Gifts From The Past

"Matt, honey, come to bed. She’s not going anywhere." Carley wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her head on his shoulder. Together they gazed down at their daughter, Dorothea, asleep in her crib.
"She’s so beautiful. And tiny. My God, her little body has to do so much," Matt whispered, stroking her cheek.
"Please, don’t wake her. She’ll do that on her own in—" Carley checked her cell phone, "an hour and fifteen minutes. We should try to sleep while we can." She feigned irritability, but found herself warmed by his outpour of love for their baby. The affection he held for their daughter was so much more than Carley could have hoped for, especially following the issues they had during her pregnancy. He couldn’t be more loving toward either of them.
"Hour?" He turned around and kissed Carley’s head.
"Maybe two, if we’re very lucky." Carley leaned up and met his lips as he positioned his arm around her waist, and they walked out of Dorothea’s room.
"You’re sure you don’t want to breastfeed her?" Matt took off the clothes he had worn in the hospital for the past three days and tossed them in the laundry basket. They had talked about this already, several times in fact. So, the traces of irritation in her voice didn’t surprise him.
"Quite, thank you. It’s a huge inconvenience and I’m going back to work next week, if you remember correctly." She followed his example and got undressed. Exhaustion crept into her bones when she wasn’t looking.
"Part-time, you can make it work." He caught the glare she shot him, and he put his hands up, "Okay, I’m sorry. I just think it’s special."
Carley chuckled. "It’s also painful and with advances in formula, there’s no real need for it."
Matt opened his mouth to continue the bonding discussion they had had so many times before, but thought better of it. Bonding was only a part of the reason he wanted her to nurse, anyway. But it’s sexy wasn’t going to go over well at this particular juncture. His attention focused back to Carley, who stood in front of the mirror in her underwear, turning from side to side.
"I want my body back." She ran her hands over her stomach as if to flatten it out.
He walked behind her, grasped her hands and kissed them before turning her around. "I didn’t realize it had gone anywhere. Actually, I think if anything, it has improved."
"Improved? Are you crazy or lying?" There was laughter in her words, as if she wanted more than anything to believe him.
"Neither. Your body just performed a miracle. One I could never do." He kissed her lips before letting her go and getting a nightshirt for her to wear.
"Aren’t you coming to bed?" She sat and watched him walk into the bathroom.
After turning on the shower, he walked out and kissed her. "Honey, if I have to be up in an hour to feed Dorothea, I’ll shower instead of sleep."
"You’re going to get up with her?"
"You need your rest. I slept more at the hospital than you did. Besides, you’ll be alone with her tomorrow while I go pick Sadie up from Chris’s." He didn’t really sleep more at the hospital, but he wasn’t tired, either. Of course, he would feel it later, but it seemed like a fair trade to get to spend some alone time with his daughter.
She blinked at him. This was more than she was prepared for. Questioning her luck would certainly work against her, though. So, she changed the subject, "Is he still sick? Why doesn’t he bring her here? He hasn’t met Dorothea yet."
"I think he is, yeah. Otherwise, you know he’d be here and at the hospital." Chris’s absence irked Matt. His twin was his biggest supporter and best friend. The fact that he hadn’t come to the hospital in the three days since Dorothea was born hurt, even though it shouldn’t. Can’t help if you’re sick, right? "I’m gonna take that shower now. You get some rest." Matt kissed Carley once more and grabbed the baby monitor, putting it on the counter next to the shower and turning the volume all the way up. After discarding the last of his clothes, he let the steam fill his lungs. As he massaged the shampoo into his scalp, he fought against the headache, which had to be ignored. Before Matt could reach for the soap, his daughter began crying over the monitor. Welcome to parenthood.