“No. All hot chicks are demanding about what they want,” the employee chuckled without making eye contact.
“I am not trying to be demanding. I was just explaining that I can’t have the other line disconnected yet,” Adalyn hissed. Aislyn stood by silently with a grin on her face as Ashton stepped closer to them.
“Well hot or not, which you are, you don’t make the rules,” he told her, finally looking up and noticing Ashton’s arm wrapped around her very pregnant belly.
“Are you hitting on my wife or telling her she is being difficult?” Ashton hissed.
“Um, well, honestly I was just explaining to her the rules of the service plan. I tried to disconnect the other line and she yelled at me,” he tried to explain.
Aislyn stepped in front of Ashton and faced him, proceeding to explain the situation before he went over the counter after the guy for upsetting Adalyn. He didn’t always think clearly when it came to her and Aislyn didn’t need to see any more cops around.
“Give my wife the phone she requested, along with a new phone number. Leave the other line active as she wants. When it is disconnected, we will pay any early termination fees that are there. And if you ever talk to another female, without the respect they deserve, you will find yourself picking your jaw up off the floor. You better thank my sister here for keeping me doing anything to you for upsetting my wife,” Ashton growled.
“I’ll be right back,” he mumbled, walking away.
“What are you doing here Ashton?” Adalyn asked, rubbing her belly.
“I was finished at the gym and wanted to see you for lunch before I headed into the shop,” he explained, kissing her forehead. He began rubbing his hand across her belly and the baby started kicking, causing him to chuckle and grin.
“It will be nice to have a phone again. You popping up is taking up too much time for you,” Adalyn said with a smile.
“I don’t mind running across town to check on you, but I agree that you having a phone again will be more convenient,” he told her.
The three of them spent the next half an hour in the store getting the phone situation straightened out. When they left, they headed across the parking lot to a small Mexican restaurant. Adalyn was craving tacos.
“Here’s your food,” a woman that worked there said as she placed the food tray on the table.
“Thank you so much,” Adalyn said with a huge smile on her face. “Do you have any spicy carrots?” she asked before the woman walked away.
“I will be right back with them,” she told her.
“You are going to get heartburn again, baby,” Ashton told her with a chuckle.
“I won’t eat too many. I just want a few,” she told him, sticking her tongue out.
“You say that now until you start eating them,” Aislyn laughed.
“I promise,” Adalyn pouted.
The lady placed a small cup of spicy carrots in front of Adalyn with a wink. She seemed to understand the craving and didn’t tease her about it, making Adalyn feel better. She popped a carrot in her mouth and enjoyed the spicy goodness.
They sat quietly and ate for several minutes. Adalyn kept her word and only ate a couple carrots, placing the small cup of them on the tray away from her. Once everyone was finished eating, Ashton cleared the table of the trash.
“Text me when you get home babe. I have to head into the shop now,” Ashton said as he kissed her temple. “Keep her safe,” he told Aislyn.
“Yes Ashton,” they said in unison and then giggling.
“I need to go home anyway and finish decoration the nursery,” Adalyn told him as he made his way to his car. “I love you!”
“I love you too, sweetheart,” he told her.
The girls made their way to Aislyn’s car and head back to the house.
“This baby is dancing around like crazy,” Adalyn giggled as they pulled into the driveway. She unbuckled and climbed out of the car once Aislyn shut the car off.
Just as she stood to her full height, she felt a big kick and then wetness. Looking down, she realized her water had broken.
“Um, Aislyn!” she stuttered, still looking at the ground.
“I am so glad you peed once you were out of my car,” Aislyn giggled.
“That isn’t pee, Aislyn. My water broke,” she said, her voice becoming higher pitched with every word she spoke.
“Sit your ass back down, and I will call my brother on the way to the hospital,” Aislyn said as calmly as she could, her fingers flying over the number pad of her phone.
“Ash, you need to meet us at the hospital. Adalyn’s water just broke,” she yelled into the phone as she drove down the street at a speed that was well over the speed limit.
Aislyn flew into the parking lot, pulling up in front of the emergency room, jumping out of the car and grabbing a wheelchair. She helped Adalyn sit in the wheelchair and walked as calmly as she could into the emergency room.
“Her water just broke and she isn’t even close to being ready yet,” Aislyn yelled at the first nurse she saw.
“Let’s get her up to Labor and Delivery,” the nurse smiled kindly, ignoring the fact that Aislyn had yelled.
“The baby has to be alright,” Adalyn cried worriedly.
“She is going to be fine, she is a fighter,” Aislyn told her.
“Are you together?” the nurse asked.
“She is my sister-in-law. My brother should be here soon,” Aislyn explained, smiling at the nurse.
“They will tell your husband where to go when he gets here,” the nurse told Adalyn, trying to calm her down. Adalyn was breathing through a contraction and squeezing the hell out of Aislyn’s hand.
They made their way into a room and got Adalyn settled into the bed.
“Where is she?” they heard Ashton yell from down the hall.
Then there were pounding footsteps rapidly heading in the direction of the room.
“I’m assuming he’s yours,” the nurse laughed as she looked from Ashton to Adalyn.
“Yes,” she said with a smile, just as a contraction started.
“What happened?” Ashton asked, as he stepped on Adalyn’s other side.
“We had just got back to the house, and I was getting out of the car and when I stood up my water broke,” she explained once the contraction had ended.
“Well hello there, mama. It looks like someone is being impatient and wants to join us early,” the doctor said as she came to a stop at the end of the bed.
Adalyn smiled at the doctor but didn’t say anything. She was too nervous to speak. She was scared and was afraid to voice what she was feeling.
“Ais, go call mom and dad. Let them know what is going on,” Ashton told her. Aislyn nodded and silently left the room.
The nurse handed Ashton some scrubs to put on, and he quickly entered the attached bathroom to put them on. When he re-entered the room, Adalyn was all prepped for delivery. He walked toward her, not stopping until he reached the top of the bed next to her head so he could hold her hand during delivery.
“Alright Adalyn, when I tell you, I need you to push,” the doctor told her. She seemed to situate a few things and then calmly told her, “Push.”
Adalyn did exactly that, she took a deep breath and pushed with all her might. She pushed as long as she could, but finally had to stop so she could catch her breath.
It went from pushing to catching her breath for what seemed like several minutes. Adalyn only had to push a total of five times before their daughter made her appearance.
“It’s a girl!” the doctor told them, even though they knew.
A tiny cry filled the room, causing both Adalyn and Ashton to tear up. Their daughter had a set of lungs on her.
The nurse brought over a little bundle in her arms wrapped in a receiving blanket and placed her in Adalyn’s arms. Then the dam of tears broke, and they silently streamed down her cheeks. She was beautiful, even if she was tiny.
The nurse came back a few minutes later
after Adalyn had passed the baby off to Ashton, and carefully took her from him.
“We need to check her vitals. I promise I will bring her back once we are finished,” she told a scowling Ashton. He watched as their daughter was carried to the other side of the room, cleaned up a little bit, and then weighed.
“She weighs two pounds even,” the nurse called over her shoulder.
“She is fifteen inches long,” she told them.
The nurse finished her assessment, but then sent the baby with another nurse to the nursery to get her newborn shots.
“The nurse will bring her back once you are settled into your room. She just needs to get her shots and a thorough exam to see if she needs to head to the n.i.c.u.,” the nurse told them.
The nurses finished cleaning up Adalyn, and she was sent off to her room within the hour. Ashton had disappeared right on the nurse’s toes that took the baby to the nursery. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
A short time later, Ashton entered the room where Adalyn would finish out her hospital stay. The nurse followed behind him with their daughter in a plastic bassinet.
“They will bring in the paperwork for her birth certificate soon. Do you have a name picked out for this little beauty?” asked the nurse as she handed the baby to Adalyn.
“Yes, but we want family to know first,” Adalyn told her shyly.
“I can understand that. According to the doctor, she seems very healthy. If her breathing remains stable, she should only have to stay in the n.i.c.u. for a little while until she gains some weight,” the nurse explained.
“So I can’t take her home?” Adalyn asked as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“We just want to make sure she is healthy enough to go home, sweetie,” the nurse explained, handing her a tissue.
Over the next few minutes, the nurse helped Adalyn breastfeed the baby, who took to it like a champ. By the time she was finished feeding the baby, they were all laughing, because the baby was such a noisy eater.
There was a knock on the door, and then Aislyn poked her head in.
“I want to see my niece,” she demanded with a smile.
“Come on in,” Ashton smiled.
Within minutes, the room was full of family and friends: Aislyn, Mom, Dad, Silas, and George were all there. Everyone was smiling, and there were lots of happy tears.
A nurse entered after a small knock on the door holding paperwork.
“This is the birth certificate paperwork. Is now a good time?” she asked looking around at the full room of guests.
“Now is perfect,” Adalyn smiled.
“I would like to introduce you all to our daughter, Moxie Morgan Montgomery,” Ashton said to the full room.
The room filled with oohs and ahhs about how perfect the name was and everyone talking at once. Adalyn sat quietly watching everyone and filling out the paperwork to make it officially her name. After she finished the paperwork, she sat back and watched as her family and friends enjoyed the baby. This room was filled with so much love for the baby, that she couldn’t wait to take her home.
After about an hour, the room began to clear out. It was now just Adalyn, Ashton, Moxie, and Mrs. Montgomery. She was still snuggling with Moxie and enjoying her new title as Nana.
Moxie started to fuss and root around, so she was reluctantly handed back to Adalyn to feed. Which again made everyone laugh at how noisy she was when she ate.
Eventually the room was just Ashton watching Adalyn sleep, since his mom had left, and the nurse came to take Moxie for a check-up with the new shift of nurses.
Twelve
It had been three days since Moxie was born and it was the day for Adalyn to go home. They had learned that Moxie would be staying in the n.i.c.u. until she gained at least two pounds.
It had been arranged that Aislyn would be taking care of the shop so that way Ashton and Adalyn could spend as much time as possible at the hospital with Moxie.
“I am going to take this stuff down to the car, then I will be right back up so we can go see Moxie before we head home,” Ashton told her, kissing her temple before he left.
He returned a few minutes later and they headed straight to the n.i.c.u. They washed their hands and signed in. Moxie was asleep in her little bassinet. They stood next to her bassinet for several minutes just watching her sleep.
“I thought you might like to know that when we weighed Miss Moxie this morning, she weighed two pounds six ounces,” the nurse told them quietly as she walked toward them.
“This girl likes her food that is for sure,” Adalyn laughed.
Ashton handed the nurse the bag of breast milk that had been pumped. Which the nurse gladly accepted and immediately put in the little freezer.
“Since she is starting to wake up, you should try skin to skin contact. It works amazing for the little peanuts,” the nurse said, looking between Ashton and Adalyn.
“Adalyn should feed her first, then I will hold her,” Ashton told the nurse.
Adalyn sat in the rocking chair, got herself comfortable, and Ashton handed Moxie to her so she could feed her. They sat quietly for the next thirty minutes listening to her eat. Once she was finished eating, she burped so loud that the nurses at the desk across the room heard her.
Ashton sat down in a chair he had brought over and removed his shirt. Adalyn had unwrapped Moxie and removed her little onesie she had been wearing. Once she placed her on his chest, she covered her with the receiving blanket so she wouldn’t catch a chill.
Adalyn couldn’t help herself, knowing that Ashton was sitting with his shirt off and holding their daughter, she discreetly glanced toward the nurses and sure enough, they were all looking in their direction. She laughed knowing that was what would happen as soon as he took off his shirt. If she didn’t know any better, she would think that was why the nurse had mentioned the skin-to-skin contact. Just so they could see him with his shirt off.
Adalyn looked at the new ink that had been added to his skin. It was Moxie’s name in fancy lettering, going across his forearm. He had it done once she was born. It was absolutely beautiful.
They spent the next couple hours with Moxie, and then decided to head out and get dinner. It was the hardest decision, she had ever made, to leave Moxie and get food, but she knew that Ashton had made a good point. She needed to keep up her strength for Moxie, and eating was going to do that.
After grabbing a quick dinner with his parents, they headed home to try and get some sleep. Neither of them had slept much over the last few days. Adalyn was almost asleep on her feet. He gently guided her into their bedroom and over to the bed, where she sat down. Ashton took off her shoes and socks, along with her clothes so she was more comfortable, then slipped one of his t-shirts over her head.
As soon as he climbed into bed, he pulled her into his chest and she immediately relaxed into him, falling asleep almost instantly. He lay there thinking about the first time he met her, and how far they had come together. Ashton knew that he wanted her with him forever, her and Moxie. He wanted them to be a family in every sense of the word, meaning he was going to marry this beautiful woman in his arms. He would have to wait though until their daughter came home from the hospital. It wouldn’t be right to do it without her there. Now to convince Adalyn!
It wasn’t long before he found himself being pulled under by the idea of sleep. His eyes were growing heavier by the second, until eventually he couldn’t fight it anymore. He fell asleep with the thoughts of marrying Adalyn.
*****
The next week went by in similar fashion: wake up, eat, go to see Moxie, eat, and then try and sleep, just to repeat it again the next day. It occasionally changed when there was an appointment that needed attending, but for the most part, the week went by in similar fashion.
“Baby, you have a phone call,” Ashton told her as he walked into the bedroom where she was dressing to go to see Moxie.
“Hello,” she said as she took the phone from him.
&nb
sp; Adalyn stood frozen in place as she heard the voice on the other end of the phone. It was her mother.
“I was just wondering when you would be coming home for a visit, dear,” her mother said.
“We haven’t seen each other in several months, let alone spoken! Why do you want to see me suddenly?” Adalyn asked, irritated.
“You are my daughter and I miss you. Of course I want to see you. I haven’t reached out because I knew you wanted to have your own life,” she said slightly ashamed.
“Mom, there is so much about my life that you don’t even know about. I honestly don’t have time to discuss it right now. I have an important appointment to get to. I will call you when I get a free moment,” Adalyn said, rushing to get off the phone with her and hanging up before anything else could be said.
“Babe, why did you hang up on your mom and not tell her about Moxie?” Ashton asked curiously, even though he knew the answer. He wanted to hear her say it.
“My parents, neither of them, have reached out really since I left. They believed HIM when he told them that we were together, without even talking to me. I love my parents, but I will not let them think that I was responsible for his actions. I will tell them about you and Moxie when I feel the time is right, but not until then. They need to prove to me that they truly want to be involved in my life before they meet their granddaughter or you,” she explained.
“Fair enough. Now let’s go see our girl,” Ashton told her, grabbing her hand.
The drive to the hospital was a quiet one, Adalyn was lost in her thoughts about her parents. Ashton was trying to decide the best way to bring up getting married. It was going to happen, he just wanted to her to agree to it without too much stress.
They entered the n.i.c.u. and Moxie was being changed by one of the nurses. The nurse smiled and handed Moxie right to Ashton when they stopped in front of her.
“She just finished a bottle of breast milk not even thirty minutes ago, so she should just want to snuggle. I also wanted you to know that she weighs three pounds three ounces as of this morning. If she keeps that weight gain up, then she will be able to go home sooner than expected,” the nurse told them with a smile.
My Twist of Fate Page 14
