Epiphany (26 page)

Laughing and pulling her into my lap, “You bet. Mama was up all night making them
just how you wanted.
Pink icing with purple sprinkles.”

“Can I have one now?” she asks. Putting my index finger in front of my mouth, signaling
her to be quiet, I listen for Mira.

“Come on. I think Mama’s in the shower. We can sneak one. You are the birthday
girl after all.”

Jumping off my lap, she runs full speed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Thankfully,
her legs are still so
short, her gallop is easily matched by a quick paced walk of my own.

I grab a mug down from the cupboard and hoist Ada up to sit on the counter. As she
peruses the cupcakes in the fancy plastic container Mira said we
had
to have, I add the cream and sugar to my freshly brewed coffee. We’re going to have
to make this fast. It won’t be long until Mira smells the grinds and comes sneaking
downstairs for a cup of her own.

“Can I have this one?” She points to the largest one, directly in the middle, with
the most sprinkles. If I know Mira, that’s probably the one she’s designated for
Ada, anyway … but for the actual party. Risking upsetting my wife, I give her the
next one over that’s slightly smaller and less iced.

Taking the paper wrapper off, I hand Ada her
breakfast
and pray she finishes it before Mira comes down. This isn’t really a battle I’m
ready to fight—there’s no winner. Ada gets her cupcake, Mira’s pissed. Ada gets
no
cupcake, she’s upset on her birthday.

“Are you guys down there?” Mira calls from the top of the stairs.
Shit
.

“Ada, do Daddy a favor? Go into the family room and wait there until your cupcake
is gone. Don’t tell Mama; it’s our secret.” I hurry her out of the kitchen and brew
Mira a cup of coffee. At least if I get caught, she’ll be caffeinated.

“Down here, Sweets.” Much like in the movies when someone says ‘look natural’ the
person always grabs a magazine and it’s typically upside down—I lean against the counter,
holding a cookbook that just happens to be covered in frosting.

Fresh from her shower and looking sexier than ever, Mira comes waddling into the kitchen,
ready for her coffee.

“Oh, God.
Thank you.” She takes the mug from the countertop and carefully sits at the dining
room table.

“Just one cup, remember,” I scowl, not liking that she’s not following the doctor’s
orders, but I can’t tell her no about anything. Also, she’s taking her vitamins,
doing yoga and avoiding baths—I can afford her this one special treat. Are you seeing
a correlation here? Both my girls have me wrapped so tightly around their little
fingers, I’m useless.

“Yeah, yeah.
Where’s Adalyn?” Mira glances around and her eyes land on the empty cupcake wrapper
I didn’t throw away because I’m a moron. I try, not so subtly, to wipe the counter
so the paper falls in the trash, but she’s caught me red handed. Or maybe
it’s pink handed since my fingertips are covered in pink icing.

“She’s watching cartoons. I’m gonna get her in the bath in a little while.” Mira’s
eyes narrow on me, lips pursed. I’m about to be castrated.

“Adalyn Renee, come here, please,” Mira kindly yells for our daughter, not breaking
her stare.

“Coming, Mama.” All three feet of brown messy curls comes bouncing over to Mira,
crystal blue eyes shining with mischief.

“What did Daddy give you for breakfast?” Mira combs a few chocolate locks behind Ada’s
ears, staring over her head at me.

“It’s our secret, Mama. I can’t break a secret.” Adalyn’s eyes scan between
myself and Mira, obviously conflicted.

“Secret breaking is okay, as long as it’s with your mommy, Ada.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Ada turns toward me and shrugs her tiny little shoulders.
This little human with a grown woman attitude is going to be the death of me. “Daddy
gave me a birthday cupcake. But
it’s
okay, Mama. I asked first.”

“How about you grab a yogurt, too? Get something healthy in you before the party
starts.”

“Okay, Mama.” Adalyn goes to the fridge, gets her squeezable yogurt and bounces back
to the family room where the sounds of whatever TV show she’s watching blares through
every room in the house.

“Cupcakes for breakfast? Really, Skylar?”
Mira asks sarcastically when Adalyn is safely out of the room.

Slowing approaching Mira, I place my hand over her swollen stomach and kiss her forehead.
“Would you like to have a cupcake for breakfast, too, Sweets?” I coo, gently rubbing
circles on her belly.

“That’s a stupid question. Yes, I want one. Can you get me one please?
And a pickle?
And a glass of orange juice?”
I stare blankly at her, waiting for her to correct herself. Maybe choosing only
one
of the things listed, but she doesn’t.

Holding back my initial reaction to vomit in the trash can, I quickly get everything
she’s requested. If she actually mixes any of those ingredients together, I can’t
be held responsible for my actions.

While Mira finishes off her morning snack, it’s as good a time as any to start getting
Adalyn ready for her party. It won’t be long before our guests start arriving. Walking
into the family room, I’m not the least surprised that she’s wearing more of the cupcake
than she probably ate. Chuckling to myself, I sneak up on her, tickle her sides,
hoist her onto my shoulders and gallop toward the stairs.

Successfully getting Adalyn upstairs, I give her a quick shower and put her in the
party clothes that Danny sent from New York. He wanted to try to come back for the
party, but between planning his wedding and work, it just didn’t pan out. However,
he did go shopping at some kind of expensive ass store, where a dress for a five-year-old
little girl costs well over five hundred dollars. It would appear that he’s really
enjoying being a big shot. I hope that this dress fits Adalyn to wear to his and
Maddie’s wedding this fall, so he can at least see his investment.

When the doorbell rings, I switch jobs with Mira. Adalyn has an issue with me doing
her hair. Apparently a ponytail for every occasion is not what little miss likes,
so Mira has to step in. I can almost guarantee it’s going to be some variation of
a ponytail, but Mira does it better than me, so I can’t complain.

“Hey, lady,” I open the door and wrap my arm around Kylee, pulling her in for a hug
and rub her belly.

“Where’s the birthday girl?”
Awesome.
No need to worry about me standing her hugging you.

“She’s upstairs. Mira’s finishing her hair. They’ll be down in a minute.”

Kylee, followed by Jacoby and Shelby, walks into the living room and Kylee wastes
no time finding a spot on the couch. Taking the presents from Shelby and putting
them on the coffee table, I’m a little concerned. Where there was once a sweet, innocent
looking child there’s a young woman, with dyed hair and a scowl on her face.

“What’s happened to her?” I whisper to Kylee when Shelby walks out of the room.

“Don’t ask. Once she turned thirteen, she kind of lost her mind. I’m thinking it’s
because of the baby and Jacoby says she can express herself anyway she wants. I don’t
agree. This angel,” she rubs her belly, “won’t be doing any of that weird shit.”

“How many more weeks?” I ask.

“Five. Five
more long
, miserable weeks. I swear. With Adalyn, it wasn’t this bad. This baby is already
pissing me off. She better be super cute and not cry all the time.” Kylee, never
one to hide her true feelings, cracks me up. Even if this baby is colicky as hell,
she’s going to be so happy. All this coming from the woman who said she’d never have
kids. Now look at her. Over the last few years,
Jacoby’s worked his magic on her, that’s for sure. I barely recognize the hostile
girl I met in college. Then again, we’ve all changed quite a bit since then.

“Is that Auntie Ky?” Adalyn’s voice rings from the staircase.

“You better believe it. Come down here and give me some love,” Kylee shouts back.
I should probably save my eardrums and get these two some walkie talkies or install
an intercom system … something.

Even though Kylee isn’t related to Adalyn biologically, I’m positive that some of
Kylee’s DNA snuck in there while Ada was cooking.

“Babe, can you help me with this stuff?” Mira calls, sounding out of breath.

“Coming.”
I nearly run toward the stairs, bounding up them two at a time.

When I make it to the landing, Mira’s sitting on one of the boxes, looking a little
more than impatient.
What didn’t I do this time?

“I need these to go downstairs, please. Adalyn can’t have a birthday party without
any presents.”
Three more weeks, just three more and we’re done with this.

“I know what you’re thinking, Skylar Landon. You can’t fool me. If you want to get
one over on me next time, try not rolling your eyes like a petulant child.”

“You know what, Mira.” I stand tall and firm, glaring at her. She swallows hard,
blinking away the tears. “I love you and I’ll do anything for you. I’m thinking
three more weeks.
Just twenty-one more days until I get to meet my son.
Nothing could make me happier.”

Crouching down, I kiss the spot just below her belly button and look up into her emerald
eyes. The tears fall free, landing on her chest. With my hand, I shoo her away so
I can actually pick up the boxes and carry them downstairs.

“Sky, I don’t wanna be crazy anymore. This baby is going to kill me. I’m so sorry,”
she sobs, walking into the bedroom.

“Sweets, you’re not crazy. You’re having a baby,” I gently say, following close behind,
trying to calm her down so she can be with our guests and not look like a raccoon.

“I know, but still. One second I’m nice and happy,
then
the next minute I’m a maniac. I can’t keep up with myself. How the hell do you
do it?” Mira flops on the bed, hands wrapped around her midsection.

“I do it because I love you.” I sit on the bed next to her.
“And Adalyn.”
I lean over, putting one arm above her head and the other on top of her hands.
“And Liam.”
I kiss her gently.

“I love you,” Mira whispers, trying to scoot closer to me and pulling me by the back
of my neck, silently asking me to kiss her harder.

“Sweets, we have guests downstairs. I’ll take care of you later, if you have the
energy. For now, let’s go to our daughter’s party.”

Mira lips curl into the sweetest smile and gives me the slightest peck on the corner
of my mouth.

“You’re right. Let’s go celebrate.” I get out of bed, extend my hand and help my
beautiful, sexy eight month pregnant wife out of bed. It’s truly amazing the way
things work out.

Deciding to wait until later to take down Ada’s gifts, I take Mira’s hand in mine
and together we make our way downstairs and into the backyard where everyone’s already
gathered. Looking around at the family we have—Kylee, Jacoby, Shelby and Adalyn—my
heart swells with pride. Glancing down at Mira, I know she feels the same way.

We’ve fought our asses off to get to this point. From the first second I saw Mira,
I knew this was exactly what I wanted … a future with her. Now that we’re here, it’s
kind of surreal.

When Kylee gave birth to Adalyn, it was the greatest possible day of my life. Until
Mira found out she was pregnant with Liam. Doctor visit after doctor visit, we were
told that Mira’s chance of conceiving and carrying to term would be a long shot.
She was discouraged, but we never gave it much thought.

And now look at us … pregnant with a healthy baby and an even healthier pregnancy.
Never one ounce of speculation that she’d miscarry.
Adalyn is our gift and Liam is our miracle.

“Hey, babe.
Wouldn’t it be funny if Kylee and I delivered on the same day? Our babies would
be the same age and grow up to be best friends.”

God help us now.
Kylee and Mira in labor at the same time.
I make eye contact with Jacoby, who’s freaking out just as much as I am on the inside.
I can see the panic in his orbs.

“Sweets, they’re going to be best friends anyway.
Cousins, too.”
I kiss her cheek as we sit at the picnic table.

Adalyn’s staring at Shelby, and Shelby at Adalyn. When Shelby nods her head toward
the cupcake centerpiece and smiles, Ada matches her grin.

“Daddy, can me and Shelby have a cupcake?” Adalyn asks in her sweetest ‘I’ve got my
daddy wrapped around my finger’ voice.

“Yeah, baby girl. You can have whatever you want.”

And to think … all of this started on one sunny August afternoon, when I fell in love
for the first time.

At one of the tables, probably a sorority freshman pledge table, I saw the most beautiful
girl I had ever seen in my life. She was tall, but not too tall. Long
,
dark
,
curly hair that cascaded down her back. She was with another girl, a redhead with
a nice ass, but even that nice ass didn’t stop me from looking at the brunette.

She was laughing at something her friend said. She threw her head back, making the
ends of her hair damn near touch her ass, which was just as nice as her friend’s,
might I add. She was smiling when she turned toward me. God that smile was breathtaking.
She looked so carefree and happy. Our eyes connected. They were a deep green, maybe
emerald. They were staring back at me when she smiled.