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“What the fuck?” I asked into the darkened room.
“I think… I think my water just broke.”
And yes, even though we had gone over this a hundred times, no joke, what we needed to do so we could head to the hospital, I still froze.
But it was my woman’s wail of pain that had me snapping into focus, grabbing our bags, and hauling ass out to my truck.
Running back into the house, I helped Gabriella out to the truck, not even caring I was in a pair of sweats I had grabbed off the floor that she hated seeing me wear in public and a t-shirt with my kutte on.
“If any of the nurses stare at your junk in those, I am burning them.” She snapped as I helped her with her seat belt.
I would’ve laughed at her possessive nature, but I was too busy freaking out.
I was in the truck and headed to the clubhouse when she told me she sent a text to Stella knowing that she would spread the word that we were about to be having a baby.
***
If I ever thought that another woman was weak, I wanted to be slapped upside the head.
Because in the throes of labor as the nurses and doctors raced around the room, Gabriella almost broke my hand with how hard she was squeezing it, trying to get through her contractions.
I almost begged her to get the epidural but with one look from her face I kept my mouth fucking shut.
Then when I heard the terrible wail coming from my woman because of the pain she had to be in, I made a vow then and there that I would only be going through this once.
I couldn’t handle seeing her in this kind of pain.
But whatever vow I made; my woman obliterated that shit with a smile on her face.
Because not only after eight hours of labor did we welcome our son, Thayne Caiden Childers, into the world, but exactly ten months later, whoops, we welcomed our daughter, Madeline Alora Childers, into the world.
Fuck the vow I made to her.
But that would be the only one I would ever break.
As I sit here in our little girl's nursery, rocking her back to sleep so my woman could get some sleep because she had her final exam and she would have an associate degree in business, I thanked God for having Rebecca in my life.
Had I not realized how horrible she was, I never would’ve opened my eyes and noticed the most perfect angel to ever walk this earth was right there within arm’s reach.
Just then my little boy walked into the nursery, climbed up my sweatpants-covered leg, and settled in my other arm.
I hadn’t heard the click of my woman’s camera that night, because I had fallen asleep with the two other humans that held my heart in their hands.
I only noticed that she had clicked the button on her camera a week later, because there beside the pictures Stella took of us the day I made Gabriella my ole’ lady was that picture of the three of us, crammed into a white rocking chair, with all our mouths open as we slept.
Epilogue
Pipe
Pulling my bike into our garage, I shut her down, then stretched my aching back. I was fifty-one years old and being on the back of my bike for eight hours straight, only stopping to top off the tank did something to my back.
It felt great to stretch even when it was hurting like a motherfucker.
Getting off my bike, I removed my helmet and walked it over to the wall, and hung it on the peg right beside Gabriella’s, Thayne’s, and Madeline’s.
Walking in our mud room, I toed off my boots and then something delicious from the kitchen filled my senses. And I didn’t miss the lights she left on, knowing I appreciated it.
As soon as I rounded the corner, I noticed a plate with foil covering it sitting on the island along with a note, two Advil, and a bottle of water. These were the small things I had always wondered about, how they would feel. And still, sixteen years later, my woman never failed to do stuff like this for me.
