Harry Styles and his wife Elizabeth celebrate their lives together through a series of short stories that weave in and out of time as you experience their love before, during, and after being blessed by children. The stories are a variety of fluff...
"See ya later, alligator!" I say as Harry and I end the facetime call with our daughter.
"I know a new one! I tell it?" Grace asks, holding the iPad in such a way that part of her face is being cut off, and we get a very beautiful view of the ceiling of Anne's home.
"Oh tell me!! Tell me!!" Harry's voice is laced with excitement as he leans in a little closer, waiting to hear the new way of saying goodbye.
"O-tay! Bye-Bye Butterfly!" Grace bursts into giggles as she tells her parents the new saying. Saying funny salutations has become a tradition, and it always makes Grace laugh.
"Oh I like that one!! Bug, we love yeh butterfly much! Call us in the morning okay?" Harry says, waving at the screen. "Be good for Gran." He adds, smiling at his daughter.
"Kiss!" Grace kisses the camera, her lips expanding on the screen, and it makes me smile. Harry and I return kisses to the little one. "I kiss da baby goodbye?" I nod my head, moving the camera so that my 30 week bump can be seen. Once again, small pink lips take over the whole screen as Grace gives her sibling a big sloppy kiss.
"Love you, baby!! Talk to you soon!! Sweet dreams!" I wave to my daughter as my husband ends the call. Harry takes the iPad from my hands and places it on the coffee table.
"Oh I love her." Harry says, letting out a sigh as he sits up; raising his hands towards the sky, he stretches his muscles, letting out a small groan.
"Me too. She is quite the goose!" I say, chuckling to myself as I recall the conversation we just had. "Wanna go lay outside with me? Feeling like I might want a nap." I say through a yawn.
"I would love to." Harry pops up from the sofa, holding out his hands so I can grab hold and use them to stand. My hand rests under my baby bump to give it support as I move my body out of the sitting position. Harry threads his fingers through mine as he guides me through the open doors of our private villa and out onto the deck that ends with a bed above the water.
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The wood of the deck feels warm against my bare feet, and the sun feels lovely against my skin. I climb onto the bed, crawling across to make room for my husband. Stripping off his shirt, Harry climbs on the mattress next to me, pulling me in close against his inked skin.
"Thank you for planning this." I say, resting my head against his shoulder. My bump is nestled close to his body, and I can feel the little one adjusting inside. Running my hand down my stomach, I rub back and forth in an effort to calm our baby.
"It's relaxing, init?" Harry looks out across the ocean, and I can see his curls flying softly in the wind. In ten short weeks we will be parents of two children, and that just blows my mind. I am thankful that Harry planned such a private babymoon. Our villa in Tahiti is away from everyone, creating a private atmosphere that helps us to feel comfortable and not like we are being watched. After losing our last baby, we tried really hard to keep this pregnancy quiet, just in case something happened again, as the risk of miscarriage is higher after happening once. We tried really hard to keep it between family for as long as possible.
"Yes, and nice to get out of the cold." I reply, tracing my finger against his butterfly, outlining the wings slowly, covering every detail.
"Can yeh believe that 8 years ago next month, a beautiful girl walked into my birthday party not having the slightest clue who I was. The room was filled with people who were there for Harry Styles, but she was only focused on the art." Harry starts to recall the night that changed our lives forever, and I can feel my heart melting into a puddle that will rival the ocean that is under us right now. "From the moment we first said hello, my mind was pushing for one thing. To get to know that beautiful bird with a smile that was lighting up the world."
"Like nobody else?" I say, trying to hold back my giggle as I look up at my husband to see if he got my reference to his very first single with One Direction.
"Hey, I'm tryin' to be sentimental here." His scowl makes me laugh because I know he is secretly proud of my reference.
"Okay. Continue." I pat his stomach and encourage him to continue his story.
"And then I married her on what I believe to be one of the best days of my life." His hand dances down my side, sneaking his fingers under the hem of my swim suit cover up. His fingers draw circles on the skin of my belly and it makes me feel calm and content. "Then, we created a beautiful, dramatic, creative soul that will change the world someday."
"She gets the dramatic side from you." I tease, and it makes Harry chuckle.
"And her eye roll from her mum." Harry teases back, and I roll my eyes at his response. "Then we were blessed with 14 brilliant weeks, where we loved and lost and grew in so many different ways." His voice shakes slightly as he talks about our baby in heaven. I can feel the tears begin to well up in my eyes, and I choose not to hold them back, allowing them to fall slowly down my cheeks. "And now, we are welcoming another baby. Our world has evolved so much in the last 8 years. But I wouldn't change any of it." He kisses my head and hugs me closer to his body.
"Harry? What can we do better?" I ask sincerely. In 8 years we have had a lot of challenges, and things get neglected, especially when it comes to our relationship.
"As parents?" Harry asks, holding his hand still as our baby begins to move against his palm.
"No, I think we are pretty good at being parents." I smile as I make the joke because we learn and grow everyday when it comes to parenthood. Parenting isn't easy, and I feel like I am constantly learning. "I mean with us. Is there anything that I am doing or not doing for you?" There is a moment of silence, where the only thing I can hear is the waves of the ocean crashing against the beach. Harry takes a moment to process my question, allowing it to sink in before he answers.
"Hmmm, something we can improve? We both get in our head at times, and I think we struggle communicating when we are in a bad headspace if I'm honest." Harry is thoughtful in his comment and I agree with what he is saying.
"Yes, I tend to withdraw, isolate, because I feel like there are bigger problems that need my attention." I add.
"Me too." Harry says quietly. "So can we work on being open, honest, and raw about our anxiety and worries?"
"Yes. I think that is a good thing to work on." Kissing his chest softly, I move my hand from his butterfly to the laurels that lay on his hips. "I think a lot of the time, I get caught up in the routine of being a parent that I feel like I don't give us what we need. I want to work on giving us more time and attention."
"What if we spend an hour each day, just us? Kids are in bed, we can watch a show, or take a bath, or paint our nails. I do love a good spa night." I don't even have to look at Harry to know that his dimple is deep as he smiles. "Even if I am away, I promise to make time, even if it is fifteen minutes. Just for us. No Jeff. No kids. Just me and my darling."
"I like that idea." I say, brushing the hair out of my face. "Hey, I love you. So much. Always have, and I always will."
"I love yeh too." Harry kisses my forehead, tucking the stray curl behind my ear. "Thank yeh for being all in, and for loving me and our children."
"You're lucky you're easy to love." I giggle, biting my lip as I tease my husband. "Thank you for loving me, and allowing me to share this journey of love and happiness."
"The pleasure is all mine, darling." He smiles before capturing my lips in a sweet, soft kiss. We lay together, enjoying Tahiti with a new vision of our path in this thing we call life and love.
