Something Forever (26 page)

“Yes, we’re fast. We have to be. Every second matter
s.”

“Is my baby ok
ay?” I was so scared to know...so scared to see.

“Why don’t you
see for yourself?” The anesthesiologist looked up with a smile. Just as I was about to see whom he was smiling at, he called my name.

“Jenna.”

“Max.” I turned my head and more tears streamed down. I couldn’t help it. He was my comfort, my husband, and the father of our child. Max’s worried face made me frightened. “You did great, babe. I’m so proud of you.” His words made my heart pound faster and I was preparing to hear the worst. Before I could ask anyone what was going on, I saw a white and blue blanket laying on my chest.

“Congratulation
s,” Dr. Howard announced. “Here is your precious baby boy, but you already knew you were going to have a boy. Twenty-two inches and eight pounds.”

I didn’t
know what to say. My mind was filled with millions of thoughts, and they were swimming around with so much joy that I couldn’t even fashion them into words. “Hi there.” It was all I could say as I stared into those beautiful brown shiny eyes filled with wonder...filled with curiosity...filled with love. As joyful tears ran down my face, all I could do was smile and thank God for keeping our baby boy safe.

“Mommy and Daddy promise to take good care of you. You come first.” I couldn’t help myself. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to touch him due to possible germs on my finger, but I did it anyway. I was his mother.
He lived inside of me for nine months. We shared a bond that only mothers and babies could understand. Nobody was going to tell me what I could or couldn’t do. With tiny strokes, I caressed his cheek. “Ahhh,” I sighed softly. I melted into his softness and into the newborn baby smell.

Max kissed my cheek. “I love you.” Then he kissed our baby’s forehead tenderly. “I love you very much. You gave us one huge scare, little one.”

“What’s the baby’s name?” the nurse asked.

“
Connor Maxwell Knight. He’s named after Max’s grandfather,” I said proudly.

Max

“Are you comfortable, babe?” I asked, helping her adjust the bed with the remote control.

“I’m drugged up. I’m all good.”
Jenna rewarded me with a faint smile. She looked so drained. “When is the nurse going to bring Connor?”

Right on cue, the nurse walked in
. “Would you like to hold him?”

I stared at her for a brief second before I answer
ed, “Sure.” Folding my arms in the position I was taught in Lamaze class, I was ready. An overwhelming sensation coursed through me when his precious small body was placed in my arms. At that very moment, there was another level of happiness that filled me up. I already loved him the moment I heard his heart beat, but this was beyond what I had prepared for.

Standing there, all I could do was stare at his round chubby face.
His eyes were closed, but that didn’t stop me from studying and memorizing every inch of his face. With his cute little nose, perky little mouth, and full head of hair, he was my son.

“I’m your daddy, Conner. We’re going to have a lot of fun together. I’m going to teach you how to catch a ball, how to ride a bike, how to swim, and how to pick up girls.” I heard Jenna giggle. “There’s so much I want to show you and teach you. You’re going to be so loved. Every
day will be filled with precious memories. Everything I am, everything I have belongs to you.” Suddenly, my muscles became relaxed. I hadn’t realized how tense I was. Connor and Jenna were safe and it hadn’t hit me until now.

Placing Connor in Jenna’s arm
s, I wrapped my arms around them. After planting a kiss on Jenna’s cheek, I said, “I love you both.”

J
enna couldn’t keep her eyes away from him, just like me. Her smile brightened the room. I could feel her love and happiness from the way she was holding him. It came so naturally to her.

“When you’re ready, you can try
to breast feed him,” the nurse said.

“Okay.” Jenna sniffed his scent. I could understand
why she had done that. There was something pleasant about the smell of a newborn child.

Chapter 3
7

Jenna

A huge
“Welcome Home Connor Maxwell Knight” banner was spread across the foyer when I walked through our front door.

My eyes were wide and excitement filled me to see my parents, my in-la
ws, Nicole and Keith, Kate and Craig, and Becky and Matthew surrounding us. Looking beyond them, I saw blue balloons that floated almost to the ceiling, and vases of red roses were everywhere. I knew those were from Max.

“Welcome home
,” I heard someone say. I was so overwhelmed to see a welcome home party that I couldn’t recognize the voice. Though my parents and in-laws were at the hospital the day of Conner’s birth, it was nice to see them again. After we had lunch, we gathered in the family room.

“Becky, I would have un
derstood if you couldn’t come,” I said. It had been a month since she gave birth.

“We only drove a few blocks. And plus, I had to come see you and Conner. He’s such a great looking baby.”

“Of course he is,” Max said proudly with a curve of his lips. “He’s got mine and Jenna’s genes.”

Everyone laughed
at his humor. “I’m glad you’re here. And Addison looks a little bit bigger.” Addison was dressed in an adorable pink dress with a pink bow in her hair. I couldn’t help but stare at her delicate facial features. Her tiny fingers were wrapped around Becky’s pinky. It was the sweetest thing to see. It was difficult to tell who she looked like, but for sure she had the same color eyes as Matthew’s.

“She grew an inch in one mo
nth,” Matthew informed us proudly.

“They grow up so fast, especially the first year,” Ellen said, admiring Addison. “Anyway
, want some coffee or tea?”

“I’ll help you,” my mom
insisted. After they took orders, they left the room.

“Ellen is right. They do grow up too fast
,” Kate said, gazing at her daughter. Kristen had turned three recently. What a difference a year made. Her hair was longer and she acted a little bit more mature than the last time I had seen her. She sat quietly between Kate and her dad with an IPad.

“Not only that, they are
technologically advanced, too,” Robert commented, observing Kristen.

“They are
learning things a lot faster these days,” Dad added. “I see junior high school kids with cell phones. Jenna didn’t have one until she was in college.”

“I’m sure there are other things kids these day are advanced from. I don’t even want to think about it,” Robert added.

Nicole leaned over my shoulder. “Connor is so adorable. Look at that face. He’s going to break some hearts. It will be cool if I have a boy. Then at least when we have a play date, one won’t get left out.”

“Well, even if you don’t there might be another chance,” Kate threw in.

All eyes flew to her. “Are you?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m pregnant with our second.” Kate’
s lips pulled back so big that I could see so much happiness in her smile. “I didn’t tell you, but we had been trying for a year. And it finally happened.”

“Congratulations,” we all said.

Conner started turning his head while his lips were searching to latch onto something. “It’s feeding time,” I announced. I was saying it more for me, but the men started to clear out as if the room was on fire. I had to laugh at that. Max left and came back with the nursing pillow that helped support Conner during feeding. He also placed a cushion behind my back, then left.

As I
unbuttoned my shirt, I could feel Conner squirming under my arms. His little mouth started to tremble and his facial muscles twitched. A hungry cry was soon heard.

I pushed my nipple into his mouth ju
st as it opened. “There you go.” Milk gushed not only from where he drank, but from the other breast as well. A sensation shot through me and I could feel it dripping. Thank God for my pad, which would stop it from leaking out.

“
Will you look at that?” Becky said. “He’s a great drinker. Addison was a bit stubborn at the beginning.”

“H
mm, I wonder who she takes after,” Nicole teased.

“What?” Becky exclaimed, laughing. “I’m not stubborn
...sometimes.”

“Both of you are lucky. I had a difficult time feeding Kristen. She had a hard time latching on. It also took me some time to produce milk.
Wait till your nipples get sore. I hated that part.”

“My nipples are already sore,” Becky sighed.

I had read about the possible difficulties of producing milk and babies having a hard time latching onto the nipple. Little things like that made me feel so grateful. Suddenly, a loud sound erupted.

“Oh my God,” Nicole squealed. “Was that from Connor or from you
, Jenna?”

The four of us started to laugh. “
It’s not me.” I couldn’t stop laughing, but I had to remain still. Conner was still drinking. When he drained one side, I patted him on the back, then switched him over to the other breast. The bulge from his diaper indicated he’d let out a big dump.

“Well,
he’s a boy for sure,” Becky murmured, sniffing Addison. “I think I need to change her diaper, too.”

“Jenna must have eaten a lot of beans. Connor sure smells like it,” Kate joked, placing Kristen on her lap.

“Great, this is what I have to look forward to,” Nicole laughed, laying the diaper mat for Becky.

Becky started to change Addison’s diaper when she looked up. “This is s
illy, but did you think the same as me? I thought when I delivered Addison that I would get my body back. I mean, I knew it wouldn’t be back to the way it was right after I delivered her, but what the hell...I still looked pregnant.”

“I did, Becky,” Kate said.
“I delivered naturally. You think all that stuff would come out of your body after you deliver and your stomach would be flat.”

“Let me help you. This is good practice for me.”
Nicole pushed Becky aside and finished changing Addison’s diaper. “It’s God’s way of making sure you don’t get pregnant right away. I mean, let’s face it. I sure wouldn’t want sex if I still had the muffin tops. I’m going to assume you haven’t in months.”

“A baby came out of me
. Hell, there was no way I was going to let Craig enter me even with doctor’s approval for a long time.”

“See
?” Nicole shrugged. “Well, those are my thoughts.”

“I guess that’s one way of thinking
of it,” I agreed.

“Maybe I did feel insecure w
ith my body. It also took me a while to get my body back to the way it was,” Kate said.

“I don’t think our bodies will ever be the same,” Becky added.

As I waited for Connor to finish, I absorbed our conversation. As we had progressed in our stages in life, our conversations had shifted. It was wonderful to have friends you could share your thoughts, sorrow, happiness, and experiences with. Many friends entered your life, but the ones that were truly worthwhile were the ones that stayed. As I gazed upon my friends still talking about how our bodies had changed, I couldn’t stop smiling. These were the moments I wanted to capture and remember forever.

“You did what
?” I heard Matthew’s voice from the kitchen, and the sound of loud laughter. “Becca, we’re going Paris. No way is my brother’s lock going to be bigger than mine.”

Oh boy!

Two months later

When M
ax went to work, it was just Connor and me. After I placed him down for an early morning nap, I went downstairs to get a bite to eat. As I ate a yogurt, an egg, and some blueberries, something caught my eye in the family room. On the coffee table was a letter and a single red rose. My heart jumped with excitement. What was Max up to?

I picked it up
and read it.

Mommy,

Daddy wants to take you out to dinner

with
Uncle Matthew and Auntie Becky.

I’ll be okay with
Grandma Paige and Grandpa

Jonathan
. They are going to come over by 5:30.

They are
going to take good care of me.

I’ll be safe
, so don’t worry. Check inside your closet.

T
here is something Daddy wants you to wear.

You will look beautiful in it.

Love,

Connor

With a huge smile on my face, I texted Max.
You are amazing. I can’t wait for you to take me out to dinner.

Surprisingly, I got a text back right away.
You have it wrong. You are amazing. I’m not sure what I can’t wait for, you in that dress or me taking it off you.

It had been a while since Max and I had flirted like this or even had sex. And it had been a while since my face flushed with warmth.

Maybe I’ll let you watch me take it off myself.

I like the sound
of that. Get some good rest. You won’t be getting much sleep tonight.

My stomach did a funny twist. S
uddenly, I felt wet on my breasts. Darn Max, he made me wet in more places than one. Max’s text had aroused me. Before I could text him back, Becky’s named flashed.

“Hello, Becky.”

“Did you get a letter from Max this morning by any chance?” She sounded very hesitant to ask.

“Yes, I did.”

“Oh good. Then I didn’t spoil anything.”

“Don’t worry. You didn’t. I know we’re going out to dinner together. So, what does your note say?”

Becky laughed. “Those boys are too cute. Mine said, ‘Dear Mommy, Daddy wants to take you out to dinner with Uncle Max and Auntie Jenna. Grandma Ellen and Grandpa Robert will be coming over to take care of me at 5:30. Check inside your closet. Daddy wants you to wear something special. I know you will look beautiful in it. Have a great time and don’t worry about me. Love, Addison’.”

After we compared notes, we hung
up as our laughter lingered. Walking up the stairs, I couldn’t wait to see what Max had in the closet for me. At first I couldn’t find it. Off to the side was a white box with a large red ribbon on it. How could I have missed it? But I was glancing inside a massive walk in closet anyway. After I untied it, I opened the box and pulled out a silky black dress. With spaghetti straps, the dress was simple, yet elegant.

As I admired the dress, I draped it on my body to take a look in the mirror. My body wasn’t back to its original
weight yet, but I was fine with it. Instead of being insecure about it, I decided to be bold, and I would make sure Max wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes off me. The sound of Connor’s cry got my attention; so did the weight of my full breasts.

“You look stunning, beautiful, and
edible.” The way he said those words came out slow and seductive. Max was leaning against the wall, watching me slip into my black heels. He wore a dark silver suit, but it was the way he looked in it that had my heart pounding and made me feel aroused tingles. Max wore suits very well. It was hard not to stare, and it was hard to look away. We hadn’t even kissed and he was already making me want to rip off my panties for him.