“But, I do have to go!” Carson protests. “Mommy said to tell her when I had to go.”
“Great. I’ll carry you to the potty then.”
Philippe gives me a sympathetic look as he passes me with Carson thrown over his shoulder. He grazes my forehead with a gentle kiss. “Would it be too much to ask if you could look over the report I finished up?”
“Sure. I probably have about an hour before this one wakes up.” I gesture at the baby sling strapped to me.
“Thank you. You are infinitely patient and wise.”
I snort. “I seriously doubt that. But I do know the one you have over your shoulder can’t infinitely hold his urine, and if you don’t want to get peed all over, I suggest you hurry.”
“Well then, here we go. Off to the potty.”
Carson giggles the whole way. His voice gradually fades as they get deeper into the house.
I sigh and pat my sleeping daughter gently. I love her warmth and the delicious smell of her little downy head when I bend my nose to it. Babies really are wonderful. My life really is wonderful.
I can’t believe how much had changed since that day in Granny’s kitchen when the three of us sat down together. I told Philippe and Granny at the same time that I was pregnant. Philippe actually kind of fainted. He said he just blacked out for a second, but Granny made him drink two glasses of peach juice and suck on an ancient sucker she found in the cupboard. I’m pretty sure it was from some Halloween of the distant past. She didn’t seem surprised at all. To her credit, she didn’t give me a speech about how babies were made. I guess she figured I already learned it the hard way.
I told Granny why I quit my job, and I told Philippe how I thought he didn’t want kids and how the last thing he would ever want was a relationship with me. I told him about how I was raised and about how I felt my parents never really wanted me. Granny was pretty silent through all of it, so I made sure she knew how much I cared about them, how I knew I was loved to the best of their ability, and that she was the best part of my life and always would be. She got all misty-eyed and had to excuse herself to check on the cookies she hadn’t even baked.
Philippe told me that day that he was all in. He made good on his word every single day after that, and we didn’t rush things even though I was pregnant. We took things slow. Since I was super sick, he made it so I could work part-time hours from home since I didn’t have it in me to actually make good on my threat to quit. What he said went, so we didn’t have to explain ourselves to anyone.
We dated. Philippe—surprise of all surprises—is actually a romantic. It was fun. It was nice. When he asked me to move in with him six months after that, I agreed. I felt ready. I was sad to leave Granny, but she basically shoved me out the door and told me nothing would make her happier than seeing me live my life.
When we got married, Carson was six months old. We just did a ceremony in our backyard with our close friends and family, and Granny signed as my witness since I didn’t actually have a wedding party. She was overjoyed when we announced we were giving Carson a brother or sister, and when Alaina was born, she was there, waiting at the hospital just like she was when Carson was born. She told me she hoped I knew where babies came from by then because she was getting too old to keep chasing after young ones, but I knew she was just kidding. She cried happy tears when she held Alaina, just like she did when she saw Carson for the first time.
So yes. That brings me to about now. Philippe started working from home way more often when I moved in. Even though I was feeling a lot better by then, he wanted to keep an eye on me, even if he’d never admit it. He wanted to do what his dad did and make as much time for his family as possible. He said he finally understood what was really important.
It’s been a long while now since Philippe last had a panic attack. Even though he was probably twice as busy with the kids and running a multi-billion company, he made it all work.
I helped out where and when I could, and since I already knew the job so well, Philippe never had to get a new admin assistant. Instead, he just cut out the gross health food and made it himself at home. He also did his own dry cleaning and learned how to book his own flight tickets. Well, okay, so I still help him with that. Quite often. Not that I mind.
It’s a challenge to concentrate working from home, but we make it work, just like we make the rest of our crazy but awesome life work.
Even though it’s hard, it’s still wonderful.
I once thought I’d have to do this all alone, but now, I have the love of the best man in the world and two beautiful children. I have Philippe’s mom, who loves us all, and his sister, who has become like my own sister. We are healthy. We are blessed. And I have absolutely everything.
So yes, I’d say everything worked out perfectly.
The End
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