Everything is mostly having to say thank you to all the congratulations we got and dance with people who asked for a dance. Let us not forget the bad marriage jokes that I’m forced to laugh at. I just want to leave already with my wife, but my mother would kill me if I did.
Unfortunately, Alex stepped up on the stage with a glass of champagne at one point in the night and got everyone’s attention.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" He tests the microphone and smiles at his crowd of spectators. "Alright, as the best man and twin - I know, shocker with how incredibly handsome I am-" oh, that’s laughable, "-and this fool right there looking like Napoleon Dynamite. It's my job to give the speech."
Well, this ought to be interesting.
"As you can recall, my brother and I are technically in love with each other. We're the definition of a Bromance. I know this guy better than he knows himself." I laugh at that. "It's true. I always knew that my brother had potential, I knew he had passion, but he didn't have anyone to share it with. We spent our entire lives together, but I wasn’t the one. I was the one with all the chicks and friends, I was the cool one and he was the nerd behind the book, the guy who always spent his time in his room practicing on his guitar. His friends were actually my friends, they only talked to his sorry ass because he was with me." Kathy laughs this time. "But even then, we were there for each other. I remember I've always been the one encouraging him to go out, have a social life and he never wanted to. Matthew and I busted our ass-butt - sorry, Momma - to get him to go to this one party. That's all it took. One party to get him out of our dorm. Guess who he met that night?"
Everyone at our table turned to look at Kathy, who blushed and hid her face on my shoulder.
"After that party he was all about Kathy. You even men- tioned her name, his face lit up like a little kid during Christmas morning. It took them so damn long to go out, like, what five months? Three nights before the Annual Orchestra Foundation he came to my room with Matthew and this son of a bitch had the biggest smile on his face. Of course with my experience I knew this guy got laid... Probably for the first time in his life."
Oh, God, make his stop, please. I look over at my wife who looks amused and open to know more about that night.
"That night we were all relaxing, having our very rare deep significant conversations we sometimes have and my brother looked at me and said, 'You know what, Alex? I always wanted to live a happy life. Have a wife and my own children. Kathy is that woman, the woman I want to spend my life with. She's going to be the woman who's going to make me the happiest man in the world on our wedding day and cry the day our child is placed in my arms.'" I remember that night. We were actually drunk when I said that, but I never thought he'd remember it.
"Now, dear brother and sister, I look at you and think, 'we'll isn't my brother the luckiest son of a bitch in the entire world.’ I haven't seen him this happy in so many years. I just can't wait to see you hold that new member of our family because that day, my brother, just like this one, will be the best day of my life, too."
Everyone claps at the end of his speech. Mom actually cries at the end. My dear brother, what would I ever do without him? I stood up and walked up to my brother and gave him a tight hug. I hate this asshole sometimes, but I owe him so much. I’ve never actually said it to him, but I’m sure he knows how much he means to me.
"Thank you, Al.”
"I love you, bro."
Part Two: The Unexpected
Chapter Fourteen
Aidan
Two Years Later...
I walk in the room where Kathy is sitting on the reclining chair, softly rocking herself back and forth, her eyes lost in the view outside her window. Her brown hair makes perfect waves around her reddish cheeks. Her lips were slightly parted as she took a deep, slow breath. The tips of her fingers play with the ends of her dress as her mind seems to be lost in another world.
I watch her from the door and just moments later, her eyes shut and she presses her lips together in a fine line. Her hands turn into hard fists, so hard her knuckles start turning white. As the seconds passed, she lost tension and leaned her head back on the chair.
I make my way to her and leave the teacup next to her chair. She smiles at me with my favorite smile. That smile that's been there all these months. I kneel down in front of her and gently place my hands on her swollen stomach. Her hands cover mine and her thumbs softly stroke my knuckles as mine stroked her belly.
"How's my son?" I ask.
"Impatient. He hasn't stopped moving for the past ten minutes."
I smile without looking up and kiss her stomach. Just feeling him move inside her brings me so much joy.
"Ready to come meet your beautiful mother?" I asked him. I look up at my beautiful wife and say, "we’re almost there."
"Finally.” She sighs. “These contractions are killing me."
Her contractions started last night, just exactly at three in the morning. After that, they've been apart through significant periods of time. Dr. Henry said to wait until either her water breaks or the contractions are too much for her to take. In my opinion, she's doing very well so far. She hasn't complained at all. She's been sitting here in his nursery all day, rocking on the reclining chair her mother gave us as a gift at the baby shower.
I took the day off work at the studio to be with her. I already let Dorris know that I'm not going to be at work for the next month or two just to be here with Kathy and since I am my own boss, I can take that luxury.
"Are you ready?" Kathy asks me.
I look at her like she just grew a second head. "Of course I am, what kind of question is that?" I lean in and kiss her. "I'm the readiest man alive because as I can remember, it was me who brought up the baby subject."
She smiles as I continue to kiss her. "True, not even a year after we got married," she said between kisses.
I was the one who brought up the subject of having a baby around six months after we got married. It shocked her, but at the end of the day she agreed with the only condition that we wouldn't try. She only laid off the pill. And about nine months ago, she came to the studio where I was working on my new music with a positive pregnancy test.
Ever since I don't think we've been as happy as the day she told me. I didn't care who saw or where I was, I just wanted to kiss my wife. I swept her off her feet and spun her around in the air. We were two stupid kids in love.
Kathy sighs and it brings me back to the present. She strokes my hair that needs a trim as she recently informed me. Her hand slowly makes its way down to my freshly shaved jawline. She pouts as she strokes my freshly clean face.
"What?"
"You shaved," she whispers, continuing with her strokes.
"I didn't want my son to meet a hairy dad.” I pull her hair behind her ear. "You want me to let it grow?"
"No, I like to see your face. I also like it when you have two or three stubble.”
I kiss her forehead. "I'll let it grow for this week and then I'll shave the next, deal?"
She chuckles then nods. "Deal."
I pull away and give her the cup of tea I brought her. "Drink this before it gets cold. After you're finished we'll go lie down for a while."
She takes the cup and balances it on her belly, her new party trick. I headed off to my office to wrap up some emails I have to send to let people know I won't be around for a while. Everyone knows why it's just a notice. I got some emails back congratulating me and wishing me the best in luck this following twenty-four hours. Mikeal goes as far as to tell me to enjoy my last night of sleep.
By the time I go back to the nursery, Kathy is almost half asleep on the chair. I pick her up, careful not to startle her.
"No," she protested. "I can walk.”
"Not on my watch, lady," I said walking out of the nursery.
I lay her on our bed and take my usual spot right next to her. Her head lays on my chest as one of our hands latch together and my free hand finds its way to her st
omach and strokes it until we fall asleep.
* * *
"Aidan!"
The cry startles me out of my sleep. Still dazed, but confused, I look to the side and find an empty bed and Kathy nowhere in the room. I sit up immediately. Kathy cries out again from the bathroom.
“Aidan, get up, you bastard!”
I ran to the bathroom where Kathy stands over a puddle of water. Gross. She’s frozen in her spot, holding onto to counter and eyes glued on the puddle underneath her. Her chest is rising and dropping with every breath she takes and when I walked in, she gives me a frightful look.
“This isn’t a false alarm, is it?”
The frightful look turns into a murderous glare. “Does this really look like a false alarm to you?”
Okay, then I guess jokes today are not acceptable. If I hadn’t been waiting for this day for the last couple of weeks, then I would be freaking out, but like the control freak I am, everything is right where it should be. I walk Kathy back to our bedroom and hand her a pair of shoes and her sweater as I get mine on, get our hospital bag from our closet and the keys. I call our doctor as we rush out of the house.
"There, careful," I tell her as I help her get in the car. I throw the suitcase to the backseat and jog to the driver's seat, immediately pulling out of our driveway.
"Oh, shit.” Kathy groans, gripping the edge of her seat. “Hurry up, Aidan."
"It's alright, baby. It's alright." I reach over and take her hand in mine. "We'll get there soon. Just breathe like we practiced, okay? It's going to be alright."
I breathe with her, in and out, inhale and exhale. I let her squeeze my hand when the first real contraction hits. It hurts, yes. I wanted to yank it away from her, yes, but I know better than to complain about pain in the following twenty-four hours.
Dr. Henry is waiting for us with our room ready for delivery when we get to the hospital. The five hours of labor that followed were a rollercoaster of emotions. We made calls to our anxious family, who were here within a half an hour after we announced Katherine had gone into labor. It was a mixture of happiness and anxiousness that filled the room the more time went by. We barely spoke a word in the room, it wasn’t necessary. At that moment, a simple look from my wife told me everything. It told me she loved me, it told me she was happy and terrified at the same time, and a simple look from me told her that even though I felt the same way, I’d be here no matter what. Katherine refused any kind of medication for the pain, she fought her way through it in the most beautiful way a woman could.
I didn’t think it would be possible for me to fall deeper in love with her, but I did. When Dr. Henry walked in the room and told us it was time, we exchanged a look. A look that spoke a thousand words. Katherine smiled tightly, her eyes watering up with emotions. I held her the whole way through, whispering encouraging words in her ear as she pushed through the pain.
A loud piercing cry echoed through the room moments later, catching our attention. We both knew what that meant. Katherine looked at me with teary eyes, trying to catch her breath.
Dr. Henry speaks:
"Would you like to cut the cord, Mr. Callahan?"
I look at Kathy, who nods through her tears and tells me to go get our little boy. It felt so wrong leaving her side, but the impatience of meeting him got the best of me. I kissed her softly and then made my way to Dr. Henry. He's holding the crying baby in his arms, but my attention is stolen away by the nurse who gives me something to cut the cord with. After I do, Dr. Henry wraps the baby in a soft blue blanket and hands him to me.
I'm completely taken aback the moment he is laid in my ar- ms. My chest grows with so many emotions. The love I have for this little boy governing them all. His crying has decreased and turned into small, quiet whimpering. He's so small, so beautiful. He has the same chocolate hair as his mother. This small bundle now owns my entire being, my heart and my soul. There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for him. It’s hard to hold back the tears, but I choke them back.
I walk up to Kathy and gently place our son in her arms. She’s crying, but her eyes are glowing with happiness. She even laughs through her tears as her fingers trace our son’s face. And when she looks at me, I see it. My favorite smile she reserves just for me.
"I love you," I croak through the emotion growing in my chest. I pull her hair away from her face and cup her cheek in my hand, bringing her close to me. “So much.”
"What's his name?" The nurse asked, looking at us in awe.
I look at Kathy. We haven't really thought about the name we would give him. There have been ideas thrown here and there, but none of them felt right. It had to be special… it had to mean something for the both of us… or at least for Kathy. I look down at my son and smile.
"Charlie," I said. "His name is Charlie."
Katherine nods through her tears. "Yes.” She breathes. "Charlie." She looks down at our son adoringly and places a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I love you, Charlie. Always."
* * *
I set my bottle down, looking off at sunset. The mixture of colors is beautiful over the horizon. I’ve officially been a father for the last twenty-four hours and I’ve loved every second. Alex pats me on the shoulder and chuckles to himself.
"A boy," he said before chugging at his beer. "Congr- atulations, brother."
"Thank you." I take the cigar from him and inhale it. Alex promised we would smoke one the day I became a dad and now the day has officially arrived. We smoked one when Matthew had his; therefore, Alex is the only one left without a kid. "When are you planning on having your little herd of little Alexs running around?”
He sighs, looking toward the sunset. "Trust me, I've been trying. Leila..." he paused, looking down at his beer bottle "-she's crazy about having a baby. Like to the point where she wants to have sex every chance we can get. It’s exhausting.”
"I thought that was a good thing. I mean, most of the people enjoy sex," Matthew replies, taking the cigar from me. I laugh, picking up my beer bottle and chugging it down to the last drop.
Alex rolls his eyes. "Not when your wife's only goal is to empty your sack. She'll probably force me to have sex with her again tonight since Charlie is here."
I smile at the sound of my son's name. It's so weird, but a good type of weird. It felt like a happy weird if that's even a thing. I’ve been looking forward to this day for the past nine months and now that it’s here, I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that I am indeed a father. I look at my watch. I've only been thirty minutes out of the hospital and I already miss them terribly. I stand up from the bench.
"Wait, where are you going?" Alex asked.
"I'm a dad," I said proudly. "I need to go check on my wife and kid. I'll see you guys around." I wave goodbye to them and jog my way back to the hospital that's just two streets away from the park we were at.
When I walk the room, I see Kathy laying on her side facing Charlie who slept in his bassinet the nurse brought him in. Kathy is asleep as well. I smile at the sight that has officially become my favorite. I walk to Charlie, who sleeps with his tiny hands in tiny fists on each side of his tiny head, facing toward his mother. I leaned over to give him a goodnight kiss and walk back to bed with my wife. There's enough room for me to fit behind her, so I climb in and wrap my arms around her.
"It took you long enough," she mutters half asleep.
"I came back as fast as I could," I said, before I kissed her on the side of the head.
"I know," she whispers. "Now, shut up. It took me a while to get him to fall asleep."
"Thank you," I whisper really low. Low enough to sound like a breath. It’s not something I need to say necessarily, but I cannot thank her enough for everything she has given me.
Kathy doesn’t answer immediately. It takes a moment for her sleepy head to register I said something.
"Did you say something?"
I lean closer to her ear and say, "Nothing. Go to sleep." I kiss her one more time before falling int
o a deep sleep with my wife by my side and our son in his little crib.
This is my family. The family I’ve always wanted and I finally have it. I'm complete. She made me feel complete from the moment we met and Charlie is the last missing piece of the puzzle. We are exactly where we belong.
Chapter Fifteen
Aidan
Three Years Later...
I shut my laptop and do a mental happy dance. All work for today is finally done and I finally get to go home and spend some quality time with my family for Valentine’s Day.
"Dorris, I'm heading home. Would you mind locking before you leave?" I ask my assistant as I lock my office.
"No problem, Aidan. I got it," she said without looking up from her computer. I can see through the lenses of her glasses that she’s deep in writing an email. It must be something really important. I walk up to her desk and give her a box of chocolates. Her eyes immediately lit up. "You're awesome!" she squeals, taking the box from me and squeezes it against her chest.
"Happy Valentine’s Day." I smile, pulling my bag over my shoulder. "Tell Roger I’m still waiting on my Valentine’s gift.”
Dorris laughs. "Will do. Please, give those beautiful babies of yours a kiss for me!"
"Will do." I shut the door behind me and walked to my car.
Luckily there isn't as much traffic as I expected as I drive home. I can’t take thirty minutes of honking and people shouting at each other just to get across the street. By the time I get home, I am pleased to see my beautiful wife sitting out in the front yard on a blanket with Charlie laying on his stomach, playing with his little six-month-old sister Elizabeth. Today is one of those rare days she takes off writing and editing to spend it with the kids and I’ll be damned, it’s one of my favorite things to see all three of them together.
Kathy looks away from the kids when I pull in our drive- way. She points to me, telling Charlie and Elizabeth I am finally home. Charlie looks up, his green eyes searching for me with enthusiasm and when he spots me getting out of the car, he jumps to his feet and runs to me. I pick him up and swing him up, catching midair. He laughs, wrapping his arms around my neck. His belly laugh is so contagious and adorable, you have to be heartless not to melt at the sound of it. I love him so much. I push his glasses up his little nose and smile at my little man.
Same Old Song Page 10
