·eyes of the bluest sky as if they thought of rain

[❀ Melíssa]

      Tony looked down at the tiny pink human wriggling in his arms, then up at the woman who had only the day before given birth to it. She gazed back at him sleepily, a smile on her face.
      “She’s still perfect,” he spoke first. “And the name... you put a lot of thought into this, didn’t you? It’s beautiful.”
      Natalia smiled. “My mom cried like a little girl over the idea of starting a tradition. And you saw how your dad got a little choked up. I didn’t think it would affect other people so much,” she has chosen Olivia Noélle for their daughter’s name. Olivia was her own middle name, and as she was given her mother’s middle name, she chose to continue the pattern in hopes of starting a family tradition. Noélle came from the French word for Christmas, Noël, because Christmas was their anniversary, and she wanted to make sure the Streun’s French heritage was acknowledged.
      “Dad always has been a big softie underneath it all,” Tony chuckled, and stroked Olivia’s cheek with the tip of his finger. “I can’t wait to get both of you home.”
      “Oh, Lord, I sure can.”
      “Why? Don’t you want to be at home? In your own bed? With me?”
      “Absolutely, but that comes with a price. One, while I’m here, there’s an entire nursing staff on hand to take care of Olivia, and two, there’s no paparazzi here.”
      Having appeared in the doorway just in time to hear that last statement, Natalia’s paternal grandparents, Aaron and Mitzi disagreed.
      “My son and your mom have always had a great relationship with all the ‘photo journalists,’ ” Aaron said, using air quotes, “and because of that, they’ve always kept a respectable distance from anything too personal. For instance, your parents spilled every last detail while they were pregnant with you, and openly distributed a newborn picture, that no one even tried to take a picture of you for at least the first year.”
      “So what, you think I’m just going to get grandfathered in to that arrangement?
      “Yes,” Mitzi smoothed back her granddaughter’s hair. “They haven’t bothered you at all through the pregnancy; I really don’t think they’re going to start now.”
      Always looking at the big picture, Aaron added, “You should just do the cool, laid back thing you always do and post a photo on the website. Then no one can make a big deal about it.”
      “Yes!” Mitzi nodded her approval. “But first you have to do your makeup.”
      Natalia rolled her eyes. “Gramma Mitzi, you haven’t even noticed Tony, or Olivia,” she gestured at him with her arm. As Tony rose to his feet to greet his fiancée’s grandparents , Mitzi slipped Olivia right out of his arms.
      “Look at you,” she cooed. “You were quite a surprise, sweetie. I always thought the first great-grandbaby I’d hold would be from Oliver. Oh heck, I thought I’d have great-grandchildren from Oliver that we’d never even know.”
      “So did all the rest of us,” Natalia laughed.
      “How are you feeling? Have you gotten any sleep?” Mitzi asked. “It’s probably been a circus through here, big as this family is, am I right? You sure you can handle all this?” she directed the last bit to Tony.
      “I always wanted a big family, and it’s so worth it to be a part of it,” he squeezed Natalia’s hand. “But I will leave you three alone for the time being, and go make some arrangements to get you home,” he kissed Natalia’s forehead softly, and again brushed his fingers across Olivia’s face before bidding adieu to the rest of the family.
      “Good kid, that one,” Aaron said. “Are you moving in with him?”
      “No, he’s moving in with me.”
      “Don’t you share your place with Chelsea and your cousins?”
      “Yes, but there’s more than enough room, and plenty of privacy. Besides, with Mom and Dad looking like they’re probably going to retire out in Riverside any day now, I’ll probably end up leaving this one to Chelsea and the girls and Tony and I will move into the house on 25th.”
      “Sure you don’t want to move out to Brooklyn? We have yards.”
      “Sorry Grandpa, no.”
      “Ehh, it was worth a shot.”
      “How are your parents holding up?” Mitzi asked.
      “Oh, you know, Dad’s still convinced I’m a knocked up teenager, like this has somehow completely derailed my life. Mom came around a lot faster than I thought she would, but it has just now dawned on her that this makes her a grandmother, and she’s really struggling with that.”
      “What’s wrong with being a grandmother?”
      “Nothing wrong exactly, she just has this idea that she’s not ready to be a good of a grandmother to Olivia as you and Grandma are to us. She feels like she should be more settled. Which is why I think she keeps talking about retiring already. “
      “How does your father feel about that?” Aaron inquired about his son, as he took Olivia from his wife.
      “Please. You know Dad just feels whatever Mom feels.”
      “That’s how marriage works, honey,” Mitzi informed her. “You better tell Tony.”
      “I honestly think Dad has been close to retiring for couple years now, actually. But things are going really well with their band, and I don’t think he can bear to walk away while they’re still riding so high.”
      “That sounds like Richard,” Mitzi smiled. “I imagine that he wouldn’t walk away even if the band was dead.”
      “You’re probably right,” Natalia tried to stifle a yawn as she replied, but both of her grandparents caught it.
      “We should go, and let you get some rest,” Aaron said. He kissed Olivia’s tiny cheek before handing her back to Mitzi.
      “Get as much of it while you can before you go home,” Mitzi kissed Natalia on the cheek as well, before planting hundreds of kisses all over Olivia’s face.
      Leaning back in the bed, Natalia smiled, and pointed at the bassinette beside her. “You can just plop her down in here. Hopefully she’ll sleep; No one ever puts her down, and I need her to get used to the feeling of hot being held.”
      “No one ever put you down either, and I think you turned out okay,” quipped Aaron as Tony returned to the room.
      “I concur,” he said.
      “Good man,” Aaron repeated, shaking Tony’s hand on his way out. Mitzi enveloped him in a tight embrace and wished them both a good evening.
      Pulling the covers over Natalia, Tony announced that he’d arranged for a limousine to pick them up in the morning to take them home. “Now get some sleep, babe. I want you to sleep for the whole day.”
      She sighed, “Love you…”
      “I love you too,” he climbed up on the bed next to her, his arm around her. Her head fell against his chest, and a moment later she was sound asleep.