~S~
"Hi, there..." I whispered through the quiet air as I looked down at the baby that was wrapped up in the warmth of a little pink blanket.
It was just the two of us, sitting on the accent sofa by the big window in the living room, where silence had engulfed us and peace surrounded us.
The only light that illuminated was the small side table lamp that I had turned on when I sat down and the streetlights that spilled in through lace curtains from the city below.
At three in the morning, even Manhattan seemed to stand still.
"You are so awake, sweet girl." My eyes scanned over her sweet face, taking in all those tiny features.
It was the first night back home from the hospital, so she was only three days old and absolutely perfect- from her ten little toes to her blonde curls... She was magic in the form of a button nose, chubby red cheeks, long eyelashes and the most gorgeous blue eyes.
"Should we read a story or sing a song...?" I wondered, another soft smile trailing across my face when she let out a big yawn.
She had been up all night, not once crying but cooing the entire time. She was a quiet baby, just so curious and already trying to figure out the world around her.
"Or maybe we can just talk, hm?" I hummed lightly, totally captivated by those two eyes staring back at me. "Do you see the snow out there?" I asked her, motioning back to the big window to the right of us. "It's snowing just for you, baby." my voice was so soft and gentle... I was incredibly enticed with that Angel from the moment she entered our lives.
"Well, look at you two..." Lindsey had been standing in the doorway for a couple of seconds- I could feel his eyes.
"Come sit with us?" I held up the blanket that was on my lap, silently telling him to snuggle in.
And of course, he chuckled lightly, but he still pushed himself away from the doorframe to trail through the room. "Hi, princess." Lindsey whispered as he took a seat right next to me on the sofa, wrapping his around my shoulders as he looked down at the baby in my arms. "So alert this morning." He added, using his index finger to trace the outline of her nose.
"Can you say 'hi' to grandpa?" My head fell right on his chest, lips turned up as I watched her long lashes flutter.
She reminded me so much of Lark when she was first born.
The hand that had been resting on my shoulder moved to my hair as he leaned down to press his lips to my head. "Have either of you even gone to sleep yet?" He smirked, kissing my head a few more times, which caused my eyes to grow incredibly heavy.
"Lark was up and down a couple of times with her before I offered to take over." I replied, more than happy to do so.
I never really slept well anyway, especially when I was moving on a normal schedule and not at home. But I was also really feeling for Lark, who had been incredibly tired, a little stressed out and in a lot of pain.
She was really trying to adjust to motherhood and that isn't always easy, so if I was up all night in the room across the hallway, why not help as much as possible?
But besides all that, I could have held that sweet girl in my arms all day and night, anyway... She had really captured my heart like a thief in the night.
"You're a good mom," he had told me that more times in the five years leading up to that moment than he ever had before. "And grandma, too." He could be so kind sometimes... Not all the time, but occasionally and I was really thankful that.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" I whispered, not ready to go to bed and not wanting him to go back to the other guest room, either.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing."
~L~
All I had to do was follow the sound of little giggles down the hallway and then I found them, sitting on the rug, having coffee, watching a movie and gushing over the six pound bundle of joy that my dad was holding in the safety of his arms.
They were both looking down at her, my mother softly singing the lyrics to some old song as Lindsey hummed along to the melody.
It was special to see them in that role as grandparents, especially together. It was something that I had never imagined.
To be honest with you, I wasn't sure what to expect when I invited them out East together, but it definitely wasn't that.
They were the greatest... they are the greatest.
And the crazy thing was, I had felt more connected to them in those first few days of parenthood than I ever had before. In fact, I relied on them for almost everything at the time... They kept my world turning for a while.
"Someone's here to see you." My mom has always had eyes in the back of her head.
You can't get away with much of anything around her.
Smiling softly, my eyes instantly met my dads as I headed into the living room. "Thank you for helping me through the night." I titled my head to the side, looking down at my new daughter with more joy and pride than I had ever felt before.
I didn't know my heart could literally beat outside my body until I met her.
"Of course, darling girl." Stevie was cradling a cup of coffee close to her lips as she stared up at me with the warmest smile.
She made me feel like everything was going to be okay, even though I was so scared... I was scared to mess up, to make mistakes, to fail, or let her down, but my mother reminded me, every day, that I was destined to be that little girls mom and because that, everything else would just fall right into place.
She was right... She's always right.
Chuckling softly, I slowly bent down to sit with them as my eyes met hers. "Good morning, Ruth."
