Page 23 of Better Than Baby (Better Than Stories #9)

seventeen

The day felt like Christmas as a kid back when I believed in Santa, toy-making elves, flying reindeer, and magic.

I was enthralled with our daughter’s every little move and hopelessly enchanted by her beauty—her perfect tiny mouth, adorable button nose, and itty-bitty ears.

I wouldn’t leave her side. I supervised her first bath, learned how to properly change a diaper, and took notes on how to make a bottle, how much to feed her, how to burp her, how to wrap her like a burrito.

We FaceTimed my parents, who cried and agreed she was absolutely perfect.

They asked for her name, but there was a commotion in the room as Aaron’s parents arrived.

I hung up with my folks, not willing to miss a single second of our new baby’s first moments on the planet while my in-laws took turns holding our daughter.

They raved about how gorgeous she was and commented on her strong will.

This girl did not adhere to due dates. She did things her own way.

Rosa, Aaron’s mom, was the first to point out that she looked just like Aaron. She said it in Spanish, but I understood just enough to catch her meaning.

“I agree,” I said. “She’s lucky.”

“ La nina is lucky,” Rosa concurred in halting English. “Not because she is lovely and perfect to the eyes, though. No, she is lucky because she is loved. No questions. She has two papas who will give her the world.”

“She’s going to be so spoiled…in the best way possible,” Lena piped in from the hospital bed as she demolished a cup of cafeteria-style pudding.

She was relaxed and happy, albeit a little sore. We’d arranged to have our own room, but we didn’t want to abandon the person who’d literally helped make this dream possible. As soon as Lena’s mom returned from her lunch run and her brother and his husband arrived, we’d move.

“Do you want to hold her?” I asked out of the blue.

Lena went still, her gaze shifting from me to Aaron. “Really? I didn’t think you’d want me to.”

“You’ve been with her from the very beginning, Lena. If you’d like a moment with her, we’d totally understand. And if it’s easier not to, that’s fine too,” he replied, adjusting the baby’s pink-and-blue striped hospital-issue beanie.

Lena nodded, pushing the tray aside and wiping her hands clean. She held her arms open, smiling sweetly at the bundle I placed in her arms. “I guess this is good-bye, little friend. It’s been an amazing journey. I hope you have the best life and do so many wonderful things.”

“You weren’t supposed to make me cry,” Aaron admonished.

Lena pursed her lips as if to stave off tears. “Sorry. What are you going to name her?”

“Well…” Aaron and I shared a glance. “We like Mia.”

“Mia Mendez-Sullivan has a nice ring to it.”

“Yes. Matt’s mom suggested it, so we know she’ll approve. For a middle name, we were thinking Rosa for my mom and Lena…for you. Mia Rosalena Mendez-Sullivan.”

Lena gaped. “I…don’t know what to say. I’m so honored. Thank you.”

“Thank you , Lena. You’ve changed our lives.”

Our friends descended on the private room later that afternoon with flowers, balloons, and contraband Italian takeout and homemade brownies.

“We couldn’t let you suffer with cafeteria food,” Jay insisted, peering over Aaron’s shoulder at the baby. “Look at this little miracle. So precious…like a biscuit.”

Aaron snickered. “Our daughter is not a biscuit. She’s a sweetie cake, aren’t you, Mia carina ?”

“I thought the guncles were gonna get some love. The ink isn’t dry on the birth certificate, is it? We could work Curtis into a girl name,” Curt said around a mouthful of brownie.

“Curta?” Jack suggested. “Curtina, Curtisa? What do you think, Peter?”

“I think you’re both high.”

We laughed and replayed the last twenty-four-plus hours for our friends—including our meeting with Xander. The mood was joyful and light…and hopeful too. We’d done all we could and now…we had to wait. And learn how to be daddies.

“You have to check the bottle, babe. See how much she’s had to drink,” I advised, clicking photos of Papa and baby for the Sullivan family group chat.

“It looks like she’s had an ounce.” Aaron held the bottle up to the light, smiling as Mia chased a phantom nipple.

I dabbed milk from her chin and put the spit-up towel over my shoulder. “I’ll burp her.”

Aaron ghosted a thumb along her cheek and beamed up at me. “Show her how it’s done, Daddy.”

I snickered. “No problem. Do me a favor and send my folks a picture of us. Mom doesn’t think I know how to do baby things.”

“Oh! She’s going to be so impressed.” Aaron snapped a few pics and sent one to Jess and Todd from my cell, requesting them to show it to Mia’s fur-brother. “Poor Murphy is probably wondering where we are.”

“Poor Murphy is probably getting some sweet table scraps and lots of extra kid attention.” I gently patted Mia’s back, grinning when she burped in my ear. “Hey, nice one!”

“Geez, you’re a natural, Matty. I don’t think—” Aaron stilled, his brow creasing as he read something on his cell.

I shifted Mia from my shoulder to cradle her in my left arm as I reached for the bottle. “What’s up?”

“It’s Gabby.” He positioned the phone so I could read the text:

Home inspection can be scheduled as early as tomorrow afternoon if that works for you and Aaron. Assuming all goes well, I can send the final paper work to you via email and arrange for Xander to go home with you Monday.

“Monday.”

That was…soon.

No problem. We could do this.

Aaron headed home first to get things organized, shower, change, and check in on Murphy. I took the next shift and enlisted Curt to help with baby latches. To be honest, I’d requested Jack, but he was busy with a motorcycle repair at his shop.

“I resent being second banana here,” Curt groused as Murphy sniffed the toolbox and nipped at a package of babyproof locks for the kitchen cabinets. “I’m a decent handyman.”

“You’re as decent as I am, which isn’t saying much, but hey…beggars and choosers and all that.”

“Screw you, asshole.”

“On the bright side, this doesn’t seem complicated.” I studied the directions on the package. “Between the two of us, we should be able to knock this out within the hour.”

Two hours later, we finally graduated from the kitchen to the bathrooms, thanks to some FaceTime assistance from Jack.

We weren’t totally incompetent, but Murphy was an unreliable assistant.

He’d chewed a sock he’d found sitting atop the hamper in our room, then dropped a roll of toilet paper and sent it streaming down the hallway.

Cleaning the mess had taken a good ten minutes.

I owed Curt big-time for giving up a portion of his Sunday to do someone else’s manual labor, but that would have to be another day.

I slid a water bottle across the island, chuckling at Curt’s theatrical collapse onto a barstool.

“Don’t get too comfortable. I have to check in with Aaron and find out when the home inspection agent will be here. And I should take another shower. I stink.” I sniffed my pits and winced. “This was more work than I expected it to be.”

Curt sighed. “Yeah, I think we did a decent job, though. Honestly, I think there’re a couple of cabinets no one will ever be able to get into.”

I held a hand up for a high five. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”

He snickered, shaking his head in dismay. “I can’t believe you’re a dad. I mean, you have a daughter and a son too. Consider my mind blown. It feels like just yesterday that we were roommates and you were straight and I was the only gay person you knew.”

I couldn’t argue—he was right. “It’s weird to think that if you hadn’t insisted on going to that club all those years ago, I might not have met Aaron that night.”

Curt widened his eyes. “True. Geez, you might have married a girl and?—”

“No. Only Aaron. I would have found him another way.”

“You think so?”

I gave an awkward shrug and looked around the house we shared.

The clean bottles lining the kitchen counter next to a how-to-make-your-own-baby-food cookbook and a stack of animal-print bowls.

The portable crib in the great room for Mia, and the two shelves in the built-in bookcase filled with primary-colored toys and books for Xander.

Murphy’s bed lay near the fireplace with his own bucket of balls and goodies.

We’d bought this house hoping to make it a home for our family. And it was about to happen. But I couldn’t imagine any of this without Aaron.

“Maybe Lena’s mom rubbed off on me. She says the universe puts certain people in your path for a reason. All I know is that I was never going to marry anyone else.” My tone brooked no argument.

Curt raised a brow but didn’t disagree. “You’ve turned into a romantic.”

I laughed. “I don’t know about that, but?—”

Knock knock.

Curt gestured at the front door with his water bottle. “Want me to answer or…oh, shit. You better catch Murphy.”

I did a double take as Murphy raced into the great room, dragging a pink stuffed bunny by its ears.

“Thanks. Uh…grab the door. It’s probably just Todd. I told him I’d bring Murph back to them before heading to the hospital.”

“Gotcha.”

Ding dong.

“Murphy, come. Drop it. Drop it now.”

Murphy didn’t come and he didn’t drop the stuffed animal. In fact, he launched into an epic round of zoomies, tearing around the furniture and sending a pillow flying in his wake. He was in a zone, and the only thing he’d stop for now was a treat.

I didn’t have any on me, so I made a beeline for the pantry, aware of the dog parkouring off the sofa.

It was kind of funny. Okay, it was really funny.

I chuckled at his hijinks in spite of the destruction he was leaving behind him.

The cushions were askew, and on his next pass through the living area he knocked over his toys, scattering balls everywhere.