“You might be right.”
Lexi comes running over and stops short of barreling into McKinley. “Easy, baby, your brother’s in there,” I tell her.
She gets a serious look on her face and nods. Her little lips pucker up and she kisses McKinley’s belly. “Awon Alker,” she says proudly.
McKinley and I both laugh. “That’s right, sweet girl. Your little brother Aaron Walker.”
“You sure Aaron’s not going to be pissed we’re calling him Walker?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “Don’t care. He got us back together, so he gets the name sake, but this little man,” she rubs her belly, “is Walker Chamberlin.”
Lexi climbs up in my lap. “Wove you, Daddy.” She kisses my cheek.
My heart melts.
She leans over and I hold tight, so she doesn’t fall, and kisses McKinley on the cheek too. “Wove you, Mommy.”
Just like they have every time before when Lexi says those words to her, McKinley’s eyes fill with tears.
We settle on the couch and finish watching Cinderella, me and my girls. I cannot wait to meet our son, to welcome him to our family, and if I have any luck, in a few years, make him an older brother.
It doesn’t take long before Lexi is asleep in my arms. McKinley is leaning into me and my hand is on her belly. “I love you, McKinley Chamberlin.”
“I love you, too,” she replies with a yawn and it doesn’t take long before she and I are napping with our daughter.
“Mommy ouch,” I hear Lexi say. I rub my eyes and sit up on the couch. I focus in on Lexi as she sits on the arm of the couch watching McKinley.
“Kinley, what’s wrong?”
“Well, I think it might be time.”
It takes a few seconds for my brain to register what she’s just said. “Now, he’s coming now? You’re in labor?”
She laughs. My wife laughs at me. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I am. I only dozed off for a few minutes. A sharp pain in my back woke me up. They started out about fifteen minutes apart. Now we’re at nine.”
“Shit!” I stand from the couch and pull my phone out of my pocket. “How long did I sleep?”
“Daddy, bad wowd.” Lexi points her little finger at me.
“Yes, Daddy said a bad word. Little girls don’t say bad words,” I say, looking at my watch. Fuck! I slept for two hours. “Were you going to wake me?” I ask, hitting a few buttons on the screen and placing the phone next to my ear. “Hey, man, Kinley’s in labor. Can you come get Lex?” Aaron tells me he is on his way and I hang up.
“Aaron?” she asks as her face grimaces in pain.
Fuck! I don’t want to see her hurting. “Yeah, what can I do, baby?”
“Evan, this is normal. It’s not supposed to feel like a relaxing massage.”
“I know, but…”
“It’s fine. We’re twenty minutes from the hospital. The bags are packed, both ours and Lexi’s. Take a deep breath.”
“Is my sister, who is in labor, giving you tips for staying calm?” Aaron laughs.
“Fu…Funny,” I catch myself.
“Unca Awon!” Lexi exclaims.
“Here you go. Thanks for coming, man. I’m going to run upstairs and get the bags. Don’t leave her.” I point toward McKinley. I take the stairs two at a time, rushing into our room and then Lex’s to get our bags.
“Okay.” I hand Aaron her bag. “Here’s her bag. You have a key. Use it if you need it. McKinley, babe, I’m going to go pull the Durango out of the garage and load our bags. I’ll be right back.”
I hear Aaron laughing and I’m sure a smart-ass comment rolls off his tongue, but I don’t have time for that right now. My wife is in labor!
By the time we make it to the hospital, her contractions are seven minutes apart. I pull up to the entrance and run in to get a wheelchair. I’m sure I look like a crazy person because a nurse comes rushing over. “Sir, can I help you?”
“My wife is in labor.” I take a deep breath. We made it on time.
She grins. “Got ya. Let’s go get her.” She follows me out the double doors where we find McKinley standing outside the car.
“What happened?” I rush to her.
She chuckles. “Nothing happened. Sitting was uncomfortable. I told you I could walk inside.”
“Not happening, baby.”
“Hi, my name is Lisa,” the nurse introduces herself to McKinley.
“McKinley…” She stops, takes a few deep breaths, and then continues. “Chamberlin. This is my husband, Evan.”
“Nice to meet you both. This your first?” she asks while she helps McKinley sit in the wheelchair.
“My first delivery, but we have a little girl. She’s two and a half.”
“Such a fun age. Dad, why don’t you park the car and meet us inside.”
I hesitate, not wanting to leave her side for a minute. “Go, Evan. I’m not having this baby in the next ten minutes.” I lean in and kiss her quickly before jumping into the car to find a legal parking space.
“McKinley Chamberlin,” I say once I reach the reception desk.
“Third floor room 303.”
I debate the stairs, but the elevator doors open so I jump in and push third floor and then tap the close door button…about fifteen times.
When I push open the door to her room, a nurse is standing by the bed messing with an IV. “Where’s my wife?” Even I can hear the panic in my voice.
“In here,” McKinley yells from behind a closed door.
I don’t hesitate. I crack open the door and squeeze in. “What are you doing?”
“I’m helping.” She’s sitting on a stool attempting to take off her shoes. I kneel before her and take off each one. “Lift your arms.” She does and I pull off her shirt. “Bra on or off?”
“Off.” Reaching behind her, I release the clasp and pull it from her arms. Rising to my feet, I offer her my hands and help her stand. She braces herself on my shoulders while she steps out of her yoga pants and panties.
My beautiful wife is standing before me, naked, ready to give birth to our son. I place my hands on either side of her belly. “I love you, Walker. Mommy and I cannot wait to meet you.” I kiss her belly one last time before standing. Bringing my hands up, I cup her face. “I love you. Thank you for loving our daughter, for giving me our son.” I kiss her lips and she grimaces. Rubbing her back, I let her lean on me until it passes. “Let’s get you in this gown so we can meet our son.”
We get her changed and in bed. The nurse is hooking up her IV when another contraction hits. “Babe, that was only like three minutes,” I say as soon as it passes.
“Yeah,” she sighs in relief.
“I’m going to go get the doctor.” The nurse scurries out of the room.
What happens next is a flurry of activity. The doctor comes in to check her, which I’m still not a fan of. Funny that it never bothered me with Misty. He says she is fully dilated and tells the nurse to bring in the delivery crew. McKinley and I had already decided we were going to be the only two people in the delivery room. It’s something we want to share together.