by ANDREA SMITH
Gina gets up and stretches.
“I’m heading out too,” she says, “I want to call Ian when I get home. The reception is not too good in here.”
I know Gina feels little uncomfortable at the moment. It is an intimate scene she is witnessing with Trey and I on the bed, and Preston sucking loudly at my breast.
“Be back tomorrow?” I ask her.
“First thing in the morning,” Gina promises. “I already sent pictures of my god-daughter to Ian. He wants us to get pregnant soon.”
Gina smiles and I can tell that she is on board with that as well. She gives me a hug and even hugs Trey, congratulating him before she leaves to go back to her Aunt Becky’s.
“Do you think the world is ready for Gina and Ian’s spawn?” Trey asks, smiling at me devilishly.
“Trey,” I say, in a louder voice than I intend, “Be nice!”
My voice has startled Preston and she drops my nipple. Her tiny little face turns red and scrunches up unhappily. She starts fussing and fidgeting her little mouth rooting against me.
“Now see what you’ve caused with our daughter,” I reprimand him playfully. “Will you help me get her on the other one, Trey?”
“I’d be more than happy to oblige, Mrs. Sinclair,” he teases, his fingers pulling at the nipple without the baby slobber on it.
“It’s not Sinclair yet,” I remind him, moving the baby over to the other side.
Trey is taking quite a bit of pleasure in fondling my nipple. The last couple weeks of my pregnancy have seen Trey pretty much do without sexual gratification. I miss it as well. We aren’t used to going more than a day without it since we have lived together.
I was constantly having those Braxton Hicks contractions so it wasn’t comfortable at the end. Trey tried to convince me the best thing for suppressing false labor was semen.
(Nice try, counselor!)
I guide Preston’s tiny head over to my breast; Trey rubs my nipple gently around between his thumb and forefinger finally putting it close to her mouth. She latches on with a vengeance.
“Yikes, she has some bite to her,” I giggle.
Feeling her nestle against my breast, her tiny fists kneading into me is almost pleasurable. She starts with the loud sucking again and I can tell Trey is mesmerized by our daughter. He is watching her as if he can’t believe that she is finally here.
“Are you disappointed we didn’t have a boy,” I ask him softly.
“I wouldn’t change a thing about her,” he says, taking his fingers and gently stroking the dark tendrils that have escaped her pink knit cap. “Though I didn’t figure I would be competing with my daughter for a place at your breasts,” he adds, frowning a bit.
“I have two of them Trey,” I reply, giving him a coquettish smile.
“Maybe once we’re home,” he answers.
(Damn! He’s already considered the possibility.)
When my nurse returns, Preston is sleeping soundly against me, my nipple having dropped from her mouth. I don’t want to give her to the nurse just yet. She is snuggled into me warm and content. I get a look of reproach from Trey, so I grudgingly hand my baby over into the nurse’s waiting arms.
“We’ll take good care of her Mrs. Sinclair. Don’t you worry. We’ll have her back to you in the morning. Get some rest.”
She bustles out of my room taking our daughter with her.
“Why bother with the marriage ceremony Trey. Apparently everyone already thinks I’m Mrs. Sinclair,” I say a bit perturbed, waving my hand dismissively in the air.
He is sitting in the rocker and looks over, quirking an eyebrow.
“Don’t be mean, Tylar,” he admonishes gently. “You aren’t pissed about being called ‘Mrs. Sinclair’; you’re pissed because she took Preston to the nursery. I’m here with you, baby.”
I roll my eyes at him, still aggravated that I can’t have my daughter with me all night. I just met her a few hours ago. I wasn’t ready for her to be out of my site yet. I continue to pout.
“What?” Trey teases, sauntering over and sitting on the bed with me, pulling me close to him.
His hand strokes my hair.
“So I’m just the lowly sperm donor to be cast aside?” he asks petulantly.
I look up into his amused eyes and start laughing.
“I didn’t mean to be that way, I’m sorry Trey.” I reply. “I just miss having her next to me. We’ve kind of been a mother-daughter team for the past nine months, you know?”
“Trust me,” he replies sweetly, “You will have plenty of time to spend bonding with our daughter. I’m a bit jealous already.”
His hand lifts my still damp hair up off of my neck. Trey lowers his head and I feel his soft lips on my neck gently kissing it, moving slowly to another spot and kissing it again. I shiver with delight. His lips are behind my ear now; I feel his warm breath against it.
“I love you, baby.”
I am still very sore down there so moving into his lap is not easily done. That is where I want to be. He helps me settle in and I snuggle against him. He continues caressing my hair and face, tipping my face upward to kiss me. I circle my arms around his neck, pulling his face down closer. Our tongues explore each other’s mouths, hungrily and passionately.
His hands are on my breasts, fingering my now sore nipples underneath my hospital gown. I feel his erection underneath me, knowing there is no way I can possibly accommodate him at this moment.
He moans against me, finally drawing back to study my face. His sapphire eyes are ablaze with love and lust. I reach up to touch his beautiful face. The face that I know so well and I love so much. He clasps my fingers in his hand, raising them to his lips and kisses them sweetly.
“Thank you for my daughter, Tylar,” he whispers brushing his lips against my brow.
“It was my pleasure Trey,” I reply, my mind floats back to that night in the stable with him; recalling the raw passion and frenzied lovemaking that gave us our beautiful baby girl.
“Happy belated birthday, Trey. I love you.”
The clock over the glass windows of the nursery read 11:17 p.m. Nurse Sheila Bradley just finished up with the last diaper change of her shift. She would be clocking out for the night in a little less than fifteen minutes. What a day this has been. Five new babies in the nursery. Four baby boys and one baby girl. Nurse Bradley glances over at the row of clear bassinets.
They are all down for the count, as least as far as her shift goes. Four tiny little blue cotton caps and one tiny little pink cotton cap. Five precious little angels.
It almost makes Nurse Bradley long for her child-bearing days. Those days are gone. They seem to have gone by in a flash. It makes a woman feel different psychologically when the reality sinks in that child-bearing is gone forever. She supposes that is why God created grandparents.
Nurse Bradley peers out into the empty corridor on the other side of the glass viewing windows. That was a strange bird that had come in a little more than an hour ago. How did she slip up to the maternity floor unnoticed like that with visiting hours long since over? The woman was petite and
attractive; she looked like she wasn’t much past forty years of age. She seemed nice enough but she was one bull-headed lady that was for sure. Claimed she was from out of town and just got into Atlanta that very minute.
It was strange that the woman didn’t want to see her daughter. She had been adamant about not disturbing her daughter since she had gone through a very complicated labor and delivery. Young girls always think their labor and delivery is complicated when it’s their first birth. Nurse Bradley chuckles to herself on that one. The mother’s chart mentioned no such complications when she looked it up to see which baby she had delivered.
Nurse Bradley should have followed regulations and called Security when the petite woman insisted she would not leave until she got to see her grandchild. It was her first grandbaby she said and she wanted to see it. Hell, there wasn’t any harm done. It took all of two
minutes to pick up the little pink swaddled baby girl and bring her over to the window for her grandma to see.
Grandma seemed especially tickled to find out she had a grand-daughter.
She waved her hand to the newborn baby girl, blowing her a kiss. She told her not to worry, ‘Nana’ would be back soon to see her.
Nurse Bradley picks up her purse at the nurse’s station and walks over to the time clock punching out. She puts her timecard back into the metal slot from which she pulled it. She has been clocking in and out at this hospital for twenty-three years now. She presses the button for the elevator, waiting patiently until she hears the familiar ding and the door opens.
Nurse Bradley is startled to see the same petite woman who had visited the nursery earlier now standing in the elevator. She gets on and pushes the button for ground floor. Why is this woman still in the hospital? Nurse Bradley pulls her sweater a bit tighter around her as the hair on the back of her neck stands on end.
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