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Another nurse, ping forward, interrupts our moment. "Okay, ladies and gents. We're going to have clear the room to let the doctor come in and do their thing. I'm going to need everybody out..." She pauses. "Except for the parents, of course."
Jacob turns to her, tall and proud. "I'm the father. I'm staying."
The nurse raises an eyebrow but doesn't argue. She starts to usher everyone out of the room, including Nonna Chiara who protests as only she can.
"You think this is the first birth I've been around for? Hell, I've seen plenty of births in my day. I could probably deliver this baby if I wanted to."
Giving Nonna one last hug and kiss before she, Lex, and Gio leave, I breathe out a sigh.
"Okay, Gabs," Jacob says, taking my hand again. "Just you and me now."
I nod, trying to push away the fear and focus on the excitement of finally meeting our little one.
The doctor comes in, and I can feel my body tense up. But Jacob is there.
Every single step of the way.
He whispers words of encouragement and holds my hand tightly. He tells me stories—the same stories he'd told me in that treehouse of ours. Tales of dragons who could speak Italian and princesses with swords instead of crowns.
The same tales that made me fall for him over twenty years ago.
Tales to distract me from the pain and even make me laugh a few times.
Through the tunnel of pain and pushing, through my own screams and tears, Jacob is there.
Until the final push and a cry that fills the room.
A baby girl is here. Our baby girl.
As Jacob cuts the umbilical cord, tears fall from my eyes. I feel mesmerized as I look at her.
She has my dark hair and Jacob's bright blue eyes. By the time they place her on my chest, I can barely see. Through a blur, I see Jacob's face beaming, his blue eyes shining from somewhere deep inside of him.
He whispers in my ear. "You did it, Gabs. We're parents."
I whisper to our daughter. "Welcome to the world, cara mia." She grips tighly onto my finger like she knows exactly who I am.
Maybe she does. Maybe she's been waiting for this moment just as much as I have. Waiting for the moment I push fear out of my heart and make room for all the love that's been offered to me.
Love that Jacob has been giving me since we were kids.
Love that I now feel for this tiny, perfect human being in my arms.
I look up at him with tears streaming down my face.
He has never looked more handsome or radiant to me than he does in that moment.
"I love you," I say, my voice shaky but sincere.
"I love you too," he replies, kissing my forehead as we both gaze at our child with awe and wonder.
I sigh. "You know, I always thought fairy tales were just stories. But now I realize that we're living our own fairy tale."
"And it's only just beginning."
"No. What's just beginning is my fatigue," I joke, feeling exhausted but also exhilarated at the same time. “I need a cocktail. You think Nonna Chiara managed to sneak some of that vodka into the hospital?"
"Please. I'm sure she did. She's probably charging other patients for a swig of it as we speak.”
