The Older Man Part II

Chapter 30

Dream Turned Reality

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VINCENT'S POINT OF VIEW

"Look at my beautiful girl," I whispered to myself as I looked down at the baby I cradled in my arms. "God, you're so perfect," I told her even though she couldn't hear me.

I leaned down to press a kiss on her forehead. A smile shaped my lips when I heard her coo lightly in response. She was fast asleep in my arms and had been for a few minutes now. I rocked her to sleep while Cheyenne tended to making dinner for all of us.

As I looked at my surroundings, I chuckled lightly in disbelief.

2 months ago, none of this seemed possible and yet, here I was with a beautiful, healthy baby girl and an amazing fiancee.

When Cheyenne was in the hospital, fighing for her life and our baby's, so many emotions were running through my head. I didn't know what to think when she was connected to all those tubes and machines. I was in a constant state of worry and panic. I felt like my dream was slipping away when the nurses let me know how bad Cheyenne was doing.

That day, two months ago, when the doctor told me what was going on with my fiancee and my baby, was simultaneously the best and worst day of my life.

It was the best because our baby was delivered safely, but it was the worst because there was still a cloud of uncertainty that lingered over Cheyenne's fate.

I swallowed a lump that had grown in my throat as I started to remember the nerves and anxiety I felt that night. As much as it defined the past few months for me, I still wanted to block it from my memory. It was too painful to remember, so I did my best to put it behind me. The pestering thoughts that reminded me of how I felt that day still visited from time to time.

With a slight shake of my head, I tried to push aside my thoughts and focus on the good things I had in my life.

Cheyenne walked from the kitchen and into the living room where I sat with Camilla in my arms. She smiled at me before pressing a kiss to my lips.

"Here," she started to say as she reached her arms out to grab Camilla from my grasp, "let me take her and put her to bed. That way we can eat," she smiled silly at her own mention of food.

Seeing how giddy she was about something so simple brought a smile to my face. My smile quickly fell when I saw how her shirt rose slightly as she lifted Camilla in her arms, revealing the scar she took as a souvenir from her c-section.

Her scar shifted my mood and reminded me of that day. Instantly, I was forced back into the memories I tried to avoid and there was nothing I could do to fight it.

The doctor approached me to tell me what Cheyenne's current status was.

I could feel my heart racing and my palms sweating as I impatiently awaited what he was about to say. I've felt anxiety in my life before, but never to this degree. The last update I was given about Cheyenne was that she wasn't doing well. Shortly after I left the room, the doctor informed me that a c-section would need to happen to safely deliver the baby.

"I'm afraid your fiancee isn't healthy enough to have her baby naturally," is what the doctor's exact words were.

He told me about the emergency c-section and how things would end up once it was over. He said there was great risk to performing the c-section due to the amount of blood loss Cheyenne had experienced and due to how premature the baby was, she may not survive the delivery.