It was the sharp loud cry of a baby. Not just any baby, but mine and Cooper’s baby.
“Congratulations,” Doctor Johnson said. “You have a perfect baby girl.”
“Seven pounds one ounce,” a nurse said.
Cooper had tears pouring over his face as he watched them with our girl. He was still holding on to me and I was so grateful for it. Tears of my own cascaded down my cheeks. I sniffed and reached for my nose, but was too weak to lift my hand. I felt really cold, like someone had turned the air conditioner on right above me. I shivered and blinked a few times hoping it would pass.
“Go be with her,” I told him. “Please.”
He stood and kissed my head. “You are such a champ. I love you so much.”
I watched him walk toward our daughter who was screaming for all to hear. All I could see was a little pink leg kicking in the air and occasionally a little fist. She’s all right. I was so tired and involuntarily closed my eyes as the relief filled me. I heard an alarm start to blare and felt slightly annoyed. All I needed was a little bit of rest and then I would be good.
I wanted to tell someone to turn it off. Couldn’t they see that I was tired? But my mouth wouldn’t open, nor would my eyes. I felt the same floating feeling I had experienced before, but this time I had no anchor. Nothing held me here any longer. I had done it, though. I made it long enough to deliver our daughter. Somehow I knew that was all I needed to do. Peace filled me and I let the darkness sweep me away.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Cooper
Our daughter. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the wiggly pink screaming baby in front of me. A team was working on weighing, measuring and cleaning her. I quickly scanned to make sure she had ten fingers and toes, which she did indeed. With professional efficiency, she was clean and wrapped in blankets, a tiny pink beanie covering her head.
“Here you go daddy,” Laura said and handed me the pink little bundle. Tears glittered in her eyes as she watched me with the tiny infant.
Everything around me muted and slowed. Little fingers poked up from the swaddled blanket, dark eyes blinking up at me. I couldn’t tear my eyes from her little round face and wonderfully chubby cheeks. She was absolutely perfect. The commotion in the room and a loud alarm slowly brought me back to where I was. The alarm seemed to be blaring and drilling into my head.
Laura was back in front of me and reached for the baby. I grudgingly let Laura take her because the pain in my head was almost too much to bear. I didn’t know if I was going to be sick or pass out again. A nurse brought a chair over for me to sit and Laura stayed within my line of vision so I could continually see my daughter. What was that horrible alarm and why wasn’t anyone turning it off?
I found the strength to look past Laura and the baby to where I had left Ali. Subconsciously, I knew something was wrong. It slowly dawned on me that the alarm was linked to her. I just didn’t want to be right. The pain in my head was still pounding, but it no longer mattered.
Allison’s eyes were closed and her skin looked pale. Although she looked lifeless, I couldn’t process the vision. Doctor Johnson was still working at one side of the sheet, stitching Ali back together I assumed. Doctor Gilchrist was standing above Ali’s chest and shouting.
“Hang another bag of O-neg and get a milligram of Atropine ready,” the doctor yelled. “She’s still with us.”
Again I felt like I was completely still and the rest of the world was rushing past me. I kept blinking, hoping that what I was seeing would change. I hoped I wasn’t seeing it right. I was willing Ali to wake up and be well. I watched as a nurse injected her IV with a clear liquid. Doctor Gilchrist had her hand on Ali’s chest and it looked like she was lightly compressing it.
“Come with me Cooper,” Laura said standing in front of me. Our daughter was in a clear bassinet.
“I can’t,” was all I could manage.
“We need to take your daughter to the nursery,” she urged.
I took a step with her and then another. I would rather cut off my arm than leave Ali. My eyes cut to the tiny face that was oblivious to what was happening. It wasn’t just about me and Ali anymore. We had a brought a little life into the world and she needed me to be there for her. She needed her daddy to be strong.
“Okay,” I whispered. My headache easing up.
A moment later the alarm stopped blaring and Allison started to squirm, taking huge gulps of air. Relief washed through me and I almost sagged to the floor. Fresh tears filled my eyes as I looked between my wife and my child.
“Mommy is all right,” I whispered into tiny ears. “Everyone is all right,” My breathing returned to normal and my entire buzzed with adrenaline.
Laura removed her mask and I could see the trails of tears on her cheeks. “The nursery can wait.”
A few minutes later Doctor Johnson told me I could bring the baby over. Ali’s dark brown eyes were searching the room until they landed on us.
“Cooper,” her voice rough and strained.
“I’m here,” I told her and took a step toward her. “We’re both here.”
“Give us a minute here,” Doctor Gilchrist said.
I scooped our tiny little girl back into my arms. I kissed her pink cheeks and head. So thankful, so thankful, I repeated in my mind. What felt like years later, I was given the green light to go to my wife. Ali couldn’t hold the baby, so I held her next to Ali’s cheek. Big tears filled her eyes and rolled down her flushed cheeks.
“Oh Cooper,” she whispered. “We made her and she’s perfect.”
I sat back in the chair next to Ali’s bed as they finished closing her up. We didn’t say much, we just kept touching our daughter’s face and kissing her head. It was a tremendous and surreal experience. Ali’s hand rested on mine and she smiled up at me.
“We made it,” her voice low. “We made it, little valentine,” she cooed to our daughter.
I’d forgotten the date already. Today was Valentine’s Day. She is our little valentine without a doubt. Just looking at her, she already owned my heart.
Doctor Gilchrist squatted next to us. “Your heart seems to be doing fine now. You lost more blood than we thought, that’s why your heart rate dropped so quickly. A few more minutes here then you’ll be in recovery for about an hour.” She paused to look at the baby. “She is beautiful. Do you have a name picked out?”
Allison and I looked at each other. “Araceli,” Allison said quietly.
“Wow, that’s really lovely,” she sighed.
“Araceli means treasure and that’s exactly what this little girl is to us,” I told the doctor while looking into my wife’s brown eyes.
We were taken back to our room where Araceli was sleeping peacefully on Allison’s chest, after having had a successful feeding. Both Doctor Johnson and Gilchrist informed us that Ali would be admitted to the hospital for at least a week so they could monitor her heart to make sure her blood levels stayed normal. Laura came to check on us and see if we were ready for visitors.
“I guess we have to let them in,” I said to Ali.
“Do we though?” She sighed, never taking her eyes off Araceli.
I sighed and looked to Laura. “Let’s do this.” She smiled as she disappeared out of our room.
A minute later Robert was the first through the door, still in his tuxedo. He let out a sigh of relief as soon as he saw Ali and the baby. He put a hand on his chest and took a deep breath as he came into the room.
“Want to meet your granddaughter?” I asked him.
“Yes, I think I’d like that a lot.”
I gently took the sleeping baby from Allison’s arms and met Robert at the chair next to Ali’s bed.
“This is Araceli,” I told him. “Araceli, this is grandpa.”
Robert’s smile was priceless as he took the pink bundle in his arms. “Hi Araceli,” he murmured.
I let them have a private moment and sat on the bed next to Allison, putting an arm around her.
; I didn’t expect that all my dreams and wishes would come true. Sometimes, I was too scared to even think about them because I knew that at a drop of a hat everything could change. Today, Ali’s heart slowed to the point of almost stopping, but it didn’t. Another victory. Another lesson learned.
Slowly, other friends and family trickled into the room. My mom immediately went to Robert and the baby, switching places with him. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room once she was introduced to everyone. Christina was sitting on the bed next to her best friend. She was brushing Ali’s hair out of her face and smiling.
“Baby Book Girl,” Sean said and put a hand on my shoulder. “Congratulations man.”
He wasn’t in his tux and I noticed that Christina has changed her clothes too. Sean noticed and smiled. “We changed into whatever we had in the car so you guys get sweaty gym clothes.”
“I know. It’s super romantic,” Christina laughed.
“You didn’t miss your big day did you?” Allison asked.
“Who cares about that,” Christina said cheerfully. “I got a husband and a niece today, the rest can wait.”
“What about the reception?” Allison’s brown eyes filled with guilt as she looked at me.
“Oh, everyone is still there partying. There is an open bar so they probably don’t even realize we left. We did all the traditional things as soon as you went into surgery, then snuck out.” Christina’s green eyes were smiling. “I might just leave the gym clothes on to freak my mom out.”
“Now that we know everything is beyond good, we’ll head back over. There was nowhere else we wanted to be but here with you guys tonight.” Sean said with another pat on my back.
“Thank you,” I said feeling blessed.
Sean and Christina said their goodbyes, Christina not wanting to leave Ali or Araceli. Laura had to pull Robert from the room, promising they’d come back first thing in the morning. It was just my mom left.
“Mijo,” she whispered above the baby’s head. “She is perfect.” I sat on the small couch next to her.
“I can’t disagree with you,” I told her. Araceli sighed and pressed her tiny hand to her face. Ali had finally dozed off and her peaceful breathing filled the room.
“I can’t believe you made me a grandma,” she said.
“How do you think I feel? I’m a dad now,” the words still not sinking in when applied to me.
“You are going to be a wonderful father,” she smiled.
After another minute I took Araceli back into my arms. “I love you mom,” I told her.
“I love you son,” she smiled.
I watched as she left the room and couldn’t help smiling. She glanced back and almost ran into a doctor that was passing by. She put her hand on her hip to rip into him, but her words got caught in her throat. The doctor said something and she replied, laughing a little. She pointed into the room then pulled the doctor out of the doorway. I could hear her laugh a moment later. For some reason it made me ridiculously happy to hear it.
I looked to the little girl in my arms and took inventory of our little treasure. She had long strands of dark hair covering her round head and her dark eyelashes looked like smudges at the edge of her eyelids. She sighed and snuggled closer to me. Her little fingers pressed into her cheek and her pink lips fell open to a little “O” shape. I doubted that life could get any more perfect than it was right now.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Allison
“Happy birthday dear Araceli, happy birthday to you,” Cooper and I sang louder than anyone else. I placed a small cake in front of our one-year-old little girl. She squealed and plunged her little hands into the light pink frosting and then directly into her mouth.
This past year had flown by like only it can for new parents. I’ve had a clean bill of health since I left the hospital a week and a half after Araceli was born. She was a happy and active little girl. She loved crawling around after Joel and he liked having his little buddy.
“It goes so fast doesn’t it,” Christina asked, standing next to me. Her hands rubbing over her round belly. As planned, Christina and Sean went on their honeymoon the summer after their wedding. They brought back a souvenir they hadn’t planned. Twins.
“It does,” I sighed.
My baby wasn’t really a baby anymore. She took her first steps two days ago and now toddles through the house like she has always been walking. She let out a fit of giggles as Cooper tried to eat some of the frosting off her chubby little hands.
I smiled watching them. I never thought that I could love Cooper anymore than I already did, but then I would watch him with our daughter. They have a special connection and it is a wonderful thing to see. It makes my heart beat stronger every day. A day doesn’t go by where I don’t count my blessings. And it is a long and wonderful list.
“Let me get a picture,” Laura called to us.
I crouched next to Cooper and Araceli, and smiled. Laura snapped a shot and nodded, happy with what she got. She has melded nicely into our family and my dad seems years younger because of her. She is one of the blessings on my list.
“Let me clean you up, Nieta,” Danielle said picking Araceli up from her highchair.
“Gam,” she squealed.
“That’s right baby, grandma.”
I watched her carry our little girl to the kitchen and put her feet in the sink. Araceli loved that Danielle let her play in the water every chance she could get, and with grandma her chances were always high. Cooper put an arm around my shoulder and kissed the side of my head.
“I still can’t believe that little one is ours and we made her,” he smiled, watching his mom with her. “She seems happier.”
“She is. She has you at her side at Los Jalapeños, a granddaughter and a boyfriend. Her life is in a really good place right now.”
Danielle met a doctor last year while I was still in the hospital. At first it didn’t seem like it was going to go anywhere serious, but somehow it did. They both have very busy schedules and work long hours, but in the midst of all of that they just clicked. They fit. She even mentioned to me that Peter is thinking about moving in with her, but she didn’t want Cooper to know yet. I couldn’t be happier for her.
I took Cooper by the hand and led him away from the party. I turned under his arm and pressed a kiss to his lips. It quickly escalated and my back was pressed to the wall. My hands were in his hair and his on my hips.
“Gross,” a little voice said and we snapped apart. “Kissing is gross.”
Joel was playing with his trucks in the room we were in and we hadn’t seen him. I could feel my cheeks burn at the little green eyes staring up at us.
“I telling mama,” he threatened.
“Have at it little man,” Cooper told him as he ruffled his hair.
Joel jumped to his feet, a truck clutched in each hand, and darted from the room. We both laughed at the interruption.
“Now, where were we?” Coop said against my lips.
“Actually,” I turned away from him. I needed to say something and I was afraid I was going to lose my courage.
“Allison,” he said slowly. “What is it?”
“I need to tell you something,” his eyes burned like blue sapphires. “I’m pregnant.” For a moment he didn’t blink or move a muscle. “I just took the test this morning, but our day has been busy since the second since we woke up, I didn’t know when I should tell you. I didn’t mean to drop it on you like this.”
Coop turned his back to me and his shoulders shuddered like he was crying. I took a step toward him and he turned and faced me, his eyes filled with tears. He pulled me into his arms and picked me up off the ground, swinging me around. When he set me down, he kissed me soundly.
“You make me so happy,” he said with a kiss. “You make every day better than the last babe. Thank you.”
Over the years, I have learned that life is going to throw obstacles at you no matter what you do. How you react and respond to them is wher
e you learn. You can’t ignore them. Life doesn’t work that way. I had been dealt several challenges, but I didn’t have to battle them alone. I had help. And with Cooper by my side I know we can overcome anything. His love makes me stronger. Makes me better. This is my greatest lesson learned.
Epilogue
Araceli
Sixteen Years Later
“Yes daddy, I’ll be home on time. I’m just seeing a movie with friends.” My dad stood in the doorway, arms folded over his chest, his bright blue eyes evaluating me.
Technically I wasn’t lying to him. I was going to a movie. It was the with who that I was keeping from him.
“I still think you should take your brother or sister with you,” he said as his eyes narrowed and for a second I thought he knew.
“Let her go and have some fun,” my mom said peeking from behind him, her dark brown hair falling over her shoulders, her chocolate brown eyes twinkling. “She doesn’t need them tagging along with her. Go, be young.”
I inherited her hair, but I got the curls from my grandma. The color of my eyes were almost an exact match to my dad’s. They always tell me I’m a balance between both of them and I couldn’t be prouder of that fact. After all, my dad runs one of the most popular restaurants on the planet and my mom has been on the best seller list three times.
“See, mom understands,” I couldn’t help whining a little. She was my age when she fell in love with my dad and had been a romantic ever since.
Dad sighed and narrowed his eyes at my mom now. “I love you baby girl,” he said, turning back to me and kissing the top of my head. “Be safe and be home on time or I’ll make sure to come and find you.”
I pushed myself up onto my tiptoes to give my dad a kiss on the cheek. Then, I walked into the warm San Diego spring night. A light breeze whipped my long hair across my eyes and caused me to pull my light sweater tighter.
“Gotcha,” someone said and grabbed me from the waist, pulling me against his chest.
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