Office Hours |h.s|

epilogue two

Harry - Two Years Later

The front door opens, stealing my attention away from the meal currently cooking on the stove. A stir fry, one of Maude's current favorites. Cooking dinner for Maude has become one of my favorite shows of affection toward her. Almost like a love language. And as always, we have a fridge stocked with cannolis for after.

"So? How was it?" I ask, a bright smile making a home on my lips as I wait for her to come into the kitchen. The sound of her taking off her coat and scarf is music to my ears.

Her after work routine is ingrained into my memory. She ties her hair into a low ponytail everytime, wanting to get it out of her face. She always wants to run up into the shower to decompress and change out of her work clothes into something comfortable. But some days she'll settle for getting into some cozy slippers so we could talk about her day for a little bit while I work on dinner. We get home about thirty minutes apart from each other, I'm usually home first since I work closer to the house. Some days it's a little earlier if class ends early.

"It was great! Everyone was so sweet and they even got me a little present." She explains as she walks over to the kitchen, holding up a little gift bag with a sweet smile on her face.

Abandoning the meal for a second, I cross the room, eager to kiss my wife after a long day of not being able to. "Great. Missed you today." She grins, holding my cheeks as our lips touch, and my hands immediately go to her growing baby bump. "You too."

It's been weird getting used to this new part of her. From our first moments together, I always prided myself in knowing Maude's body just as well as she knew it. Every dip and curve, it was committed to my memory.

And then she got pregnant.

About a year ago, we decided to start trying. Three years into marriage, we had stable careers and a beautiful home, it felt like it was time for us to take that big step in life. Seeing Cassidy and Noah go through that journey only made us want it even more.

Trying was fun, probably my favorite part about the whole experience. Knowing the end result we wanted only amplified the experience for us, bringing sex to this whole other level. It was exciting and new. And yet when she showed me that positive pregnancy test, I was still shocked beyond belief.

Besides a few doctors appointments here and there, and some dietary changes, we both let the pregnancy slip our minds for the first few months. Of course, we never really forgot, especially on the days Maude was feeling under the weather, but besides that we could both go about our days without it consuming our every thought. Overall, she's had a pretty pleasant pregnancy, which I'm grateful for since I hate to see her suffering.

Once she started to show though, that's when everything changed. Maude jokes that the second her bump was noticeable, I turned into a doting father, and she's not exactly wrong. It really hit me then that we were going to be parents this time and there was going to be a baby we would be welcoming into this world. I really started to take the time to get to know Maude all over again, as well as talk to our baby as much as possible. It's been the ultimate privilege getting to do this with her.

And now here we are, three weeks away from our son making his grand entrance into our family. Time just flew by and the nerves are setting in more than ever. I just hope he likes me.

It's hard not to be a little self conscious about all this considering my age. I mean, I'm forty three and having my first kid while all my friends and colleagues are done with the baby phase of their lives. Their kids are all older and grown up, I mean Mitch's kids are all well into their schooling already. Some of my friend's kids are already starting high school.