15-05-2021-052358It-Ends-with-Us

delivered—but there were no sounds at all. Not even the cries of a
newborn. My hands go up to my mouth and seeing the look on
Marshall’s face has me fearing the worst.
His shoulders just start shaking and tears pour out of his eyes. “I’m
a dad.” And then he punches the air. “I’m a DAD!”
He hugs Ryle and then me and says, “Give us fifteen minutes and
you can come inside to meet her.”
When he closes the door, Ryle and I both release huge sighs of
relief. We look at each other and smile. “You were thinking the worst,
too?” he asks.
I nod and then hug him. “You’re an uncle,” I say, smiling.
He kisses my head and says, “You too.”
Half an hour later, Ryle and I are both standing next to the bed,
watching Allysa hold her new baby. She’s absolutely perfect. A little
too new to tell who she looks like yet, but she’s beautiful, regardless.
“You want to hold your niece?” Allysa says to Ryle.
He kind of stiffens up like he’s nervous, but then he nods. She
leans over and puts the baby in Ryle’s arms, showing him how to hold
her. He stares down at her nervously and then walks over to the couch
and takes a seat. “Have you guys decided on a name yet?” he asks.
“Yes,” Allysa says.
Ryle and I both look at Allysa and she smiles, teary eyed. “We
wanted to name her after someone Marshall and I both think the
world of. So we added an E to your name. We’re calling her Rylee.”
I instantly look back over at Ryle and he blows out a quick breath
like he’s a little in shock. He looks back down at Rylee and just starts
smiling. “Wow,” he whispers. “I don’t know what to say.”
I squeeze Allysa’s hand and then walk over and take a seat next to
Ryle. I’ve had a lot of moments when I thought I couldn’t love him
more than I already do, but once again I’m proven wrong. Seeing the
way he looks at his new baby niece makes my heart expand.
Marshall sits down on the bed next to Allysa. “Did you guys hear
how quiet Issa was through the whole thing? Not a single peep. She
didn’t even take drugs.” He puts his arm around her and lies down
next to her on the bed. “I feel like I’m in that movie Hancock with Will
Smith and I’m about to find out I’m married to a superhero.”