Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“Because you did a great job with me.”
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“And I’m happy to be your friend. I think that sounds like a lot of fun.”
“Yeah…it is.”
Mom cracked the door. “We’re ready whenever you are, honey.”
“Is Atlas still playing video games?” I teased, trying to dispel the emotion between us.
Mom shifted her gaze back and forth between us, seeing the looks on both of our faces. She grabbed a couple tissues and set them on the table between us before she silently excused herself.
Dad grabbed one and stepped up, dabbing his eyes, returning to the calm and confident man I’d always known. Tall, strong, unbreakable. He fisted his tissue before putting it in his pocket.
I had a harder time cleaning myself up, needing a mirror to erase the smudges. I came back to him, my hands a little shaky with nerves now.
Dad circled his arms around me and pulled me close, hugging me, easy against my stomach. We stood like that for a long time, his hand at the center of my shoulder blades, holding on to me as long as he could.
I couldn’t let myself cry again.
He released a slow breath before he pulled away, like he was releasing his pain, letting go of the past…and stepping into the future. He looked at me with affectionate eyes, the happy man who always looked so thrilled to see me. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too, Daddy.”
He kissed me on the forehead before he tucked my arm through his. “We shouldn’t keep Atlas waiting. He’s waited long enough.”
25
Atlas
I checked my phone every five minutes.
It was sitting on the counter, and I tapped my fingers against the screen, making it light up.
There were no notifications.
Earbuds were in my ears, but there was no music. I just didn’t want to miss the phone call that could come at any moment.
Deacon looked up from his station across the room. “You really don’t need to be here, Atlas.”
“It’s fine. We’ll just finish this, and I’ll head on home. Doctor said she’s not coming until the due date, so…” I kept working. “Besides, Daisy says I annoy her.” I chuckled.
“How?”
“When she complains, I try to calm her down. But she doesn’t want to be calmed down.”
“Yeah,” Deacon said with a chuckle. “That’s my daughter.”
We worked in silence, and once I had everything done and uploaded, I released a sigh.
It was my last day in the lab. I had been given two months of paternity leave, which started tomorrow. Something about that moment, knowing I wouldn’t come back for a while, hit me really hard. “Fuck…I’m going to be a dad.”
Deacon looked up from his work.
“Kinda just hit me right now.”
Deacon finished what he was doing then came over, taking a seat across from me at the workbench. His work gloves were ripped off and tossed in the bin. “It’s scary.”
“Yeah. She’s going to be dependent on me for the rest of my life…”
“If she’s anything like Daisy, I doubt it.”
In less than a week, Daisy wouldn’t be pregnant anymore. There would be a baby. A person. A little girl. It was mind-blowing. I was told I couldn’t have kids, and now I was about to have one.
“Atlas, you’re going to be fine.”
“Daisy is already a handful. Now I’m going to be outnumbered.”
He chuckled. “You’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know…” I shook my head. “I know there’s a baby coming and I’ve known that almost this entire time, but…it’s really hitting me now. Something that was denied to me is now happening, like any minute, and I don’t know…”
He listened to every word without judgment. “You want some enlightenment from an old man?”
“Old…you could probably take me down.”
He chuckled. “You’re stressing about those things because there’s no baby. Without the baby to worry about, you worry about yourself. But once you hold her, she’s all that matters, so all those worries stop. She tells you what to do, and you do it. It’s that simple.”
“Yeah?”
“When I had Derek, I wasn’t ready or interested in fatherhood. But he came…and that was it. I was a father. I’ve been a father ever since.”
A good one, too.
“Just love your girls, and you’ll be fine.”
I nodded. “Well, that sounds easy enough.”
“And if you need help, call me anytime. Really.”
“Even in the middle of the night?”
He grinned. “Especially in the middle of the night—because that’s when you panic. When you—”
“Hold on.” My phone rang, so I instantly answered, not even having the time to process the name on the screen. “Yeah?”
“Yeah?” Daisy asked incredulously. “That’s how you answer your wife’s calls?”
“Sorry, I took the call so fast that I didn’t even check. You okay?”
“I’m good. Our couch disagrees…because I leaked all over it.”
I got to my feet. “She’s coming? Our girl is coming?”
“Yes,” she said with a soft laugh. “She’s on her way.”