Always Us

first born

fluff!!!!!

—————

It felt so surreal. In less than a week—Olivia hoped and prayed, life would be flipped upside down. The natural cadence of their day-to-day, that took so long to fall into place, was about to shatter, and she felt nervous and antsy and excited all at once.

But mostly she felt giddy.

Over the past few months, one of the empty rooms in their homes had slowly filled up. Tired and drained from practice, Spencer would come through the door, night after night, with an armful of packages. He wouldn't let her carry them, and though she tried to sneak some in when she could, as she reached the end of the term, it became physically impossible. So she let him do it.

On his rare days off, all three of them would gather in the room, Sienna curled up in the cradle of her legs, clinging onto her bump, Spencer bent over a manual, screwdriver in hand. Like clockwork, she would point out that they could hire someone to do all this, and those would become some of the few times in her life that he chose to blatantly ignore her.

He was stubborn, but she loved him even more for it.

Now the room was filled. Every idea and vision she had in mind had come to fruition, thanks to him. He never admitted it, but she knew this was a way for him to be a part of their baby boy's life. In exchange for all the moments he'd miss, he'd built a sanctuary. A place where she would feel at peace, and a space for their baby to blossom.

It had been like that the first time, and there was no doubt he'd do it ten times over.

Their whole house was his never ending love letter to her.

She swatted away at a stray tear, then dropping her hands onto her belly, she took in a deep, filling breath. Every emotion felt so alive and animated inside her. It was almost embarrassing how easily she teared up at the thought of her husband or her baby girl.

She missed them so much.

They had only gone to the park, but when she finally heard the click of the front door, the scrambling up the stairs, the excited pitter patter stampeding her way, she smiled so big her cheeks hurt. His voice was calm behind the wild ball of energy, and Olivia waited patiently while he convinced her to slow down. The last few steps were full of shhh's and hushed whispers.

She thought of calling out to them, but stopped short when she saw tiny fingers curl around the bottom of the door frame. A few curls peeked around the edge, then a wide eye. Olivia let out a soft giggle, and the pointed gaze shot back just as quickly as it appeared. Moments later, a tiny forehead inched its way into the frame. Olivia could only imagine her husband standing on the other side of the wall, patiently waiting for the antics to end.

She sighed at the empty space in front of her. "I wonder when Sienna's coming back from the park."

A little squeal shot down the hall, and a head of wild curls flew through the room. "I'm right here, mommy!"

Behind her, Spencer strolled in, wiping his shirt down his face.

"She got you working overtime?" Olivia laughed, peeking up from the smothering hug.

He dropped to the floor, tossing the drenched shirt to the side. "Tell me about it."

While her parents talked, Sienna drew shapes along her mother's stomach, shrieking out every time her sibling decided to kick back at her.

"You think she's coming around to the idea of having a baby brother?" Olivia asked.

"No!" Sienna interjected.

Passed out on the floor, Spencer rolled his head over to look at them. "At the park, I got a full lecture on how mornings, playtime and bed time are all mommy, daddy, and SiSi time."

"But SiSi, having a baby brother is going to be fun," Olivia said, cradling her almost four-year-old face. "You're going to have a new best friend."

Sienna puffed her cheeks out, irritated that this topic was coming up yet again. "No. Mommy and daddy my best friend."

Olivia met Spencer's gaze and shrugged. "We'll work on it." Propping both hands on the rocking chair, she drank in a fortifying breath before pushing herself up. "But first, we're going to take a bath and then mommy and SiSi are gonna get cozy in some pajamas and watch a movie in bed."

"Or fall asleep," Spencer snickered, watching his wife waddle across the room with their daughter's hand clasped in hers.

"Do you want an invite?"

Shaking his head, Spencer chuckled at the ceiling. "I didn't say anything."

"Thought so."

"Let's go, mommy," Sienna whined, tugging at her mom's hand.

"I'm coming, baby. Mommy's just a little slow today, but I'm all yours."

"And then you wonder why she's not ready to share," Spencer called out.

Pausing on the other side of the door, Olivia snarled. "Mind your business."