Three months later...
Mason narrates.
I'm feeling like a madman right now. Paige is about to give birth, and I feel like every movement she makes while sleeping could be a contraction. Lately, I've been sleeping with one eye open and one closed, my mind weighing on the fact that when the time comes, I'll be the one in charge of the situation. Maia's bag, Paige's bag, car keys, reminding her to breathe and assisting her in every way. Those are my instructions for that moment.
I look at her sleeping, and when she wakes up, I check the time and see that it's six in the morning. These past few days, she has been waking up after 10, following my mother's advice.
"Sleep as much as you can. When we become mothers, we never sleep the same way we used to."
That's why I let her sleep as much as she can. She looks at me and doesn't smile. That's not a good sign.
"Is everything okay, love?" I ask nervously.
She shakes her head, and I sit on the bed, thinking about what to do.
"It hurts, but not regularly. We have to wait for them to be five minutes apart," she says, touching her belly.
I nod and stay silent. What's happening to me? I'm the one in charge of everything, and yet I'm being so foolish. She shouldn't have to calm me down; it should be me who says and does something.
I caress her belly for hours, even though she looks fine and doesn't scream, I realize how much it hurts her. I feel powerless for not being able to ease her pain. I see her closing her eyes when a contraction comes, and I check the clock. I realize it's time to go to the hospital as the contractions are very close together.
If it were up to me, we would have been there since the first contraction, but Paige doesn't want to leave until it's the right time. I get up and fetch Maia's bag, then I go back for my beautiful girlfriend. When I return, she's not in bed, and I get scared. She shouts from the bathroom that she's taking a quick shower. Who thinks about a quick shower at a time like this?
I enter and help her shower. I see her calm while I am a bundle of nerves inside, and probably outside too. I help her get dressed, and when I see her ready, I grab her bag and our daughters to go to the emergency room. But she doesn't move and looks at me, holding back laughter.
"Love, don't you plan on getting dressed?" she asks, and at that moment, I realize I'm still in my pajamas.
“Oh! Of course, I'll be right there," I say, leaving everything on the floor.
I rush to the bathroom and take a one-minute shower. I quickly get dressed, not even paying attention to what I'm wearing. The important thing is to go to the emergency room right away. On the way, Paige calls my mother and her friends, and they all say they're on their way too.
Finally, we arrive, and they take Paige into a room, leaving me outside since they were going to examine her. I don't understand why they make us leave if I'm her partner and the baby's father. We already know every part of her body. It's something I'll never understand.
The nurse rushes out of the room, looks at me, and says, "Let's change into scrubs because your daughter is on her way." I hear her words but feel like I'm not reacting.
"How?" I ask, feeling lost. I've read that childbirth can take hours, and now my daughter is coming, but we just arrived.
"Your wife managed most of the labor at home. She's already dilated 10 centimeters, and your daughter's head is already crowning," she says, walking away. I follow her, realizing that Paige has shown the strength she possesses.
They hand me a gown, and we return to the delivery room where my girlfriend is. I see her sweating, and I take her hand to kiss her forehead. She squeezes my hand with all her strength, and I don't care if she breaks it. This pain is nothing compared to what she's feeling.
A doctor is seated between her legs and tells her to push with all her might when she feels the contraction because our daughter is almost here. Time feels like it's moving in slow motion. Paige pushes with all her strength, and I help her as much as I can, although I feel powerless because all I can do is encourage her and tell her that she can do it.
"One more, and she'll be here," my beautiful girlfriend pushes with all her remaining strength, and minutes later, I hear a baby crying.
I can't believe she's here already. Our daughter is here, and she's absolutely beautiful. I see Paige kissing her, and they both look stunning. They leave her on Paige's chest for a few minutes, and that calms her crying. Then they take her to weigh and measure her, and Maia starts crying again because she's away from her mother.
“Thank you, love, for this gift. You're a warrior, and I'll never be able to repay you for all the work you did to bring our daughter into the world. She's perfect, just like you, and I will spend my life making both of you happy," I say, unable to hide my excitement.
They tell me that I should go with my daughter so they can finish with Paige. I kiss her face everywhere and follow the nurse. They place my daughter in my arms, and she quiets down, just like when she was with her mother. I talk to her and kiss her purple hat, promising that I'll be by her side at all times and that I'll always take care of her, even when she's grown up.
Finally, they bring my girlfriend into the room, and the three of us are together. I look at her, and she looks tired. Once again, I kiss her, and Maia gets hungry. Paige chose to breastfeed and bottle-feed her, something I support. I watch as she feeds our daughter, and when she finishes, I take care of burping her, and our little one falls asleep. I see Paige, and she's sleeping just like her mother. I settle down on the couch with Maia in my arms, watching over their sleep.
I don't know how long I've been watching my beautiful women when someone knocks on the door, and it's my mother. She enters quietly and looks at Paige and then at me. I see the love in her eyes, which she had even before meeting Maia. Then she takes Maia from my arms and talks to her with so much love.
The day goes by, and the visitors arrive. All of our friends are in the waiting room, one by one, they have come to see Maia and Paige. They brought gifts, flowers, and balloons to welcome our little one.
I feel like everything is perfect. I can say that now we are all happy with our families, and that is priceless. Money can't buy happiness, but through a contract, I met the love of my life, and now we have formed a family. The most important thing of all is that I never imagined that by doing something I didn't want to do, like marrying someone I didn't know, it would show me the true love that can be felt for another person.