Page 39

Marty

Three years later…

I’ve gone through childbirth as an expectant father three times before, so this should be a breeze, but it’s not. Stevie is a mess and we’re both pacing as we wait for news from the doctor about our surrogate. One minute we were knee-deep in the adoption process and then Jeri made us an incredible offer—she would donate eggs if we wanted to have a biological child.

A child that would be mine and would technically include some of Stevie too, since they’re sisters. At first, we were both reluctant, but Jeri was so sincere in her offer, and finding a surrogate was easier than anticipated.

And now we’re about to be parents.

The fourth time for me but the first for Stevie.

“You okay?” I ask her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“I will be once we know everything is okay.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Nadeau?” The doctor comes out. “Congratulations. You have a beautiful little girl.”

“Oh my God.” Stevie’s hands fly to her mouth, and her eyes meet mine.

“Let’s go meet our daughter,” I whisper, taking her hand.

We follow her into the room where Daphne, our surrogate, is smiling. She’s a twenty-one-year-old college student who needed money for her studies. She lived with us the last eight months, while going to school and even helping with our current children. She’s become part of the family and we’re so appreciative of her.

“I haven’t held her,” she tells us. “I wanted you guys to hold her first.”

“Oh.” Stevie’s eyes fill with tears as she looks at the tiny swaddled bundle the nurse is holding out.

“Go on,” I tell Stevie. “You first.”

She holds out her arms and tears spill as she takes our daughter in her arms.

“Look at her, Marty,” she whispers. “She’s…perfect.”

“Of course she is.” I run my finger along the baby’s cheek.

“I can’t believe she’s…ours.” Stevie looks up at me.

“But she is.”

“We still haven’t decided on a name.”

We’d decided not to find out the sex ahead of time, wanting to choose a name after we saw her.

“Hope,” Stevie says suddenly.

“What?”

“Let’s name her Hope. I didn’t have any until I found you. No hope of ever finding a man who would love me for me. No hope of having a child of my own. No hope of ever being happy.”

“But now you do.”

She nods. “More than I ever thought possible.”

I smile.

“Then Hope it is.”

“Hope Bettina Nadeau.”

Madame Bertrand has become a huge part of our lives, an extra grandmere to our children and a wonderful friend and mentor to Stevie.

“Hope Bettina.” I say it softly. “I love it.”

She hands me the baby and I cuddle her into my chest.

I’d given up on my plans to have four or five kids, and it was a worthwhile sacrifice if it meant having Stevie. She’d pushed for adoption, knowing I wanted one more, and then this happened. I couldn’t love this woman—or this baby—more if I tried.

“We should let Daphne rest,” Stevie says quietly.

“I’m fine,” Daphne says, smiling. “You guys stay as long as you want. My first order of business is food—that was hard work.”

Stevie chuckles. “Not in a hurry to have more?”

Daphne shakes her head. “Not for a long time. That was brutal.”

“We appreciate you,” I say, nodding. “You don’t know how much.”

“Yeah, I kinda do.” She grins.

“Do you want to hold her?” Stevie asks softly.

“Only if you want me to. I don’t want to overstep any boundaries.”

“Nah, you’re family now too.” Stevie places the baby in Daphne’s arms and Daphne smiles down at her.

“Hello, little one. Welcome to the world. I hope I was a good place for you to grow, because you’ve got the world’s best parents and brothers and sister. You’re going to have the best life ever.”

That’s what I think too.

I lean over and press a kiss to my wife’s cheek.

“Everything you always dreamed of,” I whisper to her.

“More,” she whispers back.

I hope you enjoyed reading Marty and Stevie’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, please consider leaving a review at the retailer of your choice.