Together

It's Coming

The moment you've all been waiting for... the pride of Mount Vernon? Just kidding haha. But I think you'll all be excited about this chapter. Enjoy/comment/vote if you please xxx
-ab

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September 30, 2026

Patrick

The night begins normal. I'm curled up on the sofa, underneath a nice blanket as the nighttime air is beginning to turn from summer to autumn. Harper should be finishing up her show right about now. She'll be heading home quite soon.

The mood of the evening changes, though, when I'm scrolling through my twitter and suddenly receive a text from Joe.

Instantly, I click on the text, wondering if this is what I think it is.

Joe: Taylor is in labour and we are heading off to the hospital now. I just wanted to let you know. If you wouldn't mind, could you stop in our flat in the morning to feed the cats? Many thanks xxx

I notice that it's a group message, with both Harper and I. That means that she'll be coming off stage to find out some very good news.

I can't stop smiling as I type up my reply.

Patrick: We will certainly feed the cats. Best of luck in the delivery. Keep us updated, if you're able to. I'm keeping both of you in my thoughts xxx.

Joe: Thank you. We will let you know when the baby is here, for sure. Now, Tay is screaming at me that she's having another contraction so I've got to go.

I laugh as I set my phone down, but only to pick it up a few moments later with a text from my wife. This one is just to me, not in the group chat.

Harper: OH MY GOD TAYLOR IS HAVING THE BABY!

Patrick: I'm quite aware, love.

Harper: Shall I stop somewhere and pick up some sort of a present on the way home?

Patrick: That shouldn't be necessary. We can get something tomorrow morning. I'd assume that, if labour goes as planned, which I'm sure it will, then we will be able to visit by tomorrow afternoon before your show.

Harper: I'm so excited to meet her.

Patrick: Me too. Now, come on home, sweetie. There's no use on waiting up, because labour can take a long time.

Harper: I will xx

I set my phone down again, and Harper gets home about an hour later.

"How was the show tonight?" I ask her.

"It was fine, I guess."

"What does that mean?"

"We just had a little slip up with the kiss scene," Harper laughs. "During the matinee. You know how I stand on my suitcase so that I can reach up and kiss Toby?"

"Yeah," I frown. It is far from my favourite part of the show. Though I know that Harper and Toby are strictly friends, I still don't love watching my wife kiss another man. It's just the protective side of me, I guess.

"Well," Harper giggles, "a funny thing happened. The suitcase, today, decided to just, like, not hold my weight. It completely just collapsed under me. Thankfully, I landed on my feet, nice and stable. The suitcase, though... let's just say that it's a good thing that we had an extra for tonight's show."

I gasp. "Oh my god, Harper!" I exclaim. "I'm so glad that you're alright."

"I'm fine," she assures me. "We just kept playing the scene like it never happened. It was so hard not to laugh, but Toby just leaned down to kiss me. I know that everyone noticed, but I don't think that it ruined anybody's experience."

"That's good," I tell her. "Nothing stops you, hm?"

"The show must go on."

"I suppose that's true. The audience spent money to be there. You can't just stop."

"Exactly," she nods.

"Well, did everything go smoothly in the evening performance?"

"I mean, we have never had a perfect show, but it was as good as it could possibly get."

"Hey," I tell her, "if you're happy with it, then that's all that matters."

She nods in agreement.

"Well," I say after the two of us share a brief moment of silence, "let's get heading off to bed, shall we?"

"Yeah," she smiles. "We can get the sleep that Taylor wishes she was getting tonight."

I chuckle a bit. "That's true. Oh, by the way, we have to go feed the cats."

"I know," Harper nods. "I can go. I'll stick around and play with them for a bit in the morning before we go to visit Tay."

"Perfect," I tell her. "I'm going to reschedule my appointments for tomorrow afternoon so that we can make a visit. I think that my sister-in-law giving birth is as good of an excuse as any, right?"

"Absolutely," Harper tells me with a smile. I can tell that she's so excited to finally get to meet this baby. She's going to be an aunt. I'm excited, too. I'm going to be an uncle.

I know that our new little niece is going to be so spoiled, between her parents, who are going to love her so much, and Harper and I, as well as Austin, her uncle on Taylor's side. I know that he is flying into London in a few days, to help out and meet his new niece. Taylor's mum and dad are already here, and of course, so are my mum and dad. They barely ever leave London, except for once or twice a year, when they go on holiday.

As Harper takes a quick shower, I sit on the bed and play a game on my phone. I can't seem to get my mind off of Taylor and Joe, though. I'm so excited for them. I truly hope that it is all going well. I know that the two of them have been looking forward to this moment for so long.

Even before they were married, or even engaged, I think that they both knew within a few months of meeting each other that they would someday be married, and this moment would be here. I didn't understand that until I met Harper, but I now know what it's like, to be so sure that somebody is the one for you, even so shortly after meeting them.

I can't wait for the day when it is Harper and I, ready to make the amazing transition into parenthood. I don't know when it will be, but when the time comes, it will be beautiful and amazing, just as the transition that Taylor and Joe are about to experience will be.