Page 51 of Better Than Baby
Aaron picked up a few pillows and held the pink bunny by its droopy wet ear. “That would be him. I apologize for the mess. I promise we’re usually very tidy.”
Another wicked glare.
Deon grinned. “No need to apologize. Real life is messy. How old is your dog?”
“Almost a year.”
“I have a note in the file that you have a daughter too.”
“She’s one day old. Just born yesterday.” I rocked on my heels, unable to keep my proud new dad smile in check.
“Congratulations. Looks like you have your hands full,” he commented.
“Yes, but…we can handle it. We’re very responsible, I swear.” Aaron gnawed his bottom lip. “Matt hurried from the hospital to install the babyproof locks and…and…maybe we should show you the nursery.”
Deon inclined his chin. “Lead the way.”
Curt motioned to the toys and whispered, “Go on. I’ll take care of this part.”
“Thanks.”
We’d commissioned an artist to hand-paint animals on the eucalyptus walls: a giraffe, an elephant, a lion, and dozens of birds in a tree with long branches and a thick trunk where a bespectacled owl read a book. A bookcase lined the wall under the window and was filled with board books and toys. A glider rocking chair was positioned between the crib and a changing table. A colorful mobile hung above the crib, and a pastel-toned baby blanket was draped over the side.
Aaron had plans to monogram the baby’s name—names…everywhere, but for now, the tone was neutral. Not pink, not blue. It was green and beige and orange with hints of yellow and red. He’d put his heart and soul into this room, arranging hidden alcoves for diapers and baby lotions and stocking the closet with extras of everything.
We were ready.
“The second crib will be delivered in a few days. There’s space for it along that wall.” Aaron gestured across the room,and continued in a rush. “Mia will be with us for at least a couple of weeks, so this will be where Xander sleeps. We have clothes, toys, bottles, and baby food for him. I even bought a cookbook to learn how to make our own healthier baby food…no preservatives or additives. And of course, we have emergency kits and those little gates to keep them out of harm’s way. And Matty—I mean, Matt—babyproofed the whole house.”
I nodded enthusiastically. “I did. Let me show you.”
We gave Deon the full tour, ending up in the kitchen where Curt was perched on a barstool, scrolling his cell.
“I would have bounced, but Deon parked behind me in the driveway,” Curt muttered for my ears only.
“No problem. I think it’s almost over.” I watched Aaron, showing Deon the yard from the bank of windows off the kitchen.
Deon hadn’t said much. Just hummed and nodded. I couldn’t tell if that was good or bad, and damn, my stomach was in knots.
“That’s everything,” Aaron concluded with a too-cheery expression. “Or did you want to see the bottles and formula we bought?”
“That’s not necessary.” Deon set his tablet on the island and reached for the water bottle he’d abandoned earlier. “I understand you’ve been through this part previously.”
“Yes, but not the final inspection,” I clarified.
Deon uncapped the bottle. “This isn’t an inspection. It’s a home visit.”
“Right. We went through this last year, so we’re probably rusty, but?—”
“Nonsense. Your home is beautiful, and you’re obviously very well prepared to welcome children into your lives—a daughteranda son. Congratulations on your adoption. And congrats to Murphy too.”
The relief was so intense, I could have fallen to my knees. This was years in the making, an uphill climb fraught with some of the lowest lows we’d ever experienced as a couple.
And now…we’d become fathers of two.
“What happens now?” Aaron rasped, his hands shaking.
Deon opened a tab on his tablet. “I’ll send the forms through to Gabby immediately. Let me just get your son’s full name.”