by Jasmine Rose
On the 1st of May 2019, the happy couple finally got married. The wedding was small and private, and it had everyone they had or needed in their lives.
On the 24th of August 2021, the world was introduced to Jake Adam Black, brown eyes and black hair. He had Adam's cheekiness, Liam's sweetness and Lena's impatience. He was his parents’ world and was loved by everyone. Liam and Lena were both terrified at first; they had both had messed up childhoods. So, they vowed to do everything they could and be extra careful to stay there during Jake’s life.
Today, on the 21st April, after about nine months of waiting, a fourth member would finally be joining and complete the Black family. Lena refused to find out what gender it was, but was rather sure it would be a boy. Liam, on the other hand, had a gut feeling that he was about to be the father of a beautiful baby girl.
♥♥♥♥♥
Liam Christopher Black, 29
“Liam? Please wake up. Liaaaaaaaaaam,” said a distant voice. I felt someone poking me repeatedly, so I lifted the covers over my head and turned away from the voice, groaning. I closed my eyes, savoring the seconds of silence and drifting away to sleep.
What did anyone in the world want in the middle of the night?
“Liaaaam! Come on, babe, wake up!” I opened my eyes, annoyance growing towards whoever was trying to wake me up. I recognized Lena’s voice and stayed still for a couple of seconds, trying to process what exactly was going on.
Shifting my body towards her, I snuggled my head against the pillow and looked at her. Her hair was messily put up in a bun and her brown eyes shone with fatigue and determination. I was immediately alert when I noticed that she was lying down to the side, her bump brushing my lower back. It was a bad position for her, especially during the ninth month.
“Yeah?” I said, a yawn escaping my lips. “What’s up?”
“I really want some orange juice.”
I straightened my position, sitting up a little. Looking at her with incredulity, I scoffed.
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“Do I look like I’m joking?” I raised an eyebrow at the way she’d said that, but then again it wasn’t surprising. “I really feel like drinking orange juice and all we have is stupid apple juice.”
“B-but you hate orange juice!” I exclaimed, sighing.
“Well, now I like orange juice and I really want some. Please go to the store and get me some,” she pleaded.
“So, you woke me up at-“I stopped to look at the red clock hung up on the wall. “-4 am for orange juice?”
She eagerly nodded, tucking in a wild hair strand.
“Can it wait?” I asked, anticipating the answer.
“No.”
Running a hand through my hair, I groaned with frustration. “Lena, please, just wait until morning, alright?”
“I want orange juice,” was her only response.
“Lena, it’s the middle of the night. You won’t die if you don’t get the damn orange juice. Please go to sleep now, ‘kay?”
She gave me no answer, but slowly stood up and started patting the pair of jeans sitting on the wooden chair beside our bed. A jingle was heard and she stopped searching. Lifting the keys up, she opened the closet and took her pale green coat out.
I stood up, blinking several times to clear my vision. Taking a few steps, I placed my hands on her waist. A sniffle came from her and she slid my hands away with her free hand. She put on the coat, still not facing me.
“Lena,” I urged, grabbing her hand and tugging her towards me. She turned towards me, tears in her eyes. I lift her chin up, so that she could properly look at me.
“Where are you going?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
“To the all-night store to get myself orange juice,” she replied, sniffling.
“Daddy?”
We both turned to the voice simultaneously. Jake stood there, holding his stuffed turtle, Rave, tightly, looking at us with innocence and wonder. Lena sighed and walked over to him. She wiped her cheeks with the tip of her sleeve.
“Why you up, sweetie?” she asked, lifting him up with difficulty and setting him on the bed, since she couldn’t kneel down.
“I heard you and Daddy being mean. Please don’t be mean to eachothah’. Even Rave hates it when you’re mean,” said Jake, pouting and holding up the turtle. Lena looked up at me, her expression unreadable. It was obvious who had won here.
“We’re not being mean, we’re just talking. Now, Jake, let’s go to sleep, alright?” I said, picking him up and supporting his back.
I entered the room beside ours. Star stickers glowed in the dark and a green nightlight was my guide in the room. I was careful not to step on any toy Jake had forgotten to put away. I walked towards Jake’s big, dark red bed. I held his tiny waist with my hands and carefully laid him on the bed.
“Daddy? Sing to me?” He asked, holding the covers closer to himself. I tucked him in, watching as that caused him to laugh.
“Sure,” I replied, fully knowing that he’d be asleep as soon as I started to sing.
❝Treat me beneath this clear night sky
And I will lie with you
I start to feel those butterflies
When I’m next to you
Tell me your secrets
Give me a friend
Let all the good times flood in
Do I love you?
Do I hate you?
I can’t make up my mind
So let’s freefall
See where we land❞
Soft snores came out of him. He looked incredibly peaceful, and my heart warmed at the sight. I froze for a moment as he twitched and held Rave closer to him. A small smile was on my face as I placed my lips on his forehead.
“Sleep tight, buddy,” I whispered.
I tiptoed my way out of the room, and left the door open just a little bit. Jake always said that the light from his nightlight would chase the monsters away; the door not being completely closed would scare them, because they’d know that his Daddy, the superhero, would protect him from anything.
I went back into our room, rubbing my forehead in hope to get the starting headache away. Lena was in bed, the beige covers hiding her body. I shook my head, knowing that she was awake. I opened the closet and took out a black big hoodie I wore every now and then. Sliding it on, I took the keys that were on the nightstand beside her.
“Where are you going?” a small voice asked, so low I barely heard it.
“To the damned all-night store to get orange juice.”
♥♥♥♥♥
“Lena! You’re going to be late, your mom’s waiting outside!” I said, watching her grumpily munch on a cucumber. Placing the apple in Jake’s lunch box, I put it in his Spiderman backpack.
“Oh, let her wait. After all, I’ve been waiting eight damned months to grow a baby and bring it to life,” she grumbled, putting the vegetable down.
“Lena, if you don’t stop, I won’t get that box of cucumbers after work today,“I said, reminding her to stop being so grouchy. It was a deal we decided to do after her first pregnancy. Whenever she would get snappy, or rather hormonal, I would threaten her with something. Unfortunately, it wasn’t entirely efficient at all times.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry blah,” she mumbled, walking over to our son and petting his soft brown hair.
“Mommy! I'm not a kitty!” exclaimed the little boy, scrunching up his face into a grimace. I chuckled at how their expressions were so alike.
“You look like a cat,” said Lena, pinching his cheeks while smiling.
“Daddy! Mommy has a kitty moment,” yelled Jake, running towards me and wrapping his tiny arms around my legs. I let out a laugh, Lena’s cheeks got red.
“I’m not sorry! You’re just really cute, okay?” exclaimed Lena, sliding her feet in the black flats she loved so much. She pulled her hair up in a messy, high ponytail, obviously disrupted by the weather. The problem with her being pregnant was that
the weather seemed to get much hotter or colder to her. So if the weather was perfectly hot, she would complain about her body being on fire.
A buzzing noise was amplified by the wood in our small, oak dinner table. I gave Lena a look, perfectly knowing that it was her mom. Plus, Margaret obviously didn’t feel like knocking on the door and coming in. That meant she was cranky. Just as I opened my mouth to make her go out, she cut me off: “Don’t. I’ll be out.”
“Bye Jake, have a good day sweetie. I love you and?” trailed off Lena, watching as Jake got up on a bean chair to be at her level as she couldn’t bend down.
“And I love you, mommy,” said the boy, hugging his mom, or rather, her balloon-like stomach that contained his future sibling. He giggled, making me smile.
“What made you laugh?” I asked, taking a bite of a recently washed grape. Jake laughed again, his head glued to her stomach.
“The baby kicked Mommy’s tummy, it knows I’m here! It likes me!”
Lena laughed as well, putting her own hand on her swollen stomach. I walked over to them, an idea in mind.
“I think I can find out if the baby really likes you!” I said, ushering to Jake to move his head. The little boy gasped, his face covered in pure shock.
“You talk to babies?! You are...” He stopped, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“The baby whisperer,” I offered in a hushed tone.
“Go, Daddy! I wanna’ know if it likes me!”
“Don’t call the baby ‘it’, say ‘he’,” said Lena. I raised an eyebrow, mentally correcting her. The baby wasn’t a ‘he’, but rather a ‘she.’
I put a finger on my lips, demanding silence. Jake copied my actions, eyes wide with curiosity. Putting my head against her stomach, I made an exaggerated surprised face.
“Mhm, I see. Well, she loves Mommy a lot. I think she loves me too. As for you, Jake, she doesn’t like you.”
“SHE DOESN’T?!” shouted the kid, looking terrified.
“No…she loves you more than she loves Mommy and me!”
“Yay! Sowwy Mommy, I’m too loofable,” said Jake, huffing his chest with pride.
“Lovable, sweetheart, loov-able,” corrected Lena, her face glowing. Her phone buzzed again and she groaned.
“Bye, babe. Have fun, be careful. Love you,” I said, placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Always, love you more. Bye Jake!” She waved, closing the door behind her.
Looking at Jake, he gave me a toothy grin.
“Woof,” he uttered, putting his tongue out like a dog.
“Tongue in,” I warned. He obliged. “Come on, we’re going to be late. I don’t think Tori will tolerate you being late again.”
So we headed towards Guardian Angel, the fabulous kindergarten that Tori owned.
♥♥♥♥♥
A few hours later.
"Cinderella married the prince and they lived happily, ever after," I said, closing the book. The girl lying in the bed smiled at me, a toothy grin brightening her angelic face. She suddenly frowned, appearing to be deep in thought. I braced myself; questions from a six year old were, strangely enough, tough to answer.
"Does everybody get a happy ending?" asked Julia, looking up at me with curiosity shining in her blue eyes.
"Yeah, they do. You just have to be patient enough and be able to wait for it; because everyone has a happy ending," I answered, my mind drifting. I knew that I lied to her, because a lot of people die unhappy. For example, victims of war, or victims of suicide or victims of crimes.
"Okay, Julia, you ready to go to sleep now?" I asked, shaking the thoughts away. She eagerly nodded, her eyes already drooping. I sighed, pulling the covers over her, careful not to hurt her leg or neck. Julia had a quite eventful ski day, but she fell and damaged several parts of her body. Thankfully, she survived the fall and would be out tomorrow.
Blonde hair spread on the pillow, she had the same mischief Ellie used to have. Speaking of Ellie, she was coming over for dinner tonight with Scarlett and Scarlett’s husband. Ellie's dad had passed away about two years ago, ever since; Scarlett was the head of the house and was way too busy to do anything that was related to her personal life. Lena came up with several arguments to force her to start dating again. The result of that were us being invited to her wedding a year ago.
Standing up, my eyes fell upon a crooked, drawing of a sunset I'd drawn a few months earlier. I fixed it straight, smiling at the memory. It had been our fourth wedding anniversary and Lena insisted on planning the evening out. She prepared sandwiches, a fruit salad and, of course, there was a small chocolate ice cream container we had shared.
She had brought my guitar, and played a soft melody while watching the sunset from my side. I had decided that the moment was too precious to not be drawn and I took my sketchpad out of the picnic basket. She had put in there, knowing that I’d use it at some point.
"You're so predictable," had said Lena, laughing, her concentration not breaking.
"No, you know me too well," I had answered, smiling.
Shaking my head, chuckling at the memory, I left the room, but not before making sure that Julia was in fact asleep.
To be honest, being a pediatrician was the best choice I had ever made. Kids and I just went along really well. Yes, the process of fully learning everything was long and hard; almost 11 years. Although, I didn't regret a second of it. My first year here was one of the best years I'd ever had, especially having Lena and Jake by my side. Plus, of course, a fourth member was finally joining our family.
A petite woman was running in the hallways, muttering a few excuses to the people she bumped into. I recognized her as Kayla, one of the nurses and one of Lena’s close friends. Upon seeing me, she halted to a stop, a few beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Dark brown eyes shone with excitement.
“Dr. Black!” she exclaimed, taking deep breaths to recompose herself.
“What is it?” I answered, worry beginning to settle in. Kayla was very calm and collected, this was the first time I’d seen her in a state like this.
“L-Lena’s water-her mom-third floor-room 364,” was all she managed to say, still huffing and puffing. I drew in a breath, my heart suddenly beating fast. The few words Kayla had uttered were enough for me to understand what was going on.
Running as fast as my legs could take me, I reached the maternity section within a few minutes. My hands were clammy, and I couldn’t think straight. One thought stood out from the others: Lena was having the baby. Jake was going to get a sister - or a brother but that was highly improbable. I was almost a hundred percent sure the baby would be a girl.
Stopping before the emergency room, I took deep breaths. Lena was in there, but she wasn’t pushing yet. I knew that because no screams were heard.
“Liam!”
I turned to the owner of the voice and was attacked in a bear hug by Lena’s mom. Her eyes were red from all the excessive crying, but her smile was blinding. Gray hair tainted the short bob of black hair she had.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“She’s fine, but go take care of her, she needs you.”
I nodded fervently.
“Where’s Jake?” I asked, worrying about him, my mind becoming blank.
“He’s at the kindergarten, he’s okay.” My mother-in-law answered, waving me away.
“Okay, good, good,” I mumbled, slightly trembling. Pushing the door, I entered the room, Lena was in. A few nurses surrounded her and I knew that Dr. Clara was getting ready to get the baby. Rapidly putting a mask around my mouth and sliding the blue coat on, my eyes scanned the room for her.
There, lying on the bed, looking exhausted, was my beautiful wife.
“Lena,” I whispered, taking long, steady strides towards her.
“Li-AHHHHHHM,” she let out a scream caused by a contraction. Her eyes were weary, tears leaking from them. Beads of sweat were on her forehead. She gave me a small, grateful smile. I put my hand in hers and she squeezed
it.
“How are you, babe?” I asked, watching as she took deep breaths.
“Fin-AGGH!” she shouted, crushing my hand by the way she squeezed it. Tears fell on her cheeks as she tried to steady her breathing.
“Okay dear, you’re ready to push,” Dr. Clara, giving Lena a small, pitiful smile.