"Are we alone?"
"Yeah, the nurse left a few minutes ago. Why?"
"Tell me how she looks. Every detail."
"Come here, scoot closer… now give me your hand. You already know she has dark thick hair. It's going to be just like yours when she grows up."
"She's got hair on her ears, too—you feel it? Right there."
"I never saw that. So soft. Her eyes, right up here. They're dark now. I think they're going to be such a dark blue. I wonder where that came from?"
"My father, most likely. And here… her little nose."
"The cutest button nose. And her lips… can you feel her breathing?"
"Yes. It's… indescribable. Oh, I think she got your ears, good thing for her. Which outfit is she wearing?"
"The pink jumper Danielle bought. It has the little blue elephant in the corner, up here. Big chubby arms and legs, fat little cheeks."
"And the tiniest fingers and toes. Close your eyes and just feel them. Her skin is so soft."
"She's absolutely perfect, Auggie, in every way."
"Of course she is. She came from two smoking hot parents. How can she not be?"
"She's waking up. She's looking at you now. Not gonna smile for a bit yet, are you, Livvie? Here, you want to hold her? …yes, just like that. She's still looking up at you. Those are going to be some dark blue eyes."
"She's so warm… hey, Olivia. It's your daddy. I can't see you, but I know that you are every bit as beautiful as your mother is."
"Is she sleeping?"
"Yeah. Covers just under her chin, still with that thumb in her mouth. We're going to have to start pulling that out when she does it."
"I already have. The sucking sounds drive me crazy. Is she wearing the Cinderella pajamas tonight?"
"Yup. The brightest shade of pink I've ever seen."
"Tell me."
"Her hair is almost to her shoulders now… three years old and she's only ever had one haircut. We'll have to schedule something soon. Come closer… shh, right here. Do you feel the curls?"
"Just like mine. Same shade?"
"Exactly. And her eyes… do you remember how the ocean would look on a totally sunny day with no wind?"
"…I think so."
"That's how blue her eyes are. She's going to have all the boys right in her pocket. Ears still normal-looking, so she must have just missed getting that gene. Nose is getting just a little longer… probably more yours than mine."
"Hey, I need my nose more than you do. I think it grew longer to compensate."
"Compensate for what, exactly?"
"Ouch. Ouch. That was painful, Mrs. Anderson."
"Shh, you'll wake her. Here, give me your fingers… right here, above her elbow. The birthmark. I swear it looks exactly like an oak leaf."
"I can't believe how big she's getting. The other day I reached down for her and almost hit her in the face. I thought I was putting my hand on top of her head."
"She's growing up, alright. I still say she looks more like you than me."
"Oh, no, she's going to grow up looking just like her mother… except, for the hair, of course."
"How can you tell?"
"It's just something in the way that I see her. The distance between her eyes, the bridge under her nose, the shape of her lips… I've 'seen' you a thousand times, Annie, and it's just the same with her."
"Well, her expressions are all you. The other day, when she took out all of the dishes from the drawers and put them all back in the wrong place? She's seen that grin too many times on you. It was just the same."
"…We're doing pretty good, Annie, aren't we?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I think we're doing just fine."
"What was that? Where is it going? Is it a foul?"
"Ow, cut your nails once in a while, Auggie. No, it's good. Past second base. And… Kat is running… she's running… oh, she's past first… so close… made it! Livvie is up."
"Tell me."
"She's got her hair back in a ponytail, stuck through the gap in her baseball cap. Oh, Lord, she's chewing gum. I bet Kat gave it to her. She wants to look just like the ballplayers on TV. She's got the white-and-blue Shockers jersey on and her blue shorts. She looks so tall out there, taller than all the other girls on her team, and she's the only eight-year old. That's another thing she got from you, and she's not going to be happy about it when she has to start dating."
"Annie! What's happening?"
"Oh, sorry. She's got the bat… of course, she's gotta knock it against her shoe a few times… her expression is so serious, she wants to knock it out of the park. She's got it up past her shoulder… holding it just like you told her to… the pitch… oh, strike one. Good try, Livvie! She's still got that face on, still gonna get it home… and-SHE HIT IT, PAST SECOND AGAIN, INTO LEFT FIELD, oh no no don't catch it SHE DROPPED IT. RUN RUN RUN LIVVIE Auggie stand up OLIVIA GO GO GO FOR THIRD SHE'S PAST THIRD AND SHE GOT IT HOME!"
"That's my girl, Olivia! I heard that crack like it was a gunshot. Annie, Annie, how does she look now?"
"Oh, she's beaming. Quick, wave, she's looking. Her cap almost fell off, she's fixing it now… she's high-fiving all of her teammates… and oh, Auggie, she's just glowing."
"Oh, God, I'm so nervous."
"Nervous? What do you have to be nervous about?"
"Well, first of all, I couldn't teach her how to drive, so she learned all of her skills from you. Which is terrifying enough."
"I am a certified pursuit driver, Mr. Anderson."
"Oh, trust me, I have experience with that. And since I wasn't able to attend all of your jaunts, I can only imagine what you've been teaching her when I'm not in the car and what she's about to demonstrate for the nice driving examiner."
"Oh, we made a pact on that. No pursuit driving until she's eighteen."
"That's not funny. Are they in the car yet?"
"Almost."
"Tell me."
"Well, she's got her blue tank top and yellow sweater combination, her favorite pair of jeans, with the trim down the side… The haircut just sort of freaks me out still, I mean the color is just exactly like yours, and now that she's shortened it she looks just like you. It looks like they're talking… he's said something to make her laugh now, that's good, ease the tension a little bit. You can tell she's nervous because she is so stiff but she's smiling… taking out the keys… Okay, he's gotta check her blinkers and brake lights. She just looked over here, smiled. Okay, he's getting in the car now. She's putting it in drive. She's pulling out of the spot… she's stopping before the sidewalk, nice job, Olivia… looking right, looking left… and she's turned. They're gone."
"How long are these things?"
"Fifteen, twenty minutes."
"At least she's a better driver than you. Her turns are so much smoother, her stops less jerky."
"You're just asking to walk home, Auggie."
"Well, I'm pretty sure Livvie is going to be driving home with her brand new license in her pocket, and she would not force her poor blind father to find his way across town."
"You've just got her wrapped around your thumb, don't you?"
"No, she has me wrapped around her thumb… she has since I first held her hand."
"Oh, don't get all sentimental on me now. She's only sixteen."
"For now. She's got her first homecoming next week. Homecoming, Annie. What happened to the tiny little baby we had?"
"Oh, calm down. In a couple years she'll be giving us grandkids."
"…that's not funny, Annie. That's not funny at all."
"…"
"…"
"I see the car, I see the car!"
"How does she look?"
"…Oh, she passed. I can just see the smirk on her face from here. She's turning nice and slow into the parking lot… ha, he's making her go for the tight squeeze right up front… Oh, Olivia, that was perfect. She's practically hopping out of the car. Face this way, smile. She did it, she did it."
"Hey, have you seen Annie? …Man, I wouldn't remember what color she was wearing even if I could see. Well, would you mind just taking a quick glance around… No, never mind, Barber, I hear her. That direction? Alright."
"Auggie! There you are!"
"Getting caught up in Olivia's storm?"
"I think she finally hit the numb stage. She's in the back room now with all the bridesmaids."
"Oh, God, Annie, I am so nervous. I'm going to run into an aisle or something. Why'd they have to put the damn flower baskets on the floor?"
"Oh, no one told you? Olivia had them moved to the outside aisles so there would be more room for everyone to walk."
"Thank God. Oh, no, is that the music? That can't be the music. Everyone… oh, no, where did everyone go? Are they all sitting? Annie…"
"Auggie, I need to go sit down. I'll see you in a few minutes. You'll be great. Just look proud and everything will be fine."
"…"
"…"
"Dad?"
"Right here, sweetie. Are you ready?"
"Um. Um. Yeah? Yes. I'm ready. Are you ready?"
"Olivia, you are so beautiful."
"Thanks, Dad."
"…Is that our music? Is that us?"
"No, that's for the bridesmaids, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah… I can feel that smirk, Liv. I've got the memory of an elephant. It's just not every day I get to walk my daughter down the aisle."
"…Dad?"
"Yes, hon?"
"Do you approve?"
"Oh, yes. I most definitely approve."
"…"
"…"
"…This is it. This one's us. We're in the doorway. In the church."
"I love you so much, sweetheart."
"I love you too."
"…"
"…"
"I made it."
"You both looked wonderful, Auggie. You were both beaming. And Alex… I'm already crying."
"Tell me."
"Well, you felt Olivia's dress already. It's got all the lace at the bottom and she fills it out just perfectly. The top is sort of shimmery in these lights, like a pearl, all sorts of colors. Her hair is all up in a bun, just a few brown curls on each side, and she's got the veil all wrapped around it. She's got those shoes that are just made for brides to trip down the aisle, but she looks pretty confident with them and you both walked down so smoothly. And Alex… Oh, Auggie, she's looking at Alex with the most amazing expression… it's the exact same look you gave me on our wedding day. I swear it is."
"Hey, Liv."
"Hey, Dad."
"How are you feeling?"
"Just great. Alex stepped out to get himself some coffee a few minutes ago. Poor guy, he's had a long night."
"And I'm sure it wasn't long for you at all. Where's a chair?"
"Turn right, three steps forward… right there. And actually now that it's over, it didn't seem very long at all. Where's Mom?"
"She got held up getting your specially ordered ice cream in the cafeteria. I couldn't wait, though."
"Well, come closer here. He's sleeping. Hold out your arms… there."
"…well hello there, little Jackson. This is your Grandpa Auggie."
"Dad, are you getting teary-eyed on me?"
"Baby, I'm an ex-soldier and a retired CIA-operative. Of course I'm getting teary-eyed. Now tell me what he looks like. Every last detail."
"Well, he doesn't have much hair yet, but the few little strands he does have look like they'll be blonde like Alex's. His eyes are pretty dark but I read somewhere that newborns almost never have the same eye color that they're born with, so we'll see if he's blue or brown yet. He's wearing Mom's dinosaur outfit, the green one with the T-Rex in the corner. The nurse absolutely loved it."
"Oh no…"
"What?"
"His ears…"
"Oh, yeah. He definitely got your ears, Dad. It must have skipped a generation."
"Poor Jackson. It's alright, apparently Annie thinks it's cute, so he won't scare away all of the ladies."
"Maybe we'll give him a few years to grow into them."
"Keep dreaming. He'll never grow into them. All he can do is grow out rock-star hair and hide them. I think I'm holding the next Bon Jovi in my arms."
"…Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"…I'm terrified."
"Good. That means you're going to be a great parent. The key is to never trick yourself into thinking you know what you're doing. You and Alex are going to learn as you go along and make some mistakes, but that's okay. As long as you don't pretend you're going to be Super-Parents and get everything absolutely perfect. Your mother and I fumbled through raising you, and I guess we got it right. Somehow, we managed to get it right."
"Thanks, Dad. Oh, here, I need to show you his birth certificate. Nope, give up the baby, you know Mom is going to steal him in a few minutes anyway. I've got it on my bedside table, hang on… here."
"…You got it printed in Braille?"
"Just read it."
"This certificate hereby declares… on the morning of December 23 at 4:03am… the birth of… Jackson August. Oh, Olivia…"
"Thanks for everything, Dad. I love you."
"I love you too, baby."