Rhythm (17 page)

Rip shrugs. “I do feel something weird in my
stomach, but it is definitely not pain.”

I can’t help myself, so I ask, “Is that
normal?”

“Of course, it is, Grant. Women have
different experiences with child labor, and Rhythm is blessed to
feel no pain even without medicines.”

The monitor beeps and Dr. Collins says, “They
will be out in a few minutes. Rhythm, push when I say push. You can
do this.”

Rip nods, and I see beads of sweat forming on
her forehead.

Is she really not in pain? Or she just tells
it to appease me? Whatever she truly feels, I guess I will never
know. So I just do what I can do. I hold her hand and whisper
encouragements in her ear.

At 4:08 am, our baby girl is born.

“Another round, Rhythm. Just keep doing what
you were doing. Let’s get this baby out to play with his
sister.”

Rip bobs her head and closes her eyes. She
looks more determined than exhausted.

And at 4:12 am, our baby boy is born.

“You did great, babe. Thank you for being
tough. I am proud of you. I love you so much.” I kiss her on the
lips.

She beams at me, and she doesn’t need to
speak for me to know what she wants to say.

“Welcome, Rip. You are welcome.”

“Here they are, Mommy and Daddy,” one of the
nurses coos as they bring our bundle of joy.

“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson. You
both did a great job.”

“Thank you, Dr. Collins,” I speak for both of
us.

“Who holds who first?” I ask her rhetorically
and decide to let her hold our daughter first and I, our son. Then
we exchange to give our babies our equal attention.

“They’re lovely, Rip.”

“They surely are.”

I don’t want to leave, so I ask one of the
nurses to kindly let our family in.

One by one, they fill the room and
practically beg to be the one to hold our babies next.

We are complete. My mom, my dad, Isaac, Rip’s
mom and dad, Cale and of course, Lola.

Lola squeals. “I swear! If it means that I
will get to have such lovely babies, I’m going to get married.
Now.”

Rip coughs as she laughs hard, and I begin to
panic.

“What’s wrong, love? You okay? You need
anything? Shall I call Dr. Collins?” I’m about to buzz the doctor
when she grabs my arm.

“I’m perfectly fine, love, but I think I
shall rest.”

“Of course.”

I prompt everyone to keep it down and lead
them outside. The twins will be at the nursery while their mommy
rests.

Dr. Collins says that because Rip’s birth is
all natural, she doesn’t have to stay longer. A good rest is all
she needs and she’s good to go.

When Rip wakes up, I tell her what the doctor
said.

“Just like that?” She looks puzzled.

“Yes. Just like that because you did so
great, Rip. So great.”

I kiss her and help her change so we can go
home.

“Oh.”

“What is it, babe?”

“You haven’t told me their names. It’s stupid
of me to have not ask you right away.” She signals that she wants
to hold them both.

I give a soft chuckle. “Don’t sweat it, Rip.
This is the best time for it, anyway,” I pause and look at our
daughter and son in her arms. “Alexa Grace and Will Gabriel.”

“Alexa and Will. Hmm . . . perfect.” She
kisses me.

Grant

I love seeing Rhy happy. It has always been
my goal to make her feel good to be alive. And when I think of the
things that make her happy, I am amazed by how simple the sources
of her happiness are. I love that about her. Simple. Low
maintenance.

So today, I want to do something special for
her. I believe that you don’t need an occasion to celebrate.
Besides, every single day with her calls for a celebration.

“Where are we going, love?”

I don’t answer right away. I keep on driving
until I feel her eyes staring blankly at me.

“Surprise.”

“What?” she asks, a bit too shocked.

“Surprise.”

“Yeah, I heard you. I just mean, again?”

“Getting tired of me, Belle?”

She blushes. She always blushes when I call
her different names, but when I call her by her middle name,
Isabelle or Belle, she can’t help but take her blushing to the next
level.

“No, I am definitely not getting tired of
you. I am just worried that I am getting used to your surprises, I
might expect more of it. And now that we’ve been married for almost
four years, I think you might get tired of me.”

“Then expect more of it because as long as we
are together, you’ll get plenty of it—and no, I definitely won’t
get tired of you. I promise.”

“You know what I think of promises.”

“You know what I believe what promises
are.”

“Grant, they are there to be broken. Even
rules, policies or laws are all in the same page. They are all made
to be broken.”

“What about our vows? They are promises, if
you think about it.”

“That’s different,” she declares with much
confidence.

“Okay, I’ll take my promise back.”

“See.”

“I just want you to win this.”

“Don’t just give up easily. Take up your
argument.”

“I’m not going to argue with you, Rhy. You
know that.”

“Well, I just thought you might change your
mind and surprise me by arguing.”

I laugh at her weak attempt in engaging me in
an argument. She knows that I don’t have a bone for that.

“Better luck next time, then.”

“You know that I don’t believe in luck. I
believe in blessings. Like with you, luck didn’t find me and gave
me a husband like you. I am blessed by God with a husband full of
surprises, who never argues, who always makes me feel special, who
loves me unconditionally, who cares for me so much, who is quite
patient with my mood swings, who is understanding, who accepts all
of me—weirdness and all, who loves Alexa and Will, who is so much
passionate in taking care of our family, and who is so much more.”
She takes a deep breath then adds, “Wow. I am that blessed?” she
asks herself. “I am that blessed!” She beams at me.

“You’re good at impromptu speech, you
know.”

“I’m not, but I am blessed.” Her smile
becomes wider.

“We both are. Thanks to Him.”

“Yes, all thanks to Him.”

I am not a religious person, but there’s
something with Rhy that led me to believe about God and what He is
capable of.

“We’re here,” I say, filled with
excitement.

“What—”

She starts to ask something but stops
midsentence.

“What
what
?”

“Never mind. I know you won’t answer
anyway.”

I smile. She knows me too well.

I can’t wait to see her reaction when she
recognizes where we are. She keeps on walking and then abruptly
stops.

“You didn’t.” Her face contorts in an
unimaginable way, in a way her face does when she’s so much
delighted with what is happening or about to happen. You’ll
probably worry when you see her reaction the first time, but I know
her long enough to know that this is a good sign.

“I just did, Rip.”

“Really? How? Why? I know you’re not into
this so, why?”

“For you. And by the reaction you gave me,
it’s totally worth it.”

She can’t help herself so she runs the short
distance towards me to hug me.

“Whoa. Easy there, babe. If I had known that
a book signing event will make you hug me, I would have brought you
to one long time ago, back when the rule number two was strictly
implemented.” I chuckle because she’s too cute having red splotches
all over her face down to her neck.

“Even before this event starts, I would like
to say thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. This is
totally unexpected. Squee! My favorite author, my favorite book,
signing event . . . I can’t wait!”

She jumps and does a little happy dance,
leading me to the event.

She is unbelievably cute. I know that she’s a
bibliophile, but I didn’t know that this could cause her this much
joy.

“Wait. I didn’t bring anything for the author
to sign,” she says, stopping her little happy dance.

“I may have brought some.” I smirk.

“What did you bring? Tell me.”

I let her take a peek inside my backpack.
She’s stunned with what she sees.

“How did you know what to bring?”

I chuckle. “Lola. She’s good with the
details.”

“That she is. Now, c’mon!” Her excitement is
unbelievable.

I follow her inside and almost back out. I
can’t see any of my species here. There are only estrogen-filled
species. No, I will not back out. I want to be with her for the
first book signing event she has gone to. I want to see her passion
unfolds. I want to see her exuberance while falling in line,
waiting her turn to be with her favorite author. I want to let her
know by this simple act, that I support her. I want to make her
feel loved.

“You okay, Rip?”

She’s beaming the whole time. I can’t help
but do the same. “Yes. Are you?”

“Uh-huh. I didn’t know the line would be this
long.” Long is a subtle term, what with the line we have to endure.
It’s been almost an hour, and I think we have a good twenty to
thirty minutes more before our turn.

“She’s superb, this line is nothing. I can
wait longer if needed.”

She’s fangirling right now.

“I know you may never understand my
fascination for her, but she inspires me. She brings out the
deep-seated passion within me. She has been used by God as an
instrument to let me
decide what to be and go be it
.”

“It may not look like it, but believe me, I
understand. We wouldn’t be here if I don’t, would we?” I know the
influence this author brings in Rhy’s life. Rhy is a born writer,
but her vacillation of what to do about her passion pulls her. I
don’t tell her that I sometimes read her journal or her short
stories, but man, she’s an effing writer. Her ideas are out of my
league, yet I can connect with the stuff she’s written. I gave her
my personal dose of encouragement for her to do what her calling
is. This author? She’s given the ultimate dose Rip needs, and I am
grateful to her for that.

“No. So again, thank you, Grant. You are the
best. Husband. Ever.”

“I know.”

“Oh, look, love! We’re almost up.”

At long last, we’re third in line.

Then it’s our turn.

“Hello there,” Colleen Hoover nicely greets
us. She offers each of us a handshake, but I see Rhy standing like
a stone.

I whisper in her ear, “Hey Rip, wake up.”

“Oh. Yes. It’s nice to finally meet you,
Colleen. I mean, it’s way more than nice . . . it’s great. Geez. I
love you.”

Colleen finds her amusing and hugs her.
“That’s sweet of you. I love you, too.”

“I’ve read your books, and I devoured them. I
love your writing style. I love your characters. I love your
books.” Rhy declares breathily.

“Great to know that. Thank you for
appreciating my works. Anyway . . . why, hello—a guy? In a book
signing event? Am I dreaming?”

Rhythm laughs out loud. She always finds
Colleen entertaining even in her blog posts.

“No you’re not, but maybe I am.” She rubs her
eyes to check if this is real. “Whoa. You’re really here. In the
flesh.” Rhy states, amazed.

Colleen laughs then says, “In the flesh, yes.
By the way, what’s your name?”

“I’m Rhythm, and this is my husband,
Grant.”

“Pleased to meet you, Rhythm. Grand to have
you, Grant.” She eyes me curiously. “So, what’s your story? Why are
you here? No, I’m not in any way offending you. I’m just plain
asking.” She smirks.

And again, Rhy laughs. Is there something
that Colleen says that she will not find funny?

Before I get to answer, Rhy says, “He
surprised me. He knows how much I love books especially written by
you, so there.”

“Awww. That’s very sweet of you, Grant.
Honestly, you are the very first guy I saw in an event like this. I
also saw you falling in line. That is sweet. And you’re doing this
for your wife. It is the sweetest thing. Wait. Did I just say sweet
thrice just now?”

“I guess?” I answer in a comic way.

“Right. With that, I’ll give your wife a
chance to choose not one, not two, but three things she’ll let me
sign. Anything.”

“No. Way,” Rhy says while gaping.

“Yes. Way,” Colleen counters.

“This is unbemazing!” Rhy practically
shouts.

“What did you say?” I ask.

“Unbemazing. Unbelievably amazing,” Rhy and
Colleen say in chorus.

“Wow. You two met only less than five
minutes, but you think almost the same.
That
is
unbemazing.”

They howl with laughter. I join them.

“Okay. Here’s the first one. I love all your
books, but this one’s my favorite.” Rhy hands over her copy of
Slammed
.

Colleen signs it then says, “Alright. The
other two?”

“My Kindle an—”

“Really?” I interrupt.

When I asked Lola what should I bring, she
told me to bring
Slammed
by Colleen Hoover and Rhy’s
favorite blanket. Rhy always brings her Kindle, so I guess Lola
didn’t bother mentioning it. Of course, this is all a coincidence.
I didn’t even know that Colleen would allow us to sign three
items.

“Really.” Rhy confirms while beaming at
Colleen.

She’s totally in a fan-mode right now.

“And this.” Rhy hands something to Colleen,
and the latter looks puzzled.

“A blanket? You brought a blanket in a
book
signing?” Colleen couldn’t contain her amusement.

Rhy shrugs. “Technically, Grant brought it,
but I actually had a vision that when I meet you, you’ll let me
sign three things. Fortunately, I always bring my Kindle and Grant
brought the other two things I want you to sign for me.”