eyes. No. Not quite. There’s something else, too. Maybe fear? Eventually, he ends this standoff and speaks first, his words coming out hesitant.
“How is she? H-how is he?”
I’m unsure if I should be impressed that he thought to ask of El first, or if I should be concerned that he thought to ask of Théodore last. On the other hand, if he asked in the opposite order, I’d still have something to say. It’s a lose-lose situation.
“She’s sore. Both her body and where her C-section scar will be. The doctor said that’s expected as she heals. Emotionally, she has endless thoughts running through her head. The sounds of her screaming when she found out what happened will ring in my head until the day I die. The second he was placed on her chest, she immediately tried to be strong for him, but I can see the sorrow in her eyes. He’s the correct size for an infant at thirty weeks' gestation, which, if she were pregnant, would be fantastic. Since he needed to be born early, it’s not that great. The doctors expect Théodore to be in the NICU for six to eight weeks before going home. They’re still unsure if he will have any lingering issues.” Some of that information I haven’t told El yet. She’s trying to wrap her head around what’s happened in the last sixteen hours. The last thing she needs is me coming in and providing more scary news for her.
“Théodore?” Marco only hangs onto one thing. The name of our son. El and I made a list of names we loved, not disclosing them to Marco or anyone, for that matter. We planned on doing that when we narrowed down our list. I guess now it’s narrowed down.
“Yes. Théodore Emanuele Beaumont-Cornado.”
Marco’s face melts, and I know something deeply sarcastic is about to burst out of his mouth. “Aw. The best name for last. I’m flattered. It’s a strong name for a strong boy.”
He pauses for a second, waiting for me to respond, until he realizes that the attempt at humor didn’t land. Once the pause has officially become awkward, he presses his lips together in a thin line, processing everything I told him a minute ago. “How pissed is El going to be when I go into the room?”
A twinge of humor still lives in his voice. His default mode is to attempt to lighten the mood. Today though? Today is not the day to push El’s buttons. I’ve seen her at her strongest, and I’ve now officially seen her at her weakest. Marco won’t understand that until he processes it for himself. I pride myself on being calm and collected, but everyone has their limits. His last few words have been mine.
“First of all, she’s too occupied with Théodore to have the energy to fight with you. That’s too big an argument. Seriously, Marco, we need to support her right now. Get all the sarcasm out right now to my face. Because when we walk into that room, our focus is on Théodore and ensuring El is taken care of. Her needs matter as much as our son’s right now. When she does have the energy to argue, don’t bring up the whole best name for last statement to El. She’ll kick your ass based on that alone.” Marco’s face goes flat when I snap at him, caught off guard by my uncharacteristic behavior.