Page 73 of Taking A Chance
I have no doubt they’ve heard about me as well. “You too,” I say, returning his shake.
“Cora’s told me so much about you,” Lyla says, before throwing her arms around me. “I’m so glad you could be here.”
I return her hug, getting in my greetings as best I can before the baby talk starts.
“Do we know anything?” Cora asks, looking to the both of them for any sort of update.
“Jensen kicked us out so he could have a private moment with her, but I’m going back before the labor starts. Nan and Paw couldn’t be here, and they’re devastated. So Harper asked me to be in the room,” Lyla says.
“And how’s my brother doing?” Cora takes my hand, squeezing. I know she’s nervous for both of them. Parenthood is a big deal. Giving birth sounds scary as fuck.
“He’s calm as a fucking cucumber, of course,” Gentry interjects. “I’ve never seen the kid sweat anything. I don’t understand it.”
Everyone laughs, including me. The one time I met the couple, Jensen struck me as the type who didn’t get worked up over much.
As if on cue, the door to our left bursts open, and Jensen—decked out in scrubs and a cap—comes strutting out.
“Hey, Lyla, it’s time.” Jensen crosses the floor and hugs Cora, her hand leaving mine for a few moments. Then he shakes my hand, gives me a knowing grin, and walks back through the door with Lyla, still calm as ever.
“I don’t know how he does it.” Gentry laughs, shaking his head as he sits back down.
“I agree,” I say, taking a seat, Cora next to me. I feel like this is going to take a while.
* * *
Some hours later—Ican’t be sure how many, because I fell asleep—Jensen and Lyla reappear.
“Come on, guys, it’s time to meet my son,” he says. Even through my sleep deprived haze, I can see he’s beaming, bright eyed and happy, like he’s the one who just woke up from a nap or got a damn Shiatsu massage.
I step more gingerly than everyone else into Harper’s hospital room. It feels like an extremely personal space, and I’m definitely the outsider in this situation.
“This is Jackson,” Jensen says, taking the tiny bundle from Harper’s arms and turning to show us.
I turn, watching Cora’s shoulders begin to shake.
“Oh my god,” Cora says. “Hi, baby boy.” Her tone softens and takes on a child-like quality. “I’m your Auntie Cora.”
I press my hand to the small of her back, looking over her shoulder at the little fellow. His eyes are closed, with some kind of goop spread across them, but aside from that, he’s pretty cute.
The whole room takes turns holding him and passing him around. I even hold him for a few minutes. As an only child, I don’t have any children in my family, so I think in my whole life this is the third time I’ve held a baby.
Cora leans into me, the tears dry, her face warm and content. “Harper, you’re a rockstar,” she says.
She’s not wrong there. Harper’s sitting up in the bed now, nursing Jackson after he made his way around the room. She looks much less disheveled than I expected and much less tired than I feel. Sure, I could complain about the twelve hours in the car, but Harper is the one who’s done most of the work in the past twenty-four hours, and there’s no arguing that fact.
“Piece of cake,” she says, running her finger over the top of her new son’s head. “Jensen was a great coach.”
After a few more minutes of admiring the baby and new little family, all four of us leave them to check into a hotel with promises to come back later after Harper has rested.
We follow Lyla and Gentry a few blocks to a place they called ahead to and check into rooms next to one another.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Gentry says. “We’re going to go try to make one of those ourselves.”
Cora gives Lyla a look, and she confirms, right before Gentry gently pushes her into the room in a fit of giggles.
“Oh my god,” Cora says, as we finally lie down onto a bed. “I can’t believe they’re trying to have a baby.”
“Why’s that?” I ask.