by K. A. Hobbs
Hearing how Daniel spoke about Poppy is something special, but actually seeing him as a Daddy, well that is just breathtaking. He really is a natural, everything came so easy to him. I can see why he found coping with a newborn alone so easy. Some men were born to be policemen or doctors. Daniel was born to be a father.
Right now, they are snuggled under our blanket in the reading room and Daniel is fighting sleep because he wants to get to the end of Cinderella. Does Hope understand what he is saying? No. But does she love the deep tone and sound of her Daddy’s voice? Absolutely. It lulls her to sleep like nothing else can, just like it does me. I stand in the doorway and watch him reading her the story, his eyelids drooping with each word, but he refuses to go to sleep until he’s finished. He has done this ever since we brought her home. This is his time with his daughter and if I’m honest I think it is his time with both his daughters. For the time it takes for him to read the story, Poppy is there with him too, he must sense I’m there because he looks up and smiles.
“You’re exhausted, please go to sleep.” I whisper to him, walking over and sitting next to him.
“I’ve just finished.” he smiles, placing the book next to him.
“Let me take her and you can go to bed, or better still, come upstairs with me and we’ll all sleep.” I yawn.
“Sleep? With my two girls with me? Sounds perfect.”
“Well, it’s certainly my idea of perfect.”
“Come on then, Mrs Lambert, let’s go get snuggly.” he grins.
We walk up the stairs, Daniel’s hand resting on my bottom the whole way. It isn’t a sexual thing, it’s a protective thing. We head into our room and I pull back the duvet and settle into our fluffy cloud of pillows. I watch Daniel carry Hope into the room, she is curled into his chest, her little legs pulled up, her tiny bottom pushed out. She always sleeps the most soundly when she’s in his arms, like mother like daughter.
“You look tired.” he whispers as he carefully climbs into bed.
“We have an eleven day old, who likes to feed, of course I’m tired. You’re tired too.” I reach out and run my hand under the dark circles under his eyes, even exhausted he is still the most gorgeous man in the world.
“But isn’t she the best?” he coos.
“Yes she is. And she has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger already.” I yawn, snuggling into him.
“Of course she does and she always will.” he shifts down the bed a little and puts one arm around me.
“She is perfect isn’t she?” I sigh, looking at them both.
“Beyond perfect. Can we have another?” he grins.
“Can we just let this one grow a little first?” I laugh softly.
“Yes, but can we? I want to fill the house with perfect little versions of you and me.”
My mind can’t help but imagine a house full of little Daniel’s. They will all be perfect and beautiful, just like he is.
“We’ll work on it.” I tell him closing my eyes.
“The working on it is something I’m really looking forward to.” he whispers.
“I’m sure you are.”
“Let’s go to sleep, who knows how long we have till Little One wakes up.”
I turn my body into the two most precious things in my life. My husband who is my heart and soul and our daughter, Hope, who is our little miracle, our reminder to never give up.
“I never dreamed life could be this good.” Daniel yawns before he falls asleep.
“Neither did I.” I smile.
Daniel once told me, that maybe the ones we love the most are taken from us before we're ready, before they have lived because they are the most deserving of the paradise that is Heaven. Maybe he’s right, I can't help but think no matter how cruel, how unfair and how heartbreaking, everything happens for a reason. Maybe the reason I lost Richard is because my path in life was to find Daniel, to help him heal and become whole again. Maybe my purpose in life is to mend his broken heart and make it beat again, and maybe, just maybe, somewhere, we have no idea where, Richard is a father too. Maybe he was taken from me so Poppy has a father there. I don’t know, but I have to believe in something good, I have to believe something good came from all this heartache, and as I look over at a softly sleeping Daniel, cradling our tiny daughter in his arms, I know what my something good is and it’s laying right beside me.
Life is trying, life is difficult, but it’s also full of love and happiness. I know as long as I have Daniel by my side, life will always have light and warmth. Life will always be safe because he is my safe place.
And they lived, happily ever after
About KA Hobbs
KA Hobbs lives with her husband in Essex. When she isn’t lost in a book or creating one, she loves to cook, swim, colour and shop. Her happiest times are always when she is surrounded by family and friends or watching Cinderella, which some might say she is a little obsessed with. She is a little obsessed with the Tudors and would love to go back to that period in time.
One day, while watching TV, a scene came to her, completely out of the blue. She could see the scene unfolding, could picture the characters so clearly. She couldn't get to her laptop quick enough and spent hours writing not only that scene, but lots of others too.
She will happily admit to being grumpy when she doesn’t get to write, she loves her characters and spending time listening to what they have to say.
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