The Seduction of Alex Parker(65)

Alex leaned over and kissed me. “Yes you can. You can do this, Em, and I’m going to help you. Now sit up and push. Do it for me, baby. I can’t wait to meet our daughter.”

I sat up as he held my hand and gave it everything I had.

“That’s it. I see her head. One more big push and she’ll be out,” Dr. Williams spoke.

“Come on, Emerson. One more time. Just one more time for us. For our daughter.”

I screamed as I pushed as hard as I could, my insides tearing apart and, suddenly, she was out and I heard her first cry.

“You did it, baby. You did it. Look at her. She’s beautiful.” Alex smiled as tears streamed down his face.

I fell back with relief as Dr. Williams laid my baby girl on me. I reached up and touched her hand as she cried her little lungs out. Alex cut the cord and Kelly took her to clean her up and weigh her. After wrapping her tightly in a blanket, she laid her in my arms.

“Hi, Lia Emily Parker.” I smiled as I kissed her tiny head.

“She has your beautiful lips.” Alex smiled as he kissed her. “I can’t wait to introduce her to the penguins.”

I looked over at him in confusion. “What?”

“You know, the penguins. From Madagascar?”

****

It had been a couple of weeks since we brought Lia home from the hospital. I was recovering quickly and Alex was the best daddy in the world. Seeing him with her always left me breathless. As much as I wanted to breast feed, it just wasn’t working out, so her pediatrician put her on formula. Alex would get up most nights and feed her because he couldn’t stand to be away from her for too long. Every whimper she made, he’d run to her side. He took a three-month leave from the office and worked from home, only attending meetings when necessary. As for Parker, he was getting used to the cries that now infiltrated his once quiet home.

We were already planning our next trip as a family. It was no longer just me traveling around the world and it was no longer just the two of us. Now, it was the three of us traveling together and we couldn’t wait to show our daughter the beauty the world had to offer. I never thought when I stepped through the doors of this house for the very first time that Alex Parker would be the man who would change my life forever.

****

Alex

Three Months Later

Emerson had some errands to run and left Lia home with me. It was just the two of us and I had big plans for our day. After preparing a bottle for her, I carried her into the living room and turned on Madagascar.

“You’re going to love this movie, Lia.” I smiled at her as I held her up and kissed her cheek. She cooed and my heart melted just like it did every time she made a sound.

After feeding her, I sat her up and held her against me while we watched the movie. As soon as the penguins came on, she laughed. I swear to God, she laughed for the very first time. Oh shit. Emerson was going to kill me if I told her. While we were sitting there enjoying the movie, Emerson walked in.

“What’s going on here?” She smiled as she sat down next to us.

“I have introduced our daughter to King Julian.” I smirked.

“Liar! You introduced her to the penguins,” she laughed.

“So what if I did? She happens to like the penguins.”

She leaned over, kissed Lia on the head and then brought her lips up to mine.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“And I love you, baby.”

The penguins appeared on the screen and Lia let out a laugh. Emerson’s eyes widened.

“Did she just laugh?”

I had to fake a surprise reaction. “I think so. Our little girl just laughed for the first time, Em.”

She took her from my arms and held her up. “Did you just laugh at the penguins?”

Lia cooed and then began to cry. Emerson looked at me and frowned.

“See, Em. She wants to see the penguins. You better turn her around before she goes into a fit of rage.” I smiled.

Emerson rolled her eyes as she held Lia facing the TV. I put my arm around her and pulled them close to me.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come over to the penguin side?” I asked.

“Never. It’s King Julian forever!” She grinned.

Being a husband and a father to the most incredible girls in the world was every man’s dream and I was living it. Life was perfect and my family was perfect. The day Emerson James walked through the front doors of my home, my life changed forever. A change that made me the man I was today.