Theon
I made my way to the maternity waiting room where everyone was waiting anxiously for some news. Carl and Selena were the first to see me and soon stood up.
" Adamos, what happened? " Carl asked.
" Henry decided to be a few weeks early, but everything is fine. He is perfect and healthy," I smiled as I remembered my little boy.
He was better than I imagined, much better.
" What does he look like? Can we see him? " Lara asked anxiously.
All the excitement seemed to have served to make her momentarily forget everything that had happened that night.
" He's with Sam in postpartum, he'll be there for a while," I explained, "Does anyone know about the…”
I fell silent as I saw Callie coming down the hall beside Harper, the two of them talking quietly, while Daphne, who had just started to take her first steps, ran awkwardly in front of them.
" Callie put them in the corner there," my mother pointed to Sam's two suitcases.
" Thank you. I'll take them up to the bedroom.”
I felt stunned by the presence of my ex-girlfriend, not that we had never met again, in fact it was becoming quite common and more natural for us to interact, but I still felt bad for the way it had ended between us.
" I'll let you know when you can see her," I assured them, leaving everyone there.
I settled into an armchair in the room and waited until she was back, and when they finally brought Sam carrying our son, it was as if the whole room filled with their presence.
" Hey, you're here," she smiled.
" Where else would I be? " I leaned over, kissing her forehead, "How are you feeling?”
" Exhausted, but in a good way," she assured me before looking toward the small crib where Henry lay, "have you seen him?”
" He's perfect, just like you," I intertwined our fingers.
" He has the same birthday as Lara, isn't that funny?”
I caressed his face, smiling as I watched his bright eyes. I had hit the jackpot there.
" Everyone is here to see you, how would you like to show Lara the gift you gave her?”
" We…”
" How?”
" We gave it. I didn't do it alone," she smiled faintly.
" Sure, it's our gift," I agreed, "I'll call them and then you can rest.”
" Thank you, Apollo.”
I sent a message to my mother, and a few minutes later, the room was invaded by a stream of people excited to meet the newest member of the family.
I made room for everyone to make the most of visiting hours with the two of them. I decided to leave them there and go to the cafeteria. I settled down at one of the tables with a cup of coffee and a bagel when I heard familiar footsteps approaching.
Harper settled into the vacant chair, smiling before taking my hand which was on the table.
" Harper…”
" I just wanted to congratulate you. The baby is beautiful," she assured me.
" Thank you," I couldn't help but smile back, feeling her hand gently press into mine, "I didn't expect to see you here today.”
That seemed to make Harper uncomfortable, and she let go of my hand, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and looking away.
" Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. It's just that I was with Callie and I thought…”
" Harper... I'm glad you're here," I tried to clarify.
The smile brightened again on her face as she heard my words.
" We may not be together anymore, but you're important to me," I assured her.
" So, I heard about you two," she commented after a brief period of silence.
That comment made me uncomfortable. I hadn't expected to have to talk about it with her, not today at least.
" It's okay, I figured it would happen at some point after I talked to her.”
" You…”
" I just told her what she needed to hear, I want you to be happy.”
I didn't know how to respond to that. Harper had just been elevated to another level in my estimation. I couldn't believe all that she had done for me, even after I had broken her heart.
" And I have something to tell you" she stared at me.
" Tell me.”
" Do you remember Jason Moore?”
" Your old high school boyfriend?”
" The two of us got together again and... Maybe it's not such an old thing anymore," she offered me a shy smile.
" Harper, I…”
" He treats me well, you know. Remember what I told you when we broke up?”
One day I'll find someone who loves me like I deserve to be loved, and then you'll realize how stupid you were to let me go.
Her words rang in my mind, I merely nodded affirmatively.
" I think this might finally happen," she bit her lower lip, staring expectantly at me.
It took me a moment to absorb the whole story, and Harper sighed and stood up, probably misunderstanding my silence.
" You know, Theon, I'm happy for you and I hope you're happy for me too," she looked away.
She took a few steps away until I finally came to my senses and stood up, reaching her easily.
" Harper, of course I'm happy for you.”
She smiled brightly again before walking away.
" You'd better get back to your room, visiting hours are almost over and you don't want to leave her alone.”
I followed her recommendation, and arrived just in time to see the Hursts say goodbye to their daughter and grandson, Carl squeezed my hand before leaving us alone.”
" You disappeared," she sighed.
" I went to the cafeteria," I explained, "I'm sorry.”
" No problem," she yawned looking at the cradle, "am I crazy for missing him?”
" You were used to having him inside you," I settled on the edge of the bed, hugging her, "of course you're not crazy. Why don't you try to get some sleep?”
" What if he wakes up?”
" I'll take care of this," I kissed his forehead before going over to the crib.
I lifted Henry onto my lap, once again admiring the perfection of every feature of his face. I ran my fingertip through his hair and made him open his eyes, frowning at the brightness. He was perfect, his hair was thick like Sam's, but the color of his skin and his eyes were as clear as mine. I took his small hand, watching all his little fingers. The two of us had performed a real miracle here.
Looking at my little boy, I remembered my father, and how he used to tell me that when I had my son, I would understand what it was like. And he couldn't have been more right.
I loved him more than I have ever loved anything in my life, I loved him more than my very soul.
~~**~~
I closed the last box carrying it into the living room of the house that would soon no longer be Sam's. I walked carefully down the stairs, watching Henry settled in his walker while Sam emptied everything in the kitchen and pancake batter ran around.
My boy was now five months old, and Sam was finally feeling secure enough to accept living with me.
" Apollo, my father is telling you not to worry about dinner, they are bringing something to your house later," she said as soon as she saw me.
" Our house," I corrected her.
" Sorry, I still can't get used to it," she laughed, picking up Henry who was beginning to complain.
She held the baby out to me and I quickly accepted it, watching every detail of my son's face.
" I saw Liny in town today, did she visit your mother? " Sam questioned, making me groan in disgust.
After everything that had happened between Liny and Lara, my younger sister had drifted away from all of us. Lara chose to erase her sister from her life, and I couldn't blame her. After a few months she started a relationship with a local man who was raising a son of Daphne's age on his own and felt very excited. Everyone liked Robert and I was pleased to see my sister in a healthy relationship. As for Linny, she lived back and forth in some kind of unhealthy relationship with Marcus and simply chose to live as if we didn't exist.
And as much as it pained me, I accepted her decision.
" No. And she won't. She just likes the city," I assured her.
" It sucks what happened.”
" It was her choice," I took a deep breath and handed the baby back to my girlfriend. I can't wait to have you two home.
She smiled in response, making my heart fill with that smile. I loved her and had no doubt about it.