The Own Goal ✔️

Part 31

Baby Tracker 👶
3 days old 🗓️

I'm sitting in bed feeding Mia when Karen walks in.

"Oh you look so much brighter! How do you feel? How's she doing?"

"I'm feeling more human. A midwife sat with me for hours last night, helping me latch her on, she slept for ages after, I still don't think my milks come in though"

She smiles, "you'll know when it does pet" she sits down and pats my leg.

"Right, I wanted to come and talk to you before Jack got here"

"Oh where is he?" Jack and his parents are now staying in a hotel around the corner and Sian is staying at my flat.

"Still at the hotel with Kevin, I want to talk to you about what happens next"

I gulp. "Ok?"

"Chelsea, you've had major surgery, you've been extremely unwell and had a baby, all at once. Now I spoke to the midwife yesterday and they are happy to discharge you tomorrow, but no ones happy for you to go home alone"

"Oh Sian said she would stay for a few days"

Karen smiles.

"I know, Sian's an angel and I spoke to her yesterday, a few days isn't enough sweetheart, you won't be able to drive for a few weeks. Now me and Kev have been talking, and I've not even spoken to Jack about this, but we would like to invite you stay with us. You and Mia, stay in Jacks old room until you've at least recovered enough to be able to drive and take yourself to the supermarket."

"Your house?" I repeat

"Yes, I didn't think you'd want to stay with Jack. And don't worry about that bloody bed, if you say yes we will get a new one delivered today"

I giggle, I actually feel relieved. I know I can't go home alone. I still can't get out of bed without help!

"Thank you" I whisper.

"Right then, am I ok to go off to yours and get Sian to help pack up all that you'll need for you and Mia?"

I nod "Karen, has Jack taken her DNA sample to the other hospital yet?"

"I have no idea"

"It doesn't bother you or Kevin? You believe she's Jacks?"

"Yes" she looks at Mia whose still at my breast "not that I had reason to doubt you, but that baby looks identical to all of mine as babies, when me and Kevin first saw her, she took our breath away at how much she looked like ours"

***

Later on its Jack sitting on my bed, holding Mia.

The way he holds her and looks at her melts me.

His phone pings I watch him glance at it.

"Me moms asking who ya wanna go back to Birmingham in the car with, me or them?"

I look at him, his eyes silently pleading. He doesn't want to be parted from Mia a second longer than is needed. I know he's already spoke to his brother about sharing his room for a few days so he can squash in at his parents too.

"Tell them I'll go back with you, then they can head back tonight if they want? Take some of Mia's bits?"

Jack types with one hand, already expertly cradling his daughter with another. Before he finishes his phone makes a noise I don't think I've heard before "what's that?" I ask curious.

"Email" he replies. I watch his thumb hover over his screen. He glances at Mia, then me. He shoves the phone at me.

"Read that email for me, I can't do it"

I'm baffled, until I look at the screen and my heart falls into my stomach.

I look at him.

"I only dropped the sample off last night" he says quietly, and I see he's holding Mia just a little bit tighter than necessary.

"You said it would be quick"

I try to mentally label my emotion because I know she's his.
Am I hurt that he went ahead and did it, after making out he didn't feel desperate to do it?

I open the email and read outloud the first paragraph.

'Based on the samples provided labelled Jack Peter Grealish and Mia Kelly Grealish, the results conclude that Jack Peter Grealish is the biological father of Mia Kelly Grealish'

I hold the phone back to him "the rest is just numbers and percentages"

I watch him swallow hard, he's turned his face away from me.

"Jack are you crying? Why are you crying? You said you believed me? You said you had no reason to doubt me?"  I can't swallow the lump in my throat. I feel like the sob I'm holding back is going to choke me.

"Jack?"

He turns then, at how pathetic my voice sounds.

"Nah, nah I neva, I'm relieved.......I knew......but the thought of wot if she wasn't? Wot if ya'd made a mistake, or ya dates was wrong or.......it fuckin' hurt Chels, as soon as I saw her, that night when ya was so ill an' it was jus' me an her.....it fuckin' hurt y'know? The way love for her jus' hit me, an' I knew I had to know, because even if she wasn't I still loved her......the way I feel I'd do anything  for her, fuck I can't even make it make sense Chels...." He tails off, he leans into her and buries his face into her blanket.

I wait for him to compose himself a little.

"I get it, I get it" I touch his arm.

For a split second I actually feel a pang of jealousy towards my beautiful innocent little baby, because the way he feels about her, that love he's talking about, no one ever felt that way about me. Well maybe my nan. But the feeling soon gives way to something else, pride? Gratefulness? Awe? I don't know, but in that moment I know that my little girl has the best daddy in the world, because even if he can be an absolute idiot, I know, without any doubt that he'd do anything for her.

He's watching her little face. He kisses her head "ya the best own goal I eva scored"

I laugh at that "own goal? Are you seriously calling her an own goal?"

"Yeah! An' a fuckin' worldie she is too!" He looks at me seriously.
"I wanna post her on my socials Chels, not her face, not her name, not anything about you an' us......but I want people to know she exists, that I'm not the person I was a few days ago, and she's why"

I narrow my eyes. "Ok, no face and no name" I agree.

He takes a photo of her foot of all things. Her tiny little foot.
He posts it in black and white on his Instagram grid.

'I scored a worldie with this one! Introducing my daughter! 👶💗💗😍'