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“Before we go down, can I talk to both of you?” Nerves climb through my chest as I make myself say the words.
“Of course. Anything,” Sue says as Coach continues to narrow his eyes at me.
“Look, Coach, I'm sorry we kept this from you. We both knew how you'd feel about the two of us together before we had a chance to give it a real shot. But I've known your daughter now for the better part of a year. We're about to have a baby together. I know it's not what you want, but I'm not going anywhere. Like it or not, I'll be a part of your family for the rest of my life. I’ll always be there for Des and the baby, and I want nothing more than to marry her and to spend the rest of my life with her. I may not be good enough for her, but I'll sure as hell try every single day to be. I love her more than I've ever loved anyone in my life, and I'm begging you for your blessing before I go in there andask her to marry me.” The words come out rushed and nervous andgenuine.
He studies me and then glances at his wife.
She gives him an encouraging smile. “You know how I feel about it.” She raises her brows pointedly. “Bill, she’s about to be a mother. Let her be happy. Let her go.”
He draws in a deep breath, and he presses his lips together before he answers my question. “I always knew she was going to end up with somebody like you.” He shakes his head a little. “It’s why I warned her off players. But you, Asher Nash…I think you’re her other half in pretty much every way. It pains me to admit it because I always wanted better for her than I was able to give her mother. I've gotten to know you pretty well over the last year, and I think that's why it hurt that you didn't feel like you could tell me that you were seeing her. But to know that you’d still reach out to us to make sure we knew when she was going through something despite the way I’ve treated you…well, it means the world to me. And seeing you drop everything to get to her in her time of need tells me exactly the kind of husband and father you'll be for her and my grandchild. I know that she's getting better with you than what I was able to give because I don't know that I would've been able to do that knowing how much Sue's dad hated me.”
I glance over at Desiree’s mom, and she brushes away a tear on her cheek.
“I hope you don't hate me, sir.”
“I don't,” he says, shaking his head. “Far from it. And that's why of course I'll give you my blessing.”
Relief filters through me at his words, and I can't help when I leap at him and pull him into a hug. “Thank you,” I murmur, overcome with emotion.
“Don't let her down.”
“You have my word,” I promise.
We head down to get food, and once we’re sitting with plates in front of us, Sue asks, “So when are you going to do it?”
“I hadn't really thought about it, but I suppose I'd like to do it right away. It's sort of feels like the final piece of the puzzle to make our family complete once the baby’s here.”
She clasps her hands together. “I think that might be the sweetest thing I've ever heard.”
We finish our dinner and head back up to Desiree.
“How’s progress?” I ask as soon as I walk in. I head over to her and press my lips to hers as I set my hand to her stomach.
“Moving along,” she says. “The doctor says I'm at eight centimeters now.”
“What does that mean?”
She shrugs. “I guess it means we're getting closer.”
She's not wrong. It's not long before the doctor comes in and lets her know it's time to start pushing.
Her parents leave the room so it's just the two of us, the doctor, and two nurses. The nurse shows me how to hold one of her legs up as she holds the other leg, and when the next contraction hits, Des has to push.
Her red hair flies around her shoulders with each heave of her body, and I've never felt more in awe of another human being in my entire life. She literally grew our baby in there over the last thirty-five weeks, and now she’s pushing it out of her body and into the world. What a fucking phenomenon.
She pushes with everything she has, but it's not quite enough.
After an hour of pushing, I can tell she's starting to get tired, but she's not about to give up now.
“Okay, the next one’s starting,” the nurse says as she watches the screen.
“Give it everything you've got, Desiree,” the doctor says.
I grab onto her leg with one arm and grab her hand with the other. She squeezes the shit out of my hand as she pushes withall her might, and a moment later, the baby slips from her with a loud cry.
A loud cry.
That’s a good thing.
