The last month of Lauren's pregnancy arrived like a summer storm cloud,
Heavy and thrilling.
Her body was bursting,
Ready to deliver her baby.
Everything now felt uncomfortable,
Eating,
Sleeping,
Walking.
Nico was assembling the crib,
And it was going really slowly.
She could sense his frustration.
Lauren sat on her yoga mat on the living room rug,
Holding impossibly small onesies,
Looking over at the stack of diapers.
They heard a knock at the door.
As Nico welcomed Nathan in,
Lauren extended an inviting smile as Nathan stepped into the baby's room with a carved mobile he made in his garage,
Smooth wooden moons and suns.
He looked sheepish,
Handing it over.
It's beautiful,
Lauren said,
Voice catching.
Thank you.
Nico stepped back so Nathan could hang it.
For a moment,
They were just three people building a room for this baby who'd changed everything before officially arriving.
Nico thanked Nathan,
Wondering if maybe he was on his way to getting his brother back.
As he made his way back to the baby's room to put the final touches on the crib,
He noticed Lauren leaning up against the couch.
My water broke,
But I'm not ready just yet.
Labor came like the tide,
Relentless and in its own rhythm.
Each contraction pulled her deeper into herself,
As if in a different realm.
Nico pressed a cool cloth to her forehead,
Whispering encouragement,
His voice breaking with his own awe and fear.
She knew Nathan was just outside the door,
Pacing.
The night grew timeless,
Lit only by the rhythm of her breath,
The guidance of the midwife,
The tremble of hands holding hands,
And at last,
With a cry that seemed to tear the veil between worlds,
The baby arrived into being.
The room stilled.
It wasn't silence.
It was reverence,
Like the kind of stillness music creates when it's too beautiful to speak over.
The midwife placed the baby on Lauren's chest,
As they tilted forward as if pulled by gravity.
Lauren looked into her child's face,
Wet with arrival,
Eyes sealed shut against the brightness of the world,
And whispered,
Hi,
We've been waiting to welcome you.
The intensity of love she felt for her baby swirled around her,
Enveloping the moment.
It was grander than anything she'd ever known.
She felt euphoric,
Knowing whatever came next,
She could trust herself.
She was on a path she was meant to be on.
Her dream came rushing back to her,
Considering the name Mira,
As she breathed in the scent of her precious baby.
She remembered the essence of the dream,
And somehow Mira wasn't quite right,
As it felt tied to keeping the truth a secret.
As she gazed into her daughter's eyes,
Adriana came to mind.
When Nico looked up the name to discover its meaning,
They learned it's often tied to the beauty that rises out of hardship.
How perfect,
She thought,
Before she drifted off to sleep.
