The Center of My Universe

::35::

   "Hey Jake," Alex said to his son. "Are you ready to come meet your new sister?"

"Yeah!" Jake exclaimed. Alex grabbed his hand and pushed open the hospital door for him. Jake smiled and ran to the bed enthusiastically.

"Hey Babe," Ellen said to her son. Alex lifted him onto the bed and smiled.

"You were amazing," Alex said, kissing his wife's forehead and sitting on the bed next to her. She leaned into him and he cradled his wife's head.

"Hi," Jake whispered, staring down.

"Do you want to hold her?" Ellen asked. He nodded and Alex picked him up, sitting his son in his lap. Ellen set their newborn daughter in his small arms and he smiled down at the girl.

Mellissa Elyse Keaton was an adorable babygirl. She looked just like both of her parents. When they brought her home, they were much more experienced and skilled at parenting. Jake was a big help. He would grab the things they asked him for, and even tried to calm her down when she cried. Alex and Ellen thought that it was the cutest thing.

"Come here Jake," Ellen said to her son, who was playing on the floor with his toy cars. He ran to his parents bed, and Alex lifted him onto the mattress, setting him in his lap and watching over his baby sister.

"What's up buddy?" Alex asked him. He wrapped his arms around Jake's body and his son giggled, tucking his head into his arms.

   "Nothing," he said in a muffled voice. Ellen laughed, bouncing the baby up and down.

   "It's a little cold," Ellen said, thinking out loud. Without hesitation, Alex stood up and walked to the closet, grabbing multiple blankets from the inside. They spread them out and laid in the bed, talking and laughing. Alex even pulled the blanket over his head, then pulled it down to play peekaboo with Mellissa, making her giggle.

   "Mommy, daddy's sleeping," Jake said later in the night. Ellen looked over and saw her husband peacefully fast asleep. She laughed lightly at the sight.

   "You should probably go to sleep too," she said. Jake gave a disgusted face. "It's past your bedtime."

   "But I don't wanna," he said. Ellen shook her head.

   "How about you sleep in here tonight," she said. His face lit up with happiness and excitement. "Lay down and close your eyes."

   "Okay. I love you," he said, and Ellen's heart melted at how sweet he was.

   "I love you too honey," she replied, leaning over and kissing his head, then kissing her daughter's.

"They're both asleep," Alex said one night, sitting next to his wife on the couch. He threw an arm around her and pulled her close. She smiled, then sat up, looking him in the eyes.

"You know something, Alex?" She said. "Everything has worked out perfectly."

"What do you mean?" He asked her curiously, moving to face her and taking her hands in his.

"Everything that has happened so far. Meeting in school, falling in love, me leaving for Paris, and us finding each other again, in a random street of New York, a massive city. What are the odds?" She asked him, passionately explaining their story. Alex brought her hands to his lips, kissing them. He then moved them down and leaned forward, capturing her lips in a tender kiss. They separated and leaned their foreheads together.

"I think you're right. The universe is on our side."

The End