Page 174 of Wild Blades

“Yay, Daddy’s home.” Cradling Ollie in my arms, I walk out of the adjoining bathroom into our bedroom and chuckle to myself at the way Wade is lying face down on the bed.

Spread out like a starfish, dressed in his new Giorgio Armani suit I helped pick out, the man is broken.

A long, low moan of welcome is the only thing he can muster.

“Tired?” I ask knowing he is, because I feel the same and didn’t go to this evening’s game for that very reason.

“We got two hours’ sleep last night, and tonight’s game was brutal,” he mumbles.

“You lost?”

“We won. It was a tough game. I can’t move.” His words sound muffled against the comforter. “I might just sleep in my suit.”

I lie on the bed beside him, gently laying our son down between us, and close my eyes. I’m so tired. At seven months old, Ollie is teething and has been up for three nights in a row in pain. My poor boy, I wish there were a miracle cure.

“Say, hello Daddy,” I coo, turning onto my side, brushing my forefinger across Ollie’s flushed cheek, which must ticklebecause it makes him smile. Although everything makes him smile; he’s such a happy baby… unless he’s teething.

“Why are you still awake, Mr. Moonface? It’s way past your bedtime.” Wade lifts his head to the side and a huge smile breaks out across his face at the sight of his son, who follows his voice everywhere he goes. He’s a total Daddy’s boy.

And I love the nickname Wade gave Ollie. It’s fitting because he’s a beautiful butterball of a baby with a big face the size of a moon; all chubby cheeks and crystal blue eyes, just like his dad, and jet-black hair like mine, with smiles for days. He’s going to be a heartbreaker.

“Well, that smile makes me feel better. Have you been a good boy for Mommy tonight?”

“He’s been a bit irritable, but he does not want to go to sleep.” I rubbed some teething granules on his little gums to see if that would help, but it didn’t. “Did you pick up some more infant Tylenol?” I ask, hopefully.

“You betcha. We need sleep.” Wade groans. “Are you going to sleep tonight for more than two hours?” Wade bops Ollie’s button nose, and he gurgles in response, kicking his little legs against the mattress.

“Of course you’re not,” Wade chuckles. The vibration of his laugh makes the bed shake a little beneath us.

“My sister said she would take Ollie for a sleepover tomorrow night.” I rub my knuckles into my eyes, which feel like sandpaper.

Dana loves taking Ollie overnight and Bonnie loves her baby cousin like a brother. I’m only beginning to get accustomed to the nights Ollie isn’t here. The house doesn’t feel the same without him, and I can’t remember what my life was like before he arrived.

It’s now full of meaning and love. So much love.

“Yay, date night for Mommy and Daddy.” Wade cheers quietly while Ollie blows a raspberry, making both of us laugh. We both know we’ll probably end up sleeping instead of doing something romantic, as that’s exactly what we did the last time Dana took him.

Twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep. It was bliss.

I can’t deny I found motherhood difficult to begin with, but my sister, Dana, has helped so much because it wasn’t the easiest of births. Everything went a bit pear-shaped toward the end. After hours of pushing, they discovered Ollie was positioned back-to-back, and it was quite possibly the most painful thing I have experienced.

Distressed, poor Wade watched on from the sidelines.

After an emergency cesarean, as he stood cradling our tiny baby boy in his loving arms, he confessed to me how helpless he felt and it took a while for us both to recover, although now we couldn’t be happier.

Wade moves onto his side and rests his head on the hand of his bent arm.

Ollie squeals and babbles away between the two of us, then stuffs his fist into his mouth.

“Is that a tasty hand?” Wade leans down and smacks a kiss on his cheek. “You smell like mommy’s perfume.” He pinches the fabric of Ollie’s sleep suit covered in an ice skate pattern between his fingers. “This is cute. Doesn’t Mommy always make you look handsome?” Wade looks up and winks at me. “Thank you.”

I don’t know why he feels he has to thank me for looking after our son all the time, but he does and tells me every day what a great mom I am, which makes me love him all the more. Every day, our love grows stronger.

“Da da mmmm,” Ollie mumbles against his fist, then breaks out into a cute gummy smile.

Wide eyed, Wade looks down at him in shock. “Did he just say what I think he did?”

Ollie is too young to be talking, but he’s been more and more vocal of late. “Well, you have been asking him to say it for months,” I say with a laugh, staring in wonder at the two beautiful men in my life.

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