SEVEN MONTHS LATER
A rcher Baer had just become a father. Again. And still not in any way he’d expected.
He’d expected to have time to drop Olive off at her grandmother’s house and to arrive in plenty of time at the hospital to get Iris settled in her room. He’d expected to have their birthing playlist on and to make sure Iris had her cozy socks and plenty of ice chips. He’d expected to follow all the coaching pointers he’d learned from their birthing classes.
Archer had a plan this time.
He was here this time.
He was in control this time.
But the joke was on him once again. His son had other plans.
Iris went into labor two weeks early, right in the middle of her seniors aerobics class—much to the delight and excitement of her students. It was Janet and Carol who had driven her to the hospital while Archer raced across town from the pancake house to get there. Olive, who was at school, had to be picked up by Hazel, their emergency contact, and brought back to stay at her house since Archer’s parents were not expected in town for another two weeks.
Due to the ice rain that had started falling and the flooding on Main Street, Archer had barely made it to the hospital in time. By the time he slid into the labor and delivery room, hustled Carol and Janet out, and grabbed onto Iris’s hand, the baby was crowning.
And then it had been all her.
All his beautiful, strong Iris, bringing the baby into the world in a screaming fury that scared the absolute shit out of him.
She looked up at him now, her sweaty hair pushed off her forehead. The baby, their son, slept on her chest.
‘Well, that was wild,’ her voice was hoarse and tired.
‘I’m sorry I nearly missed it.’
‘It happened so fast,’ she said. ‘Everyone says the first baby never comes that fast.’
He leaned over, kissing her forehead. ‘You did so good, sweetheart. You were amazing.’
Iris hummed softly in thanks. ‘You should hold him,’ she said.
‘I … he’s so small.’
‘I know. But the nurses wrapped him like a little burrito. Makes him easier to hold.’
Archer reached down and took the snug package that was his second child and held him in his arms. Big, unseeing eyes blinked up at him.
‘Hey, little guy,’ Archer whispered because whispering seemed to be the only thing he could force past the emotion in his throat. A tiny hand escaped the wrap and waved wildly in front of the baby’s face. Archer ran a finger over the back of it and the baby settled.
‘Oh, damn,’ Iris muttered from the bed.
‘What is it?’ Archer looked up in concern. ‘Do you need the nurse?’
‘No,’ Iris said with a frown. ‘It’s just the book club was right.’
‘The book club?’
‘Yeah, you look really hot holding a baby.’
‘I look…’
‘Never mind,’ Iris said, waving him away. ‘We should probably name him before Olive gets here.’
Archer chuckled, thinking about how Olive would react to her new brother. Two kids. He had two kids to take care of now, two kids to love, two kids to worry about. He looked up to find Iris still looking at him, a tired smile on her face.
Two kids and a partner to share it all with.
‘How about Owen?’ he suggested.
‘I was still kinda holding out hope for Knives, but Owen’s nice.’
Archer looked down at the baby. ‘What do you think, Owen?’ The baby blinked. ‘Feels like as good an answer as any.’
Iris laughed a little. And she looked tired and beautiful and perfect.
The nurse peeked in the door. ‘We have a very excited big sister here.’
Olive burst into the room and ran straight for him. ‘Let me see him,’ she whispered because she felt it, too. She understood that he was too little to talk to at a regular volume. At least not yet.
‘I’ll keep the rest of the guests at bay for now,’ the nurse told them. ‘But I’m not sure how long I can hold them off.’
Iris laughed, but Archer was glad for the moment alone with Olive and Iris and little Owen.
He sat on the edge of the bed and Olive climbed up next to him.
‘Olive, meet Owen.’
‘He’s very small,’ she whispered.
‘He’ll get bigger.’
She ran her finger over the back of his hand and now her little hands looked so big in comparison. More emotions crowded in Archer’s throat, and maybe a tear or two slipped out because Iris ran a hand over his back and said, ‘It’s okay, Papa Bear.’ And then maybe a few more tears slipped out.
‘I like him,’ Olive declared.
‘Good, we like him, too.’
‘Iris?’ Olive said, turning to face Iris on the bed.
‘Yeah?’
‘Is Owen going to call you Mom?’
Iris glanced at Archer before answering. ‘He will, yes.’
Olive sat quietly thinking and they let her. They’d talked about it, he and Iris, over the months as they waited for the baby. Olive was officially his now, the permanent custody paperwork had all been signed. But they’d decided to let Olive take the lead on her relationship with Iris. They never wanted to erase Cate from Olive’s life, but they wanted her to know that she was just as much a part of the family as the new baby.
‘Can I call you Mom, too?’ Olive asked, after a while.
‘Of course. I love you both. You’re mine, too, Olive.’
Olive crawled up the bed to snuggle closer to Iris’s side. And with his son in his arms and his girls cuddled together Archer didn’t think he could be happier.
Then Olive looked at him with a grin and asked,
‘Dad, what’s for dinner?’
He couldn’t wait to get his family home to cook for them. A flood of images came to his mind: school-morning breakfasts and family dinners, holidays and Sunday brunches, cooking and baking for his kids, for his family. A lifetime of showing his family he loved them.
‘How about you cook it with me, Liv?’
‘Like your sous chef?’ she asked, her face lighting up. He’d taught her that word last week and she’d loved it.
‘Yep, like my sous chef.’
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Me and you will cook for Mommy and Owen.’
He definitely wasn’t the only one with tears in his eyes when Olive called Iris Mommy for the first time, but he let them fall. They were happy tears.
‘I love that idea.’
Olive beamed.
And that smile was worth so much more than any five-star review. Archer was the best chef in his kid’s eyes and that was enough for him.
That was everything.