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I turned around to find my mother and father. They had been helping out with final preparations all week and had arrived at the daycare early that morning, even before I got there.
“I think so. Do you think people are enjoying themselves?”
Mom smiled. “Oh, definitely. I mean, this is just a parent’s dream.”
I scanned the first floor. It was colorful, safe, and spacious, led by a team of amazing caretakers and educators I’d hired over the past few months. “That was the goal.”
“Well, you did it, kiddo. We’re so proud of you.” Dad wrapped his arm around me.
Henry cooed at my chest, starting to stir from his post-feeding nap.
“Are you just waking up, sweet pea?” Mom nuzzled Henry’s nose with hers and gave him a kiss, at which he giggled.
As my parents doted over my baby, I had to pause and take a moment to reflect on how far we’d come. Throughout the past year, things between my parents and Wesley had softened. But it wasn’t until Henry was born that they finally accepted that I was living my own life.
At my bedside in the hospital, marveling at the little life Wes and I had created, Mom had burst into tears, completely inconsolable.
“I’m just so happy…and so sorry…”
Wesley and I were both dazed with exhaustion from the forty-eight hours of labor and delivery and had looked to Dad for an explanation.
My dad was not a crier, but I saw tears in his eyes, too. “We owe you an apology for…everything.”
Mom reached out to Wesley and embraced him. “You’ve just taken such good care of her. And you love her so much. It’s obvious. I don’t know why we didn’t see it before.”
Wesley had been an amazing partner throughout my pregnancy. There was nothing that fazed him. From late night cravings to mood swings to swollen feet, there was nothing he wouldn’t do for me. Including my unrelenting horniness.
“We should have trusted you.” My father ran his hand over my hair.
That apology gave me the extra boost I needed to make it to where I was now. Even the sleeplessness of a newborn couldn’t hold me back. At first, I thought I’d have to postpone opening the daycare at least a few months so I could get a grasp on motherhood, but knowing how many people believed in me, exhaustion wasn’t going to get in my way.
Of course, the most important person present at opening day of Little Wings was the man who’d made it all possible: Wesley Taves.
He was chatting with his new business partner, Caspar Steele. The two were teaming up on MediaDeck’s new venture now that Readly was up and running and Wesley’s paternity leave was coming to an end.
As if he felt his eyes on me, he looked across the room and gave me an easy smile. A year and a baby in, and Wesley still made me feel butterflies in my stomach.
It was hard to believe that just a little over a year ago, none of this seemed possible. I was going about building a business haplessly and all alone. Still trying to learn the ropes.
And then I met him.
I never imagined life could be this amazing, but Wesley Taves showed me a world of possibility. His daughter — our daughter — chose to love me. There was no love more powerful than that.
Wesley gave Caspar a tap on the shoulder, nodding toward me, before crossing the room to me. “How’re you doing?”
“Good.”
“This is all so amazing, Wesley,” Mom said, squeezing Wesley’s arm.
Dad followed up with a hearty pat to his back. “You should be proud.”
Wesley beamed. Though Wesley had always been confident in his own right, getting my parents’ acceptance had given him a completely different kind of confidence. “Thank you. You ready for a speech?”
I sighed. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Oh, you’re ready.” Wesley kissed my forehead and guided me toward the front of the room. “Just do it as you practiced.”
Wesley had said that a speech was a necessity for an event like this. I tried to get out of it, but Wesley wasn’t backing down. A speech would be happening, whether I liked it or not.
