Damaged and the Beast
Page 33
Our baby was born in the same hospital as Cooper with his family sitting in the waiting room well past visiting hours. Rules were for pussies, Kirk announced. With Tawny and Cooper at my side, I felt ready to give birth even though my therapist warned it might trigger certain memories.
Having started seeing her months earlier, I mostly talked about easy things like growing up poor and moving around a lot. Eventually, we might talk about the uglier stuff, but I wasn’t ready. The one advice my therapist gave me was to get an epidural. The less pain, the less likely memories would be triggered. So I sat comfortably for most of the ten hours I was in labor. We watched television and Cooper sang Hair of the Dog to the baby bump as a form of encouragement.
Later, after family and friends were gone, only Cooper, the baby, and I remained. He sat up against the headboard with me cuddled next to him. Our baby was awake, looking undaunted by the new experience.
Cooper couldn’t stop staring at his daughter. As he held her out in front of him, I’d never seen him prouder. He also didn’t seem the least bit nervous about being a dad.
As we admired Lily Delta Johansson, Cooper sighed. “With those lips, our girl will be a heartbreaker like her mom.”
Grinning, I studied my baby. “With those dark eyes, I bet our girl will be a ballbuster like her daddy.”
Cooper looked at me with the most amazing expression on his handsome face. If I hadn’t been sure he loved me, this moment sealed the deal. He glanced at Lily then back at me and smiled.
“Hell yeah, she will.”
The end.