1.20 – Reinvent

Melanie awoke the next morning to the tranquil silence of mother nature, unperturbed by the light swish of water running down a nearby stream or the melodic symphony of birds chirping above her. Today was a new day and she wanted to make it as productive as she could. She knew she owed her a family an apology for her behavior from the past couple of weeks. Melanie had found herself in a complicated spot…wanting advancement but having no idea or initiative of how to get it. So, she took it out on her family, and she was unbelievably sorry about it.

 

Noticing that her family lay asleep in the tent still, Melanie decided to explore the neighboring woods. It seemed she had walked for hours until she came upon the stream of water she had heard earlier. She stood there fore mere moments and sat down on a bench she spotted. Everything seemed so peaceful. She closed her eyes and listened to the distant sounds of nature, listened to the sun touch the leaves as the earth begin to settle and warm beneath her feet. She reached her hand up to push loose strays of hair behind her ear and felt the wind caress her skin right below her ear. She smiled.

Memories of sitting outside on her back porch and watching her mother pick white carrots from the small garden beside the steps came back to her in a rush. Memories of wanting to tend the garden, but lacking the required skill flooded her mind and she begin to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

She turned her head at the sound and her heart warmed at the sight of him. Emmanuel had always had the ability to make her heart skip a beat or stop completely. “I was thinking about my family.”

“Oh?” Emmanuel took the empty seat beside her and wrapped his arms around her pulling her into him. He could feel the goosebumps forming on her skin and begin to rub the area slowly and gently. “What about them?”

“Well, I remembered this one time I wanted to help my mom out in the garden an-”

“You had a garden when you were younger?”

She snuggled up closer to him. “Yeah, it wasn’t big or anything. Just enough for my mom to grow these vegetables she liked to put in this stew. My dad loved her stew, especially in the winter.”

“Sounds yummy.” Emmanuel smiled and thought about his own family.

“And this one time I wanted to go in the garden so bad,” she begin. “And my mom had just started growing strawberries…they looked so big and ripe, nothing I’d ever seen before.”

“You really wanted to eat them, huh?” Emmanuel stared down at her with his eyebrow raised.

“I was going to eat one or two…just to make sure they were ready. So I went into the shed to grab a pair of my mom’s gloves and snuck over to the strawberries. I was just about to pop one in my mouth and I heard my dad yell from the porch ‘Girl put them strawberries down, right now!’ He had one of those James E. Jones voices.”

Emmanuel couldn’t help but laugh, and Melanie soon followed with her soft giggles.

“What did you do then?” Emmanuel asked.

“I mean I dropped them as soon as I heard him. He came stomping over with his finger pushed out and said ‘Melanie these strawberries are not ready to be eaten’ and he had me feel them.”

“For what?” Emmanuel asked.

Melanie held her hand out as if holding an invisible strawberry. “There’s a softness to a strawberry right around the part where your thumb rests. And there’s a rich redness, like dark wine all over and it smells so sweet.” Melanie smiled up at Emmanuel. “My dad taught me that that day.  A week later when I went to go check them, they were ready to be picked.”

“Ahh, there’s a science to everything isn’t it?” Emmanuel joked.

Melanie was quiet for awhile before answering. “Yeah.” And then, “I’m so sorry for how I treated you and the kids. I’ve just been under all this pressure at work to create these masterpieces and I can’t think of anything worthwhile to write, you know?”

Emmanuel looked at her. “You just told me a beautiful story just now.”

“What?”

“About your dad and the strawberries…about your life with your family when you were younger.” Emmanuel stared down at her. “Sometimes we don’t have to invent something brand new, sometimes it’s about reinvention.”

Melanie reached up to the rub the stubble along Emmanuels jaw and pulled him down for a quick kiss. “I am so in love with you Emmanuel Fernandez.”

“I am so in love with you Melanie Avery-Fernandez.”

They kissed and then, “Ew mom and dad!”

“Guess our kids have finally woken up,” Emmanuel whispered down by her ear.

Melanie shivered at the vebrato and sat up to see her son looking out into the water.

“Dad, can we go fishing today?”

“Sure, why not kiddo.” Emmanuel planted another kiss on Melanie’s head and walked over to Landen. He turned back and winked at Melanie.

Yeah, she had a story now… a few to be exact.

1.19 – Getaway woes

Melanie and Emmanuel had remained at level 6 of their designated careers for several months now. Emmanuel was itching for a promotion whereas his other half slacked tremendously. Melanie no longer wrote anything. It seemed she had somehow lost her love of writing or had an extreme case of writer’s block. Emmanuel hated watching her sit in front of the computer screen in a daze, typing out incohesive sentences here and there. She needed a change of scenery…but where to?

On his way home from work one day, he spotted a pamphlet advertising a relaxing getaway with opportunities to explore nature. It didn’t seem like something Melanie would take to easily, but he was sure he could get her to like the idea…

*****************

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into camping,” Melanie said shaking her head and swatting at a nearby bug.

Emmanuel chuckled. “It’s not entirely bad. Plus, we were past due a family vacation, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” she replied and swung at another bug. “Just let these mega creatures stay away from me.

“Mom, I think I saw a bear!” Landen screamed from some distance away from her.

“Where?” Melanie turned in every direction to see if she spotted it and grabbed onto Emmanuel’s arm for safety. “Get over here with your father, Landen.”

“Mom, do you see the lake over there?” Kristy chimed in.

“Yeah,” Melanie answered staring at the lake from the safe distance of Emmanuel’s arm. “It is beautiful.”

“A great place to relax and unwind,” Emmanuel whispered into her ear.

She looked  up at him and nodded.

“Mom, can I go check it out?” Kristy asked, already sitting her bag down by the makeshift log chairs.

Melanie looked around at their surroundings before she answered. “How about in the morning…when things are clear.”

“But mom -” Landen begin but Melanie gave him a hard glare and he quieted down.

“Your sister will take you tomorrow.” She turned towards Emmanuel then. “Should we get settled in for the night?”

“Yeah,” he replied kissing the top of her head. “Let me go grab a tent for us.”

After the tent was put up, Melanie called it a night and Emmanuel stood by the fire with his two children.

“Dad, is mom okay?” Kristy asked, rubbing her hands together to get warm.

Rubbing the back of his head, Emmanuel replied with a gentle, “I don’t know kiddo. She’ll get it through it though.”

“Dad, can I please go check the lake out?” Landen begged.

“You heard your mother. Wait until morning.”

Emmanuel checked his watched and motioned towards the tent. “Let’s get some shut eye, okay. Big adventures lay ahead.”

They all silently picked up their belongings and made their way into the tent, silently wondering what was going on with Melanie Avery Fernandez.

1.18-Growing up is hard to do

The years had come and gone, and with them came a subtle hint of maturation. Melanie was beginning to write more, hoping to make some literary breakthroughs, and Emmanuel was learning new artistic techniques that he liked to utilize in his art pieces. The Art Gallery loved the uniqueness portrayed in his work, and paid him handsomely for them. However, they weren’t the only Avery’s/Fernandez’s doing a bit of growing up.

The young rambunctious scamp who often times liked to scour the local park for new acrobatic techniques to try on the monkey bars had given up her risky physical agility, and was now trying to become more academically involved. Gone were the mischievous days of running amuck and developing new warrior bruises on her bronze colored skin and now were the welcomed days where Kristy was often found reading in some well lit corner.

“Are you sure that’s our daughter?”

Melanie shrugged at her husband’s question. “Could be an alien.”

They laughed at the joke, and watched her for a few more seconds before returning to their parental duties.

**************

Katie had an obvious chip on her shoulder. There was no one she felt entirely comfortable to talk about it with. Her parents would only help her realize the evolution of growing up and right now, she didn’t really feel like hearing the circle of life spiel.

So Katie found it quite odd that she was sitting across from her younger brother, spilling out her treasure of demons.

“It’s just, my friends don’t really get it, you know? They still want me to hang out and be that chick I used to be. I feel like I’m not her anymore.”

Landen contemplated his next move. He could always beat Kristy in chess, there was no question as to his expert skills. It was just…she had him in a logic bind when she moved one of her pawn pieces closer to his queen. How to get out of this jam was seriously starting to fry his brain.
“Maybe you should just get new friends Kris.” He made his move and smiled.

“It’s not that simple L’s. They’ve been my friends since I was your age. I can’t just leave them behind.” She made a move and then, “Check.”

“Yes, you can,” he replied staring at the game board. He could get out of this funk, he knew it. He had enough soldiers on board to protect his queen. “If people don’t want to be your friend, don’t force them. Find new ones.” He moved a piece. “And who’s being a turd? Check, by the way.”

“The old gang, really.” She thought about her younger sibling’s words. “I guess you’re right, though. It is time to finally move on and find new friends. The hallways at school are full of potential bff’s,” she joked as she moved her pawn. “Check mate.”

Landen stared in disbelief. “You beat me.” Then, “You beat me?” he asked incredulously.

Melanie chuckled. “Yeah, bud. Your big sis has finally laid the hands of all logical persuasion on your young bum. Bow down to the queen.” She laughed as she watched his face. “Hey, let’s celebrate over a piece of stale chocolate cake.”

Landen’s eye lit up at that. “Let’s do it!”

They both made their way into the kitchen, as quietly as they could so they wouldn’t disturb their sleeping parents. Katie grabbed the cake and milk from the refrigerator and sat it on the table.

“Thanks for the advice little brother.”

“Any time Kris,” he said digging into his cake and stuffing his mouth with a forkful.

Without any signal, Katie grabbed Landen from his seat and embraced him. Landen hugged his sister back and reached over to grab another piece of cake. It was some really good stale chocolate cake, he surmised.

1.17 -Checkmate

Kristy sat across from her competitor with fierce concentration. She thought, all it takes is one wrong move and this game will be over, for her and for him. She stroked her chin with a thoughtful precision before moving her chess piece forward.

“Check.”

Kirsty watched as her opponent stared back at her with a competitive prowl before moving his piece forward and saying, “Check and mate.”

“Wait, what?” Kirsty screamed, her eyes glancing over the chess board. She thought she had this one in the bag, and then she suddenly realized her mistake. “Crap!”

Her competitor chuckled and begin repositioning the pieces on the game board. “Good game, Kris. Another game?”

Before Kristy could answer, Melanie announced that Kristy had a visitor.

“Hey Kris,” Duncan, one of Kristy’s best friends said as he came into the room and then, “Hey Landen.”

“Hey,” Landen replied, positioning the queen in her rightful spot on the gameboard, and then he looked up at his sister. “Another game?”

“Maybe later,” Kristy replied and she and Duncan joined in their customary welcoming handshake. “D-man, what’s up my dude?”

“Kris, guess who’s at the park?” His eyes were wide and Kristy eyes widened at the question.

“Who?”

“Jack! He’s saying that he’s way better than you on the monkey bars. Me and Mitch said he’s dreaming.”

Kristy jumped down from her seat. “What are we standing around here for? Come on, let’s go show him who’s boss!” She and Duncan ran for the door and, as if an afterthought, she stopped and spun around. “Hey L, you coming?”

“No thanks,” Landen said, hopping down from his seat and heading toward the kitchen. He heard the door slam as he took a seat at the kitchen table.

“Hey Landen, want a snack?” Melanie asked, as she stood by the stove, trying to decide what best to do with the concoction she had created.

“No.”

At the sad sound, Melanie turned from the stove, and looked at her son. “What’s wrong?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.” He swung his feet under the table and then looked up at his mom. “It’s just…I’m not cool.” He removed his sweater and laid it on the back of his chair.

“Says who?” Melanie turned the stove off and sat across from Landen.

Landed thought about it. “Well, no one, but I just don’t feel cool.” He begin to play with a bread crumb that rested on the edge of the table. “Like, Kris is always out at the park with her friends, and I’m just…here, playing chess or doing homework.”

“Well, you have to find other things that you think are fun. Kris likes – loves the park, so you have to find something that you love just as much as her.”

“But I don’t know what that is,” he began to whine. “I hate video games really, and I don’t really like  the park a lot.” He slouched down in his seat. “Geez, it’s tough being a genius.”

Melanie chuckled. “And who said you’re a genius wise guy?”

Landen looked at Melanie incredulously. “Mom, really?”

“Okay, okay,” she said trying to hold in her laugh. “Why don’t we go see what daddy is up to at work?” She peered down at Landen as she got up. “And maybe stop by the Space Science Observatory on the way there.”

London’s head popped up at the thought. “Really?” Melanie shook her head yes, and watched as Landen jumped down from the seat and ran to the door. “Let’s hurry before they close.”

——–

Landen stared up at all the machinery, in awe and in elation. He felt that he was at home, finally.

“Mom, thanks. You’re the best,” he whispered.

1.16-Sibling Rivalry

“What do you mean we’re expecting?” Kristy asked her parents as she stared at them from across their new kitchen table. “Is Uncle Carl coming over for dinner because his BO and Lasagna does NOT go well together.” She sat back in her seat with her arms folded. “I mean, my disgustive system can’t take that kind of torture.”

“Digestive system,” Emmanuel coughed and then corrected before peeking over at Melanie. They knew that breaking the news to Kristy wouldn’t be an easy feat, but it was something that had to be done. They had been keeping the secret to themselves for a couple of weeks now and Melanie decided it was time to reveal it.

It wasn’t like their hesitance to tell Kristy about her new little brother or sister came out of nowhere. Kristy had been very verbal about the advantages of being an only child, a list she liked to shout out every time Melanie or Emmanuel brought up the idea of a sibling.

“I mean, who wants to pay two whole college tuitions? My friend Jeff says his parents pay, like, a zillion dollars just for one month at college,” she had said over dinner one night a few days ago. “I’m trying to spare you and dad from being poor and homeless. Another kid would only break your pockets. Something like a dog would be better because dogs don’t go to college. Ooo, and we can name him Norbert,” Kristy spoke with a mouth full of mashed potatoes. “Norbert the dog, Doggy Norbert…Norbertzer. Can you pass the corn, please?”

“Daddy and I,” Melanie resumed after a few moments had passed, “and you…are having a baby. You’re having a little brother or sister.”

Kristy was quiet for awhile, and Melanie and Emmanuel sat on the edge of their seats ready to bolt at the moment Kristy began screaming. They imagined she’d be screaming, even planned their escape in the event that she did.

However, Kristy sat there, her arms folded, and her eyes shifted between both of her parents. She sat like this for a long while before she spoke again.

“You’re saying,” she scooted up in her chair and put her arms on the edge of the table,

“That you two are having a baby? A slobbing, crying, smelly baby?”

“Well…yeah,” Emmanuel answered. “You’re going to be a big sister.”

“Will I get to keep my own room?” she asked.

Melanie laughed a soft laugh, “I believe so.”

“Will dad still cook chocolate chip waffles at Easter and Christmas?”

“You bet kiddo,” Emmanuel replied.

Kristy began to ponder over this new bit of information for awhile before asking her very last question. “You guys won’t, like, love me less, right?”

Ah, that’s where all the anxiety over having a sibling stemmed from, Melanie thought. “Kris, you’re dad and I love you more than anything in this entire world-”

“And nothing or no one will change that,” Emmanuel interrupted.

Kristy seemed to consider her parents logic before finally smiling. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a big sister!” she screamed.

Melanie and Emmanuel jumped back at the sound. Though it was a scream, it wasn’t the horrifying sound they had expected so they stayed glued to their seats for the moment.

“I have to call Jeff and tell him that I’m going to have a little brother.”

“Or sister,” Melanie added.

Kristy jumped down from her seat and bolted out of the room so fast, Emmanuel felt that he had imagined her there a second ago. When seconds had passed, Kristy poked her head back into the kitchen and asked, “Hey, can we name him Norbet?”

“No!” Melanie and Emmanuel both shouted at the same time and then turned to each other and burst into laughter.

1.15-I’ll love you forever

Melanie had always dreamed of a small wedding, something intimate with just her close friends and family.

Now, the day had finally come.

She wasn’t as nervous as she thought she’d be. If anything she was excited to finally be married to the guy of her dreams.

As she stood across from Emmanuel and stared into his coffee brown eyes, she realized that she was making the best decision of her life. This was the moment she felt her life was beginning again.

“…I do,” she heard Emmanuel speak, a lone tear falling down his cheek. Melanie reached up to wipe it away and rested her hand there. How could she begin to love this man any more than she already has?

“Do you, Melanie Avery, take Emmanuel Fernandez, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, until dead do you part?”

Melanie shook her head and watched as Emmanuel smiled. “I do,” she verbally agreed. “I do.”

The music, which Melanie had wanted to play after she said “I do” began to play softly in the background. From the corner of her eye, she could see Kristy began to almost crawl up the back of Melanie’s best friend and she inwardly groaned. Kirsty could not be Kristy just for one day, but did she really expect anything different?

“…I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride.” Melanie stared at Emmanuel, saw the playful smirk playing upon his lips and felt his arms wrap around her.

“Hello, Mrs. Fernandez,” he whispered into Melanie’s ear before enveloping her lips with his. Melanie melted into this arms and into his warmth. She kissed her husband with everything she had and vowed in her heart, at that moment, that she would love him forever.

“OMG, mom and dad that’s enough!” Melanie heard Kristy yell from the crowd. Emmanuel and Melanie chuckled together before Melanie reached up and stole another kiss.

Emmanuel grabbed Melanie’s hand, turned to the crowd, and shouted, “Let the party begin!”

There was a round of applause, followed by screams of delight from the guests before everyone got up to head to the bar, where they drank themselves into oblivion all throughout the night.

 

 

 

 

1.14 – Kris X

“Mom, have you seen my tennis shoes?”

“They’re by the front door, Kristy!”

“Yes!” Kristy said, throwing her arms in the air and running out of her room and over to the front door where her red tennis shoes waited for her.

“Where are you going now?” Melanie asked. It seemed she could never keep up with Kristy’s antics now and days.

“To the park,” she said slipping on her shoes and opening the front door. “Be back at six!”

“Four,” Melanie yelled out after her. “Your dress fitting for the wedding is at 3:30!”

Melanie kept running, hoping to make it to the park so that she could have enough time to practice her jack rabbit –  a move she created in her mind last night. She hoped the monkey bars wouldn’t be occupied like they’ve been for the past few days.

When she had reached the park, she found the monkey bars were already occupied. Typically, Kristy would’ve bullied them into giving up the monkey bars but she was practicing this thing called self-control which her father heavily encouraged. She thought against the nagging words in the back of her head and walked up to the two kids.

“Hey, you’re doing that all wrong.” Yeah, that was cordial, a step up from words she would’ve uttered yesterday.

“What? That was perfect!” the kid replied, jumping down to stand next to Kristy.

“Yeah, to a grandma. If you really want to nail that, you have to swing your legs more. Move,” she shoved the kid back a little, “I’ll show you.”

Kristy climbed the ladder and grabbed onto the first bar and swung with such force that she
almost let go of the bars. She regained her strength and swung towards the next bar. “See, this is how you should really do it.” She huffed as she finished her journey across and landed safely on the opposite side.

The kids standing by watched in awe. The one whom Kristy tried to correct on his technique stepped forward. “You’re pretty good. What’s your name?”

“Kris, you?”

“I’m Braylon. That’s Mitchell and Donald over there by the jungle gym,” he said pointing over to two guys play fighting with each other. “Want to play with us?”

Kristy shrugged. “Sure.”

Kirsty followed Braylon over to the other two kids and listened as he introduced her to them. They waved in her direction, genuinely pleased to have met her.

“Hey, what are you guys playing?” Kirsty asked.

“Space commander. Donald is the evil Lord Grenglin and I’m Superhero Mitchell. You can be,” he put his finger to his lip as if truly thinking before his eyes lit up. “You can be the princess that I have to rescue!”

Kristy made a face. “Do I look like anybody’s princess? I’ll be a superhero, too.”

“But girls don’t make really good superheroes,” Donald chimed in.

“Who says? My dad says girls can be anything boys can be so I want to be a superhero, too!”

“Fine, you can be Ms. Superhero Kris or something,” Donald stated.

“Nope, I’m Kris X, the only female superhero who has never been taken down by the evil Lord Grenglin,” she said play shoving Donald and running off.

“I’ll get you Kris X if it’s the last thing I do!” Donald laughed and went to chase after Kristy, Mitchell and Braylon following close behind them.

They played for hours, and just as the sun began to set Kristy stopped suddenly a look of fear on her face.

“Oh shoot, gotta run guys!” she said starting to heads towards the park’s exit.

“Where are you going?” Mitchell shouted after her.

“A stupid dress fitting,” she yelled over her shoulder. Kris X would never be caught wearing a dress if she could help it.

1.13 – A Lifetime of Forevers

With everything happening, and with the world moving at a speed that was impossible to keep up with, Emmanuel realized that he and Melanie had not been on an actual date since Kristy was a couple of days old. Sitting in front of the tv, watching reruns of Sesame Street to coo a crying Kristy to sleep obviously did not count.

Plus, there was this warm feeling filling up the chambers of Emmanuel’s heart every time he laid eyes on Melanie cradling Kristy or cuddling with her in bed late at night. He even felt little tugs at his heart when he saw Melanie come in from work, tired – even more than exhausted – and somehow manages a small smile his way. He fell more in love with her every day.

Just as he was closing the lid to the garbage can outside, he turned around to find Melanie leaning against the front door watching him.

“Hey,” he whispered, forgetting he was outside.

Melanie caught on and giggled. “She’s fast asleep.”

He stood and stared at Melanie and before he realized what was coming out of his mouth, the words had already left his lips. “Let’s go out tomorrow night.”

“Wait, what?”

“Tomorrow.” He stopped and thought and then said, “Yeah, tomorrow. We haven’t been on a date in awhile and I’d like to take you on one tomorrow.”

“But what about Kristy? Who wi-”

“Maybe Jack or Beth can watch her for a couple of hours, but let’s do it.”

He stood there and waited, hoping above all that she would agree. He thought she would say no, he saw the defeat in her face, but then she smiled suddenly and shook her head yes. “Okay, let’s do it.”

He walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her softly. “It’ll be perfect.”

*********

Emmanuel stepped out of the taxi and made sure he covered Melanie’s eyes as he walked close behind her, careful to make sure neither one of them tripped over anything. When they had finally reached the spot, he bent close to her ear and whispered, “Ready?”

She shook her head anxiously and Emmanuel slowly uncovered her eyes. He stepped to the side and watched her for a moment before she turned around towards him, eyes twinkling from the moonlight. “It’s beautiful.”

“Like you are.”

“Oh stop,” she blushed. “Shall we sit?”

Emmanuel reached out for a nearby chair and pulled it out for Melanie to sit. Once seated, he scooted the chair up to the table and joined her.

“This is absolutely beautiful,” she whispered looking around and finally noticing they were the only ones there. When she had turned back around to speak on that very thing thing to Emmanuel, she found his seat empty and saw that he was bent on one knee in front of her, and was holding a shiny object in his hands.

“Wait, wh-”

“Melanie, the first moment I laid eyes on you, I wondered about the person who had made you cry. I wondered about the person who,” he brought his thumb up to stroke the back of her hand softly, “could mar such a beautiful face with tears and I thought, I’d never want to do that to you…cause you pain like that. And then I had finally looked into your eyes and I was mesmerized by your beauty. And then you spoke, and I was mesmerized by the sound of your voice. And then you laughed, and I think I had began to fall in love with you at that very moment. Now here we are, years later and you have given me a beautiful baby girl and…” Emmanuel began to get choked up and cleared his throat as he felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder. “And I can’t imagine my life without you or Kristy. I want to grow old and sit beside you for the rest of our days. Melanie Avery, will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife?”

Emmanuel could hardly see through the cloud of tears in his eyes, but he heard her inhalation of breath and the soft whisper of a “yes.”

“Huh?” he asked, wiping his eyes clear.

She shook her head and echoed, “yes” again.

“Oh Mel,” he said, standing up and embracing her in a loving hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck, inhaled his scent and knew she had made the right decision. When Emmanuel felt the warmth of her skin touch him, and felt her happy tears on the back of his neck, he knew he had made the right decision, too.

1.12-Whose turn is it anyway?

After the rather short, but much needed Maternity leave Melanie’s office provided her, she was ready to head back to work. The countless night of listening to ear splitting cries were enough to drive anyone mad…or at least in the direction of work.

She hadn’t written anything during her absence and wondered if she had somehow lost her niche for writing. Winthrop, over lunch one Friday afternoon, ensured her that one does not lose things that are not needed to be found. Yeah, that was Winthrop…always deep.

Though, when she was at work she yearned for the next moment she would be able to hold Kristy in her arms. On days he could, Emmanuel would look after Kristy, sending Melanie pictures throughout the day on small little milestones. Like when she had blown her first ever snot bubble!

Other times, when Melanie and Emmanuel were both at home, they argued over who should get up to tend to Kristy.

“It’s your turn,” Melanie yawned as she rolled over.

“But I cooked you breakfast yesterday morning and gave her a bath last night,” Emmanuel pleaded.

“Yeah, and I gave birth.”

Emmanuel sleepily got up from the bed and walked over to Kristy’s crib.

“Your mom is such an ass kiddo,” he joked, scooping the crying infant into his arms and rocking her gently. Almost instantly, Kristy settled down and stared up at her father. “You know something else,” he whispered, “she totally gives it away when she passes gas.” He takes a peek over at Melanie to find her sound asleep before continuing. “She makes a face like this when it’s the silent one that smells.” He makes an odd looking face and the room is filled with soft giggles. Emmanuel laughs as well and then try to shush Kristy. “I’m serious kid. Whenever she makes that face, leave the room pronto. It’s deadly.”

Something soft hit Emmanuel’s back and he turned to look down at a pillow.

“Tell our kid lies again Emmanuel, and you will feel the wrath of a sleep deprived mother like no other.”

She had fallen back asleep almost as soon as she said it and Emmanuel playfully rolled his eyes before tucking a sleepy Kristy back into the blankets of her crib.

“Sleep tight princess.”

1.11- New Addition

Emmanuel didn’t know what to think when Melanie announced her pregnancy and subsequently passed out into his arms. Should he be upset? Angry? Happy? Ecstatic? Above anything, he was surprised. He and Melanie had talked about raising a family once they were both established in their careers…neither had thought about what would happen if their plans had suddenly changed.

Yet, here they were 9 months later, awaiting the arrival of their newborn child. Emmanuel held Melanie’s hand as he listened to the doctors and nurses coach her into delivering the baby. Melanie seemed like she was in unbearable pain and it was all Emmanuel could do to help ease the pain just a little bit.

“Remember that time we went to that restaurant and the waiter spilled the guacamole all over your shirt,” he chuckled, “and you grabbed the stack of napkins and threw them at him? I had to take a picture of that.”

He looked up at Melanie as she squeezed her eyes shut, following the directions of the doctors to push as hard as she could.

“And you remember that time…” he paused as he smiled at the memory. “You remember the time we walked around the park eating ice cream and a bird pooped on you? You were so upset I had to find something to calm you down.”

Melanie squeezed his hands then as another contraction passed through her. His fingers went numb momentarily and it took everything he had not to snatch his hand from her grip and run out of the room. He didn’t though, but he really really wanted to.

She screamed then and he brushed a loose strand of hair from her forehead. He stared down at her and watched her eyes close tight and her lips curl in a sneering way from the pain.

“And I remember the first time I realized I was in love with you…” He stroked the side of her face,  tightening his grip on her hand as the doctor revealed she could see the baby’s head. “It was before you made me fall back in love with art.”

The doctor commanded Melanie to push and she squeezed his hand tighter as she did. “It was the moment you walked into the bar and I laid eyes on you for the first time.” He smiled at the memory. “I never believed in love at first sight until that moment. Before you realized I would walk into your life, you had walked into mine and changed everything. I love you so much, Mel.”

He could hear the beginning of an infant’s whimper and listened to the doctor coach Melanie to push one more time. She gave his hand one last squeeze before he felt her exhale harshly and the boisterous sound of a newborn infant’s cry filled the space of the hospital room.

“You did it,” he whispered as he brought his lips to the side of her head and watched as the doctor brought the baby up to meet waiting parents.

Emmanuel stared into the eyes of his first child.

“Congratulations,” he heard the nurse say, “It’s a beautiful and healthy baby girl.”

He grinned and he looked over at Melanie whose face lit up at the news. They had wanted to be surprised and while they had both hoped for a healthy baby, he knew that Melanie really wanted a baby girl. In some small part of his heart, he had wanted a baby girl, too.

“What do you think her name should be?” Melanie whispered to him, smiling down at the sweet bundle of joy who yawned and then snuggled up closer to Melanie’s bosom.

Emmanuel hadn’t really thought of a name. He had assumed that Melanie would have a boy and the obvious choice of junior was going to be the fate of his son. Yet, he stared into the eyes of his daughter and…

“Kristy,” he murmured. After a beat he added, “After my mom.”

Melanie smiled. “Welcome to our family Kristy Avery.”