Kite In The Snow by Karla Lopez

 

After a few days of watching Mae breastfeed bean, it still gets to me. It makes me weak seeing her share these moments with her son. At first, it felt like heaven getting to see my girl naked for the first time, but the more I witness such a beautiful thing, the more I fall in love with both of them.

There’s a knock at the door and our nurse smiles at us as she walks in with the doctor. Mae covers up, even though the doctor delivered bean. Mae still has a hard time interacting with men.

After everything she’s been through, it’s understandable. The doctor always gives me weird looks when she does cover up or doesn’t directly speak to him, but it’s whatever Mae is comfortable with. That’s all that matters to me.

“Are you guys ready to go home?” He smiles softly at Mae.

Mae nods her head. “Good. You are both heathy and good to go. You’ll both have weekly check ups with your primary doctor until you heal completely, and this little guy here grows a little more.”

“I’ll make sure they go.”

The doctor nods at me and gives me that odd look again, and it makes me uncomfortable. I’m so glad I’m finally getting them out of this place and will have them in my cozy apartment.

The nurse lingers while the doctors walk out. “We can go ahead and discharge you as soon as you guys pick out this little guy’s name for his birth certificate.

I start to panic because Mae has never said anything about names, not even when she found out the gender. Mae sees the panic on my face and smiles.

She leans over and grabs my hand. “I know what I want to name him, and I hope it’s okay with you.”

Her soft smile does something to my heart, it feels like the best thing I have ever felt. “I want to name him Carter Bakeman Smith.”

Emotion wrecks through me, and I lose my breath. I’m stunned into silence as Mae’s soft giggle meets my ears. I snap out of my momentary shock and smile through my tears.

“You want to name him after me? And give him my last name too?”

Mae nods her head, and her warm smile is all I see. “Yes, you’ve done so much for us and the one thing I always wanted to be is safe. You gave me that. My son will be named after such an amazing man.”

“Wow. Mae, I’m honored,” I say as I wipe tears off my cheeks.

“No, we are. To have you in our lives. I never thought I could feel content, but I am with you and with Carter.”

My face splits into a huge smile at hearing his name and the way she feels about me. For someone who loves to help people, to know you changed someone’s world is everything. Nothing can compare to the feeling.

I grab Mae’s face and kiss her hard and sloppy, showing her my gratitude through the kiss. I rub my nose against hers and then lean in to kiss Carter’s forehead.

“You know, my dad’s name is Carter. I was named after him. I can’t wait to tell him. Times like these are when I wish I had him around.”

Mae rubs her hand across my cheek, and her eyes turn sad. “Don’t be sad. My dad was the best husband and dad. So many people say good things about him. He loved my mom and me very much. One mistake, something he was unaware of ruined his life, but this little guy just gave his name a purpose. My dad will be happy to hear that.”

Mae leans in and kisses me softly as her lips linger on mine, then she whispers, “He’s named after two good men.”