Living Again (67 page)

“Daddy’s boy,” Kayley said from across the room, packing her bag.

Ben grinned at her, scooping Benji up and cradling him in his arm. He was so small. He never got to know Alexis at this age, so holding his son was a surreal experience. Looking over at Kayley, he caught the look on her face, and he smiled. “What you looking at, pretty girl? I don’t know how it’s that you can look sexy two days after having a baby, but you make me want to give you another one.”

Kayley laughed, rolling her eyes at him. “Ben Nichols, you’re ridiculous. I do
not
look sexy, at all. But thank you, and I love you. I was looking at you because it’s so sweet to see you holding that baby. I mean, I’ve seen you hold other babies, but this? It’s just—surreal. We have a son. My heart feels like it cannot hold another ounce of love, but then it just does. This whole thing, babe, was so amazing. It felt so fantastic, through all the pain, to know that you were here. This was the experience Alexis deserved.”

“This was the experience
you
deserved,” Ben said, crossing the room to her. “You’re my dream, baby. Never forget that. You just gave birth to my son.
Our
son. Out of all the amazing moments we have had, this one is at the top of the list. He’s just perfect. Our family is perfect.” He kissed her soft lips, pulling her to him gently, knowing she was tender.

“Knock, knock!” Karen, Ben’s mom, opened the door, leading Alexis into the room.

“My Daddy! Mommy! Baby Benji!” Alexis ran for them, hugging Ben first, then Kayley. “Can I see my baby?”

Ben went to sit on the small couch in the room, and Alexis climbed up, her arms outstretched. Ben helped support her as he lay baby Benji in her arms.

Kayley looked at Karen. “There’s my whole life, right there,” she whispered, searching her bag for her phone. Finding it, she opened the camera app and took a picture of them, not looking at her at all, but looking at Benji.

Karen hugged Kayley. “Thank you for my first grandson. He’s absolutely amazing.” The two women sat down across from Ben and the kids, and Kayley allowed herself to remember the day she found out she was pregnant with Benji.

Kayley checked her patient’s chart, making sure she was on track with her goals for therapy. She hadn’t been feeling well all day.
I really hope I’m not getting sick,
she thought. She had been very busy over the last two months, settling in back at work after her two week absence when they got married. Her days had been packed, and she was even working Friday’s temporarily.
I’m probably just tired
, she thought, looking at the clock. She only had an hour to go.

Finally finishing up with her patient, she headed for the break room to grab a soda. She had barely made it through that hour. Someone had left the television on, so she sat for a minute to relax. Her head pounded and her stomach roiled at a commercial for a local restaurant. She sipped her soda, averting her eyes from the screen to avoid the nausea. The commercial ended, and she sighed in relief, looking back at the screen as another commercial came on, this one for a pregnancy test. And just like that, a smile broke out over her face, and she shoved the chair back as she stood up quickly. Thinking back to when she was pregnant with Alexis, she recognized all the same symptoms that she had right now.

Flinging open the door and heading down the hallway, she grabbed her purse. Rachel’s curious eyes watched her as she buzzed around, making sure all of her things were put away from the day.

“What is going on with you?” Rachel asked, following her. “Kay?”

“I-I’ll call you later. I have to go.” With that, Kayley walked out the back door and to her car, texting Ben that she needed to see him, and heading for the hospital.

Once she had gotten to the hospital and found Ben, who was scared senseless about her vague text, she reassured him that she was okay but asked if they could go to his office for a few minutes. She had stopped on the way to the hospital to acquire the needed items.

“What’s going on, baby? You’re kind of freaking me out here.”

Kayley handed him the bag from the drug store, and he looked at her quizzically. “Open it.” He looked inside the plastic bag to see a pack of two pregnancy tests.

Looking at her and then back at the bag, his eyes became wide. “You think you could be pregnant?” His voice was hushed and his eyes danced with excitement. “Seriously?”

Kayley nodded. “I don’t know for sure, but I wanted to come here so we could find out together. I have felt awful all day, and then I saw this commercial on TV, and I realized, I haven’t had my period since we’ve been home from the honeymoon.
Two
months ago. I have all the symptoms, babe. Ready to find out for sure?”

Ben picked her up and turned her around, sliding her down his body as he released her, then kissing her so deeply she almost forgot why she was there. “That would be the best news I’ve had all day. Go in my bathroom. Bring the tests out when you’re done and let’s find out together.”

Kayley had gone into his private bathroom, then come out and waited with Ben as they watched the tests. She had done both of them at once, just to be sure. He gripped her hand, trying to make himself stand still instead of pacing the office.

“This is the longest three minutes of my life,” Ben grumbled, and Kayley laughed nervously.

Finally, they saw the sign they were looking for. On both tests, within seconds of each other, a blue plus sign emerged. Kayley put her hands over her mouth, her eyes filling with happy tears. Ben turned her to him, shimmers of tears covering his eyes. “We’re pregnant,” Kayley said. “We’re having a baby.”

Ben shouted his jubilation. “We’re having a BABY!” He grabbed her, crushing his mouth to hers.

“Ready to go home, Mommy?” Ben asked, and she blinked and smiled at him. She wasn’t finished with that memory, because it had ended with a very nice celebration in Dr. Yummy’s office.

She nodded, grabbing her bag. Ben settled Benji in his car seat and carried him out. “Let’s take Benji home, Lex. You ready to show him his new room?”

As soon as they got home, Alexis had to run right to Benji’s room to show him. Ben had followed her up there as Kayley rested on the couch, exhausted. Of course, as they turned in their driveway she had seen a big sign Ben had put in the yard that said “It’s a Boy! Welcome home, Baby Benji.” The man was like Houdini. She didn’t know how he did what he did. He had also given her a new piece of jewelry- a ring with both Alexis and Benji’s birthstones on it.

“Baby? You down here?” Ben walked down the stairs, holding Benji, with Alexis right behind him.

“Just resting for a moment,” she smiled, sitting up carefully as they entered the room.

Ben smiled sweetly at her. “You can take a nap right after I show you your surprise. Lex and I will take care of little Benji here. Well, that is until he needs to eat.”

Kayley looked at him incredulously. “Are you serious? Something else?”

He nodded, holding out his hand to help her off the couch. “It’s out here.”

Following behind him, she was surprised when they ended up at the garage door. “Out here?”

Ben winked at her, then opened the door to the garage. Right in front of her was a brand new minivan, with a huge blue bow on top of it.

“A minivan?” Was she old enough for a minivan? I mean, yeah, she was now 30, but did that make her old enough?

Ben laughed. “Well, I know. It’s kind of a mom-mobile. But with our growing family, I thought it would be nice for you to be in comfort while driving. Plus, it has room for many more in there, and it’s the top safety rated. Only the best to shelter my entire existence while driving around town.”

Kayley smiled. Well, when he put it like that, she loved it. “It’s very nice,” she complimented, running her hands along the sides. Touching a button, the back door slid open, and she saw plush leather seats, a DVD player, and car seats already installed. It had that new car smell. Alexis climbed in, plopping right in her car seat.

“This so pwetty, Daddy! Thank you!” She then noticed the DVD player. “It has a TV? Wow. Vewy nice.”

“Our daughter likes it,” Ben said into her ear, making her shiver.

“I like it too, baby. Thank you. You’re always so thoughtful. I’m a minivan mom, now.”

Ben laughed softly in her ear. “Well, yes you are. But you just aren’t a minivan mom. You’re the hottest, most beautiful minivan mom in the history of minivan moms. And after you’re cleared from the doctor, I’m going to show you how hot I think you are, over and over and over again.” She closed her eyes. He always knew just what she needed to hear, and how to make her feel like the most loved woman on Earth. “Now, go inside and up to our room and lay down. I’ll bring Benji in when he needs to eat.”

She walked back inside and up the stairs to their room, beyond ready for a few hours of sleep.

The first year of Benji’s life had gone by in a blur of sleepless nights, marathon nursing, and a toddler turning into a preschooler, but Kayley wouldn’t trade a single moment of it. Benji was an adorable baby turning toddler. He had blonde hair like both of his parents, big blue eyes that were identical to his dads, and the same killer dimples that still made Kayley weak in the knees. He was quiet and content, much different than the spitfire of a big sister he had. He often watched Alexis with a look of amazement. He wasn’t quite walking yet, though he was cruising around on furniture.

Today was a celebration of both Alexis’ fourth birthday and Benji’s first birthday. Since their birthdays were only a month apart, they had decided to celebrate them together this time. They were having their friends and family over for a pool party and barbeque.

Leaning over to she should look at herself closer in the mirror, she inspected her face. She was about to be 31, and she was feeling self-conscious about it. She had gotten back to her pre-pregnancy weight after having Benji, but she still felt different. Smoothing out the start of a few wrinkles on her forehead, she frowned. Stepping back, she smoothed her hands down her hips, a little wider than before, and checked that she looked good enough to be seen in this bathing suit today.

“Tell me you aren’t thinking about changing,” Ben said, walking into the room. Looking at her face, he knew that she had been thinking just that. He looked her up and down, standing in front of the mirror in their bathroom with her hair in a low ponytail, her gorgeous face smooth and flawless, and her tight body covered only partly with a floral bikini and a sarong. She really had no idea how beautiful she was. “You’re just as hot as the day I met you, if not hotter.”

Kayley met his eyes, and instantly he warmed her insides. “Ben, you know just how to make me feel better. I’m just being a dumb girl.”

“Don’t you ever call yourself a dumb girl,” he teased. “You’re my beautiful, wonderful wife, and the mother to my children. Look at this body.” He turned her so she could look back at herself in the mirror. “You’re drop dead gorgeous, Kay. People pay big money to have a body that looks even partially as good as yours. No one would guess you have ever had children. Trust me.”

She trained a doubtful eye on him in the mirror. “I think you’re blind.”

Ben stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m not. I tell the truth, Kay. Do I need to show you how hot I think you are before we go down and get ready for the party?”

“Is your mom down there?” Kayley asked, her lip quirking up on one side.

Ben nodded, his eyes dancing mischievously. “She’s playing with the kids. She won’t even notice we aren’t down there.”

Kayley blushed. “But, she will know what we were doing.” Her trying to push him off was useless—she knew she never would.

Ben kissed her neck and she leaned back into him, her body always craving being as close to him as possible. “I’m pretty sure she knows that we do that, baby. Seeing as how she’s playing with the product of our love right now.” Kayley laughed, closing her eyes as he slipped her sarong off and threw it to the floor. Whistling through his teeth at her reflection, he trained his eyes on hers as he untied and removed her bikini top, then bottoms. He sucked in a breath, watching himself touch her in the mirror. “Absolutely beautiful. Maybe Benji needs a brother or sister made today.”