Lucy
I’m in a dreamy state of ecstasy and delirium as I stare down at my sweet baby’s tiny lips wrapped around my very sore nipple.
He arrived in the wee hours this morning—gently birthed into the warm salt water jacuzzi on the roof. Ravil caught him and lifted him out of the water for his first breath, Svetlana hovering close beside him as backup.
It was perfect.
A quiet, moonlit night. Lit candles in a ring around the tub. Ravil lightly stroking my ears and the back of my neck, reading my hypnobirthing cues every time I had a contraction. Unbelievably, it was actually, truly painless. It was eight hours of intense concentration in staying relaxed and keeping my mind out of the picture, so my body could do what it innately knows how to do—but painless.
Ravil and Svetlana praised me up and down, making me feel like an Olympic athlete who finished with the gold by the time he arrived. And my body sort of feels like I just competed in the Olympics, but the reward…
So sweet.
So precious.
Our angelic baby is here, learning to nurse like a champ as I rest in bed.
My mom is coming over this afternoon. Gretchen is flying out.
Ravil won’t let the guys do more than peek in because he doesn’t want me to get tired out, but they’ve all been in to kiss my head and tell me how happy I’ve made Ravil.
Not that I need telling. He cried harder than Benjamin did after our baby took his first breath. He held me and kissed me and wept with joy.
I haven’t cried yet, not because I’m not overjoyed. More because I’m in a bit of a stupor from lack of sleep and the physical shock of giving birth.
A light tap sounds on the door, and it pushes open. To my shock, my dad zooms in with his wheelchair, my mother and Ravil behind him.
“Dad!” Now I’m crying. I burst into happy tears. “You came. How–?” I look over his head at Ravil, who beams at me.
I cry harder. How did he know how much it would mean to me to have my dad here? I didn’t think he’d be able to see the baby until I was up for leaving and bringing the baby to him, but Ravil got him here.
Of course he did.
I doubt there’s much of anything Ravil can’t do.
My mom cries, too, taking a milk-drunk Benjamin from my arms and cradling him to her chest. “Benjamin Nicholas Baranov,” she murmurs. “Six pounds, fourteen ounces. What an angel.”
“Isn’t he perfect?” I weep.
She rocks him, even though he’s already asleep. “Very handsome. Very intelligent. Very lucky baby.”
Ravil touches her back and looks over her shoulder at Benjamin. My mom beams at him. She’s fonder of my husband than I ever thought possible, and it’s because he worked at it. He brings her flowers and sends his guys to repair things at her house. He arranged for my dad to move home with her and hired a full-time assistant for him to make that possible.
“Eee,” my dad says, attempting to say “Me.”
“You?” my mom teases him. “You want this baby?” She settles Benjamin in the crook of my dad’s good arm.
The good half of my dad’s face lifts in a huge smile. It’s harder to tell if he’s accepted Ravil yet, but I think he’s growing to appreciate Ravil. He reaches with his limited hand to move the controls on the chair, spinning it in a circle.
I laugh. “I don’t know if he’s ready for a joyride, Dad.”
“I called your brother,” my mom says softly. “I told him not to call you because you might be sleeping, but he can’t wait to meet Benjamin at Thanksgiving.”
My mom is hosting Thanksgiving this year with Ravil’s help. He arranged for full catering, so all she has to do is make her favorite pies, if she wants.
“All right, we don’t want to wear you out. Or wear your father out. Ravil was so thoughtful to rent a car with a wheelchair lift, so we could come over.”
“I bought the car,” Ravil says easily. “It’s yours, Barbara. I’m sorry I didn’t think to buy one sooner.”
My mom’s hands flutter in surprise. “My goodness. Oh. My goodness, you didn’t have to do that.”
“I hope you can use it. And if not, we’ll sell it. But I don’t want Nick to feel stuck at home.” He sits down on the bed beside me and kisses my temple.
“I didn’t know you were going to do that.” I didn’t, but it’s become the norm. Ravil always working behind the scenes to make me and my family happy and comfortable. “I love you,” I whisper.
Ravil wraps an arm around me. “You look tired, kotyonok.”
I nod.
He drops another kiss on my head and scoops Benjamin up from my dad’s lap and settles him in the little side-car bassinet beside my bed. “We’ll let you two sleep. I’ll get your parents back home. I love you.”
I hug my mom and squeeze my dad’s hand and then pull Ravil, my handsome husband, down for a kiss on my mouth. “I love you so much.”
