Chapter 23 Meeting Matthew(1)
We watched the movie and around ten Evan and Zoey left. Nick let me settle in bed while he cleaned up like he usually did whenever we had company. I was laying on my side, facing Nick’s pillow, waiting for him to join me.
A few minutes later Nick settled beside me and leaned in, kissing me gently against the lips, “Evan told me he had fun spending time with you. Things went okay?”
“I napped a bit, it made me feel better.”
“He wants to be here with you until Matthew is born.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Nick.”
“You tell Evan that when he comes over tomorrow.”
I knew Evan worried. We were important to him so I wouldn’t complain about him wanting to be beside me. I just didn’t want to be a burden to them. Nick had a demanding job and Evan worked for him, overseeing his investments.
“Did you fire Evan?”NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
Nick chuckled, “No, I tried to a while ago, but he never stopped showing up. It’s hard to get rid of him. I guess Evan is a part of my life and I need to accept that because he isn’t going anywhere.”
I smiled, knowing Nick was messing around. He didn’t find Evan annoying at all, he loved the guy. I think if Evan ever decided he wasn’t interested in working for Nick anymore Nick would chase him. The thought made me laugh, causing my fiancé to raise an eyebrow at me.
“What’s so funny?”
“You and Evan are.”
“I’m glad we can still amuse you.”
We talked until I fell asleep, I knew Nick did that to make sure I rested enough.
***
Around four in the morning, I woke up in pain, knowing what was about to happen. I woke Nick and he immediately started to dominate the situation. All I had to do was sit back, breathe and let Nick control everything. I was rushed into the hospital while Nick called Evan to support us. Nick joined me in the room while he let Evan take care of informing my family. Evan had never met my brother or father, but I knew he was capable to inform them and reassure them I was alright. I trusted Nick and Evan with everything and it felt good not having to worry about anything but giving birth to Matthew. It felt like I was in the labor room for hours and hours, but according to the nurse, it only lasted five hours which wasn’t too bad at all. I was watching Nick hold onto a crying Matthew, a massive grin spread across his face.
“He is beautiful,” Nick told me.
A tired smile spread across my face. I knew I looked like a mess, sweaty and tired. My body still aching, but I was too exhausted to do anything about it.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He stepped closer to me, letting me see Matthew’s red, crying face which wasn’t particularly beautiful to me, but I understood what he meant, “He’ll clean up nicely.”
I couldn’t help but laugh which hurt so much.
“How is he?” I asked quietly.
“Healthy.” Nick told me, “They’re going to help you clean up and Matthew too. We’ll let Evan and Zoey meet him afterward.”
“I love you.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder, “I love you more.”
***
Later that morning Evan and Zoey met Matthew Evan Woods. Nick had been right about him cleaning up nicely. He was small and adorable and not crying anymore. He was sound asleep in Evan’s arms, crawled up to a ball with his fists tightly clenched. The look on Evan’s face made Zoey beside him restless. I knew how she was feeling, she probably wanted to jump him as soon as she could, like how much her boyfriend adored that little person.
“We should let Emily rest,” Zoey suggested to her boyfriend.
She wasn’t wrong, I did feel tired and wanted to get some sleep. But I didn’t want to interrupt Evan’s moment with Matthew. It seemed like our boy was comfortable where he was too.
“It’s okay, I can sleep through anything at this point.” I told her, “Nick will keep you company.”
Nick glanced at Zoey, “I’m going to retrieve Emily’s bag from the lobby. Miles just brought it over. Watch over Emily for me.”
“Sure.” Zoey sat in the chair beside me, “We’ll be okay. You can go grab her bag.”
Evan held onto Matthew for dear life while Zoey kept me company. I fell asleep while Zoey quietly talked to me, informing me about my family and news topics from this morning. I knew she did it to ease my mind, helping me feel more at ease.
***
A few days later I went home together with Matthew. Nick decided to work from home while I got my strength back. He also wanted to help taking care of Matthew while he got settled in. For the time being, we had his bassinet in our room, keeping him close. We had a room prepared for him but it felt better having him close.
“We’ll move him to his own room in a few days,” Nick told me, as he carefully placed Matthew in his bassinet which was placed at the end of our bed.
“It’s weird meeting him,” I told Nick who crawled into bed beside me.
“I think now it’s even harder for me to get rid of Evan.”
“I like how much he loves him.”
Nick smirked at me, “Did you see the look on Zoey’s face? I think she liked it even more.”
“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll settle pretty soon too.”
Nick gently held me, “We should start thinking about moving out of the city, actually buying a family house. I’m mean we’re fine for now, but if we want to expand our family we don’t have space.”
I sighed, closing my eyes, “Let’s focus on our wedding first and then worry about the rest?”
“Fair enough.” He kissed my head, “Rest, Em. I’ll watch over you two.”
In three months we were getting married, I wanted to focus on that first before thinking about the possibility of having more children.