I nestled close to Sophia, captivated by our precious little miracle, watching her jerky movements as she discovered out how to operate her limbs. Every twitch of her fingers and curl of her toes was magical, like seeing snow for the first time. The noise from the outside world faded away as she cooed and let out her first whimper; It was the most beautiful sound I ever heard. We were enveloped in our own universe, a cocoon of joy and relief for the safe arrival of our adorable creation. My heart felt like it would explode, and for a moment, all we could do was weep. Eventually, I summoned the courage to touch her and gave her a delicate boop on the nose. Her skin was so soft, like touching a cloud. She was real at last!
“She’s perfect,” I whispered through a broken voice.
Sophia was so tired, but she drew enough strength from somewhere to form the most brilliant smile.
“We did it,” she muttered.
She passed the baby to me, and I cradled her nervously. She was so tiny and light, yet the weight of this responsibility felt so heavy in my hands. It was a great honor to accept it.
“Welcome to the world, little one! We’ve really got to get you a name.”
“I think I’ve got it,” Sophia whispered. “I saw two names on the parenting forum I thought were nice, but I didn’t know if I wanted to give them to her. But seeing her now…I think they fit her well.”
Her voice was so groggy. I wanted to let her rest, but I also needed to hear these names she found.
“One was Desiree,” she said.
“Hmm…that’s nice. What made you think of it now?”
“The meaning! How we feel about her.”
“So what does it mean?”
“Desired. Long hoped for.”
I felt that so deep in my soul, I almost started crying again.
“Oh my Watcher! Yes! That’s perfect. I love it!”
“The other name was Amari. It means miracle of the Watcher.”
“Oooh that’s also perfect. I love them both… Desiree Amari,” I said a few times, trying it out and reversing them. “I like it. The other way doesn’t flow as well. Do you like your name, Des?”
“Hi, there, Desi,” Sophia cooed. “I love you soooo so much!”
We eventually broke ourselves out of the spell Des cast on us, and I took her to the nursery to get cleaned up and dressed while Sophia got some much needed rest. I must have walked like an eighth of an inch per step to the nursery because I was so nervous about dropping her. Good thing I had left the door open from when I got the bassinet earlier. I don’t know how I would have managed that one. I guess I would figure it out just as Sophia listened to her body and led us through a safe birth. Children didn’t come with manuals, so I guess I was about to embark on a 63 day journey of just figuring it out.
I finally made it to the nursery and got Des looking super cute in the onesie her grandmother bought looong before she was born. She was a bit fussy, though. At first I panicked a little and didn’t know what upset her, but I paused and thought through it. If I could get myself together and pull her out of her mother’s body, I could figure this out. She wasn’t wet or cold, since she was no longer naked. Maybe she was hungry. Sophia hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and it was nearing dinnertime, so that seemed the most likely. Hoping I was right, I made a bottle. Desiree figured out the food situation very quickly and drank happily. I passed my first dad test!
