Married To My One Night Mistake

Julian’s wife, Mary, had gone into labour a few days after they had sent the envelope to Selen in Spain.

They had spent hours waiting for the baby. Julian stood outside the hospital maternity ward, staring at the cups of bad lukewarm coffee he had to stay awake.

He pulled out his phone, staring at the screen. No new messages. He wanted to call Clancy, but his brother was halfway across the world.

Julian jammed his phone back into his pocket and continued pacing. For the last six hours, he had been entirely useless.

The nurses had told him to stretch his legs, saying that the waiting night would take a while, which was also code for "get out of our way."

He felt a mix of profound and terrifying adrenaline rush. Every time a door opened the large double doors of the maternity ward, his shoulders tensed up. But nothing was wrong, it was just the slow process of birth.

During the early hours of the morning, the heavy wood door to the delivery wing swung open. A nurse came out and called Julian.

"Julian? You can come back in now. It’s happening," she said. He checked the wall clock. Ten minutes before three. Ten minutes before his entire life was going to flip around.

Julian walked fast enough that his sneakers squeaked loudly on the floor. He sanitized his hands at the dispenser by the door as instructed, then he stepped into the delivery room. The room was bright, almost painfully so.

His wife was pale, sweat making strands of hair glue to her forehead, but her grip when she grabbed his hand was strong enough to crush bone.

Julian stood by her head, leaning in close. He did not say any of the things he had practiced for when this day would come. He just kept repeating, "You are doing great, you are almost there," like a broken record.

He could feel his own heart hammering against his ribs at an intense speed.

At exactly three am, the doctor pulled a tiny, loud baby into the harsh light of the room.

The baby let out a high-pitched, angry shriek that immediately filled the space. The relief that washed over Julian was so sudden it made him dizzy. It was a girl.

The nurse wiped her down quickly and laid her right onto his wife’s chest. Julian looked at the wet, wrinkly little face of his daughter and let out a breath he felt like he had been holding since midnight.

He reached down and touched her tiny, wet foot. She stopped crying for a second, her little toes curling around his index finger.

****

Twelve hours later, Julian was gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were almost white. His wife and the baby were asleep in the back, and he checked his rearview mirror every five seconds.

When he pulled up to his house, the front door was already wide open. His father, Jimmy was standing on the porch steps, squinting into the afternoon sun. Behind him stood his mother and his sister, Katherine.

They did not even wait for Julian to shut off the engine before they started coming down the driveway to meet them.

Julian got out and carefully unbuckled the car seat from the back, holding the plastic handle of the baby’s carrier with both hands carefully.

He carried her into the living room, setting the seat down on the coffee table. With the rest of the family following behind him.

Mary had gone straight to their bedroom to rest some more and they tried to keep their voices as low as possible to not disturb the new mom.

Julian’s mother, Rose was the first one over, "Oh my goodness," she whispered, her hands hovering over the car seat like she was afraid to break the little girl.

"Look at those cheeks, Julian." she said with teary eyes.

Julian’s home was filled with sounds of excitement and celebration. Julian’s baby had been brought home and that was the first time their family had been blessed to see their grandchild. It was a thing of immense joy for them.

Until now, they had not laid eyes on Clancy’s children, Katherine was unable to give birth to children of her own without a miscarriage sweeping in to take away whatever hope she had after the pregnancy.

This was their first chance at experiencing such in their home. And for some of them, they feared that it would be last.

Everyone laughed as they reunited with family over the joyous celebration of new life.

"Oh, Julian. She is the prettiest baby girl I have ever seen. My beautiful niece." Julian’s sister praised her niece once again.

Jimmy walked over slowly, he stood over the baby still in her seat, with his hands jammed deep into his pockets. But as he looked down at the newborn, his face cracked into a massive grin.

He reached out one big, rough hand and gently poked the baby’s tiny fist. The baby made a little grunting noise in her sleep, and Jimmy laughed out loud, a sound of pure shock.

Katherine squeezed past her dad, her eyes carrying joy and pain. "Let me look at her again" she muttered, keeping her voice down but vibrating with excitement.

She leaned over the seat, staring at the baby’s tiny dark hair. "She looks exactly like the old pictures of you, Julian. Look at her nose." She said and giggled.

The three of them stood there in a tight circle around the coffee table, completely hypnotized by the tiny person sleeping in the fleece blanket.

Nobody was talking anymore. They just watched her breathe, completely in awe of how small she was. The house, which had felt empty for so long, suddenly felt completely full again.

Julian watched his father’s eyes crinkle at the corners, a rare sight for a man who usually expressed emotion through a heavy nod. The old man just kept staring at the tiny fingernails, shaking his head in disbelief.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!