Luna nods her head and Tinley holds onto the door jamb hoping another contraction won’t come anytime soon. When the little girl gets close Tinley asks her, “Did you just call me mommy a little bit ago?”
Her cheeks turn red and she bows her head when her small voice says, “I’m sorry, was I not supposed to?”
If Tinley could drop back down to her knees she would, but as it is she doesn’t trust that she would even be able to get back up at this point. Instead she raises Luna’s head back up with her hand and she says, “I love you so incredibly much and I feel honored that you want me to be your mommy. I would like nothing more than that. Do you want me to be your mommy?”
Luna nods her head vigorously and Tinley’s heart is incredibly full knowing that she’ll soon be getting married to the man of her dreams and she’ll have not one, but two daughters. With everyone still standing in place she switches her focus to the little one on the floor and to the others in the room. “Marek, we need to get going unless you want to deliver this baby right now. Giselle and Dakota, can you please watch over Luna for us?”
As if everything clicked into place, the room is suddenly a tornado of excitement as everyone gets things together. At this point, Tinley half jokes to herself that she won’t even have to do the work while she’s in labor. It’s a sobering thought, and enough to make her scared of what’s about to come.
Chapter Fourteen
When Tinley was in high school, she specifically remembers studying the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. People like to refer to it as one of the greatest love stories of all time, but she would beg to differ. It’s one of the worst tragedies cloaked in romance, and it confuses people into thinking it’s something it isn’t. Dakota and her joked and put their cynical twist on the fact that children were horny and wanted to have sex. In fact, it was her best friend who told her there was no such thing as love at first sight, said it was lust at first sight and nothing more.
But now, as she looks down at her beautiful baby boy, she knows they weren’t exactly correct in their thinking. Just like a couple of young teenage girls were confused about the meaning of love, her doctors were mistaken when they said she was pregnant with a little girl. Imagine their surprise when she delivered their beautiful baby and he had an extra appendage that the ultrasound missed. Oops.
It was a good thing they left the house when they did because not even an hour after they were checked into the hospital their bundle of joy made his appearance. It was single handedly the hardest thing Tinley has ever had to do in her life, but it was so incredibly worth it. It’s true what they say, the minute your baby is in your arms all of the pain and discomfort from delivery and the previous nine months are suddenly forgotten. And that new baby smell? She could sit there smelling his little head forever if it stayed this way. It’s like a drug. She should bottle it up and sell it to women who have baby fever, but don’t want babies. She’d make a killing.
After Marek and Tinley were able to get a few hours of sleep in they gave the okay for Dakota and Giselle to bring Luna to the hospital to meet her new baby brother. They weren’t really sure how she would act around a new baby especially since she’s been an only child for four years, but they had nothing to worry about.
Luna might have been a little disappointed about the new development, but the moment she laid eyes on her baby brother, she was in love. There was a lot of running her hand over his head, and her little voice was filled with awe. She repeatedly begged to hold him until finally she crawled into bed with Tinley so they could hold him together. It’s the sweetest thing she has ever witnessed, and she knows it’s just one of the many memories that will be made in the future.
Of course, they had to stick to the theme and named the newest little Outlaw, Cedric. It’s a good thing Tinley is a huge Harry Potter fan, just like Cassie was. She wonders what else they have in common. From the few times Marek has talked about her, she seems like she was an amazing woman, and Tinley would like to think they would have been friends with each other, although odds are they wouldn’t have even known each other and she and Marek would still be together. That thought kind of sours things, and she pushes it out of her mind. What happened with Cassie is completely unfortunate and incredibly sad, but Tinley would like to think things happened the way they were supposed to.
With Luna curled up on the window seat fast asleep and Cedric currently filling his tiny little tummy full of milk, Tinley finally decides now is the time to figure out what the hell has been going on. She makes sure her son is still latched on and eating away when she turns toward her…boyfriend? Fiancé? They should probably figure that part out as well. She turns toward Marek and asks, “So what happened? We haven’t really had a chance to talk about anything and where you were at.”
Marek leans back in the chair where he’s spent the majority of his time and rubs his hands down his face. He’s barely had any sleep since they got to the hospital, other than their quick nap after Cedric was born which wasn’t a much of a nap when the nurse kept coming in every hour to check on Cedric’s and her vitals, and she would imagine prior to getting home he probably didn’t get much sleep either. He stretches his body completely out and then straightens his form, looking over at Tinley. His eyes are completely bloodshot and sunken in with extremely dark circles under them. He yawns and says, “I spent the last week stuck at my hotel. I contemplated getting an earlier flight out to come and surprise you, but then I had a last-minute conference I had to go to. So, I nixed that idea, although I’m seriously regretting that decision, because that’s when the rain started, and it didn’t let up. The power went out and the cell towers went with them, and I had no way of reaching out to you.” When Tinley doesn’t say anything back, Marek continues talking. “I lost my cell phone charger and I didn’t have electricity anyway, so I couldn’t charge my phone and call you. Trust me when I say the only thing I thought of the entire time I was over there was getting home to my favorite girls.”
She missed him so much and she knows if he’d been able to, he would have been home sooner. She can tell how guilty he’s feeling about everything that has happened and the hell she’s been through, but that doesn’t stop her from giving him a little bit of shit. “Oh yeah, and who might that be?”
“Don’t even think those thoughts, Tinley. You, Luna, and the daughter I thought we were having are the only girls in my life, although I’m not going to complain about the fact that we have a son and can have a little more balance in our household.”
“So you think I’m going to live with you?”
He sits up a little straighter in his seat and leans forward. His eyes go wide, and he runs his fingers through his hair, pulling slightly on the ends. “Aren’t you?”
Tinley taps her finger against her chin and pretends to think it over. She watches as Marek stews a little, and she wants to laugh at how uncomfortable he’s getting. “I think you asked me a question before we came to the hospital—do you remember what that was?”
A light bulb goes off in his head and it’s obvious he can tell Tinley is giving him shit. He shrugs his shoulders and replies, “You know, I don’t think I remember asking you anything. Are you sure we had any sort of conversation? You did go into labor pretty quickly after I got home. I knew my arrival would be a surprise, but I didn’t think I’d make you pee yourself.”
This whole thing could go back and forth, but Tinley doesn’t have the energy for that kind of banter right now. She’s so beyond exhausted after having Cedric that she feels like she could pass out at any second. With a small sigh, she says, “Dammit Marek, it was one time. You can’t use that against me for the rest of our lives. And, can you please ask me again?”
He slowly nods his head and says, “Tinley, I love you more than you’ll ever know. I will buy you a package of Depends every night if I have to, will you make me incredibly happy and move in with us and marry me?”
What is she signing up for? She loves the damn smartass more than she e
ven thought was possible. “I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with anybody else, you’re stuck with me, Mary Kate.”
Tinley releases a low chuckle ensuring not to wake up Luna and Marek’s mouth drops wide open. He stutters for a moment before saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about right now. Did you hit your head when you peed yourself?”
He is never going to let that go. That’s just fine, it appears she’s figured out his kryptonite anyway. “I’m thinking perfectly clear at the moment. I said Mary Kate. Mary Kate Brolsen, if I recall. Is that about, right?”
“Mother—who told you? Was it Anders? That asshole, we promised to never talk about that again.”
As he squirms in his seat, Tinley can’t help but laugh even more. It really bothers him that much and she finds it hilarious. Or as Luna would say, ‘herlarious.’ If he fidgets anymore, she’ll have to accuse him of peeing his pants and then the joke will really be on him. Waving her free hand at him she says, “Of course it wasn’t Anders, he was just as horrified as you are right now when Luna called him Ashley.”
He turns around in his chair and looks toward the sleeping angel and shakes his head focusing back on Tinley, “My princess would never do such a thing. She’s innocent.”
“That may be so but tell that to your sister. She’s the one that planted the seed into Luna’s head in the first place.”
“That bitch.”
“Daddy, what’s a bitch?”
Tinley’s free hand flies to her mouth as Luna sits up on the window seat slowly rubbing her eyes. Marek’s face turns bright red and he completely freezes. His eyes are open wider than she’s ever seen them before and Tinley slides in without a second thought, “Your daddy said beach Luna. You know like those pictures I showed you with the sand and pretty blue water.”
She nods her head vigorously and walks toward the bed petting Cedric’s head again and says, “You mean the place that has dolphins and starfish? I want to go to that place. Can we go tomorrow?” Turning around to face Marek she asks, “Daddy, can I add dolphins and starfish to my zoo too?”
He doesn’t hide his dumbfounded expression when he asks, “Zoo?”
Oops.
“Yeah, you missed a lot while you were gone, how many animals are you up to now Luna?”
Holding her hands out, Luna slowly starts counting, “One, two, three, five, eleventeen, forty-four, um, I think one hundred. Yeah, it was definitely one hundred.”
Pulling her toward him and into his lap Marek squeezes her tightly like she’ll disappear any moment and asks her, “One hundred what sweetie?”
“Duh, dad, animals. They’re my favorite. I want to be a veterinarian when I grow up and I want to have a hundred animals in my zoo. I want a unicorn, a kitty, a mermaid…”
She continues listing all the animals that she can think of and even repeats some and Marek hands onto every single word. His face is incomplete awe and Tinley knows she’ll have to be the disciplinarian in the house. While Marek and Luna are busy she looks down to Cedric who has completely fallen asleep while eating. Delivering a baby was completely exhausting for her, but she couldn’t imagine how hard it was on his little body. He was ripped from the only home he has ever known, but he seems to be doing well considering the circumstances. Watching as he takes little breaths in his sleep she can’t help but fall even more in love with him. Her eyes start droop as her exhaustion really and truly starts setting back in. And she slowly relaxes letting herself fall into the sleep that she needs.
The last thing that she hears before she completely shuts down is Marek saying, “Well, if we’re going to have that many animals, I guess we’re going to need a bigger house, and lots of land. Probably a barn too.”
Well shit. She’s going to need to put her foot down on that one and quick.
Chapter Fifteen
The house is a complete disaster. Fortunately, their work offers both paternity and maternity leave for three months, so Marek has been able to stay home with Tinley and help out. Normally that’s not something they would be able to afford, but after what happened in London it’s being paid in full for the both of them. She’d like to say that Wanderlust International is a fantastic company that always treats their employees right, but she’s pretty sure they were just saving their asses, so Marek wouldn’t sue them.
The only problem with having Marek home is he gets up every single time Tinley does and they’re both zombies at this point. She’s mentioned getting a housekeeper more than once just until they’re both back to functioning order again, but he keeps refusing, saying he won’t pay someone to do what he is perfectly capable of doing. And yet there’s piles of clean laundry in baskets stacked in the living room, a leaning tower of dishes in both sinks, and a stack of pizza boxes sitting on top of the trash can. It’s like they actually do live in a fraternity and Tinley doesn’t know how much longer she can live like this before she completely explodes.
It’s only been a week so far, but Tinley knows he’s going to give in soon. Nobody can live like this forever. Dakota packed up her stuff almost immediately after both Marek and Tinley came home from the hospital. Turns out she finally reached out the agent again and at Tinley’s insistence is moving forward with seeing what happens. Nothing could ever come from it, but Tinley knows how much she would regret it if she never tried. Looks they’re both really starting to grow up in their own ways. She just hopes her best friend doesn’t suddenly pack up and move to New York and Los Angeles because both are too far away for her liking.
Both and Tinley and Marek are sprawled out on the couch because miraculously both kids are being angels and sleeping in their beds. There’s no saying how long that will actually last, but for now she’s reveling in the complete silence in the house. It’s definitely something she took for granted when it was just Dakota and her living in their apartment together. Silence always made her uneasy and Tinley always had the TV in the living room on so there was noise filling the ominous silence. Now? She soaks up every minute of it that she can.
Giselle comes walking out of the guest bedroom with a suitcase trailing behind her, and Tinley is hit with a sense of déjà vu from the night Dakota packed her bags and left. Both Tinley and Marek hop from the couch at her sudden appearance. She shakes her head and starts to leave the room, but Marek pulls her to his side. Tinley can see whatever decision she has made is final. It’s written all over her face, and no matter what Marek tries saying to her, it isn’t going to change anything.
“What are you doing, sis? You know you can stay here with us for as long as you like.”
Tinley starts to interject and tell Marek the last thing she probably wants to do is stay in the same house as an infant, but then Giselle opens her mouth and answers for herself. “Marek, I love you and I’m so happy that you’re okay, but I need to leave for a while. This isn’t about you—or anyone else, for that matter—just me.”
“What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
Surprisingly Giselle looks to Tinley for support, and when she nods her head, Giselle continues. “I can’t stay here. Where is my life going right now? I’m thirty-two years old and I’ve never been anywhere. I want to get away, find out who I am, and maybe get some direction. I run my own business and I can do that anywhere that has a wi-fi connection. There’s nothing keeping me here and I think now is the time to do a little exploring.”
“I’ve got to say, I’m a little shocked by your revelation. I can’t say I ever expected this from you.”
“I know, right? It’s like I’m growing up or something.”
Tinley laughs as Giselle nods her head. Marek has surrounded himself by a bunch of women who, until recently, didn’t have their shit even the slightest bit together. But somehow in the wake of disaster and spending time with each other, they’re somehow making it work and for the better.
“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything…”
“Whatever, you’re probably laughing your ass off on the insi
de.”
She doesn’t know whether it’s her place or not, but Tinley chooses this moment to butt into the conversation and add her opinion to the mix. “I have to say, after the little time I’ve gotten to know you, Giselle, I am happy for you. There is so much you have ahead of you, and I think a little adventure is precisely what you need.”
They step toward each other and embrace in a gentle squeeze, and Giselle whispers a thank you into Tinley’s ear. They’ve come a long way from the first time they met each other, and Tinley is happy they’ve been able to build up this relationship together.
A look of defeat masks Marek’s face and he hangs his head but perks up a little bit when he asks, “Will you at least stay for the wedding?”
“The wedding?”
It’s amazing that it hasn’t come up yet, but Tinley doesn’t have a ring and other than telling Tara the night it happened, they haven’t told anyone. They’ve been more than a little bit preoccupied with Cedric to even think about wedding plans but looks like they need to start having those talks soonish if they want Giselle to be there.
Marek pulls Tinley over to him and hugs her tight to his side. “We don’t want to do anything huge, but Tinley and I are getting married.”
She looks down at her empty left hand and once again reality sets in that they’ve been so busy neither one of them has thought about a ring once. They really need to do something about that. The old Tinley would have been fixated on not having the piece of jewelry adorning her finger so that she could show the world that someone does love her. Good thing the old Tinley has moved on and doesn’t give a shit what the world thinks because even if she doesn’t have Marek by her side, she has more than enough love flowing through her life from everyone she loves, but most of all herself. She’s come a long way, but she persevered in all the tragedy around her which only made her realize how strong of a person she actually is.
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