Cool Mom

47: Night After

I'm in bed talking to mom that night after court, she's frantically asking me for details and asking me to tell her how Daniel and Hazel are doing.

"They're fine, mom." I sigh and tell her for the third time.

The bathroom door opens and Daniel appears, his hair damp from the shower. He silently walks over to the desk in the room and opens his laptop. I talk to her for a few more minutes before saying goodbye and leaning over to put my phone on my side table.

"How are your mom and dad?" Daniel asks, leaning back in his chair and looking at me from over the laptop.

"Okay. Just crazy worried." I sigh, looking down at my hands.

We both stay quiet till Daniel asks, "Tomorrow is the competition. How is Hazel shaping up?"

"I'm actually more confident about her now. Maybe last time was her first competition which was why I was so nervous." I contemplate.

"Or maybe you were just looking out for her." Daniel offers.

I smile at him before reaching for my phone again. I scroll through my gallery until I reach the pictures from her previous competition. My heart melts at the picture of Hazel receiving her first place medal. She so small yet glowing with happiness.

"To what do I owe the sudden smile?" Daniel asks, making me look up from my phone.

I turn the screen towards him so that he can see for himself.

"There will be children older than her tomorrow who she'll be competing against, I don't want her to feel disheartened." I think aloud.

"There are two things that never disappoint Hazel: swimming and cake." This makes me laugh and Daniel joins in.

I sit quietly for a moment staring at the picture on the phone before whispering, "I can't thank God enough for Hazel."

"I can't disagree with that." Daniel smiles at me.

Unable to stand the sudden burst of emotions I excuse myself from the room and go to the bathroom. The moment I close the door, the tears that I had been holding back, pool out and I slide to the floor silently crying.

Crying for the blessing that Hazel is and crying because I may never get the opportunity to give birth to another child.

A few minutes pass before a knock sounds on the door and I hear Daniel's soft voice on the other side, "Emma?"

I take a deep breath and answer, "Yes?"

"Can I come in?" I take another breath before standing up and wiping away my tears. There's nothing I can do about my red eyes or pink cheeks.

I open the door and without a word Daniel wraps his arms around me. I breathe in his cologne as the remaining tears leak out.

"I'll never come to terms with it, will I?" I sob into his neck.

I feel his arms tighten around me and then a kiss on my head before he replies, "We both knew it will be difficult to come to terms with it. But life goes on, right?"

It takes all my willpower to nod my head against his neck. I move back slightly, his arms don't pull away as I wipe my tears and take a few deep breaths before braving myself and looking at him.

He just gives me a small smile and kisses my cheek, earning a small giggle from me. That's all the signal he needs.

He swings me into his arms. One hand under my shoulders, the other supporting my legs before he places me on the bed. I wrap my arms around his neck, not letting me move away from me. He leans down and presses a kiss to my lips. My hands move to cup his face as he presses me back into the pillows on the bed. I open my eyes to look at him as he pulls away slightly to place a kiss on my neck.

His eyes mirror my emotions and I know that we'll be getting little sleep before the competition tomorrow morning.

Cool Mom has 4K reads!! Thank you all, so much :)❤️ The next chapter will be Hazel's competition!!! SO EXCITED!

-T