Chapter 45

Michael was driving Anelise and their newborn son, Henry, home from the hospital before he even realized it. Henry was a beautiful baby, weighing in at eight pounds, with tufts of dark brown hair that seemed to shimmer with hints of Anelise’s deep auburn in the sunlight. Michael was grateful that Henry had arrived when he did.

Anelise was worn out after fourteen hours of labor. It was agonizing to see her in such pain, even with the epidural. Every time she looked at him, urging her to push, his heart tightened, and he prayed for it all to end soon.

He pulled into the driveway, jumped out of the car to assist Anelise, and then carefully lifted the car seat carrying Henry. He helped his wife to the door, where Ollie was practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation of their arrival.

Anelise was relieved that Susan had flown in earlier that week and would stay for another week to help manage Ollie while she adjusted to being a new mom.

Ollie was thrilled about his new little brother and looked so cute as he gently touched his head during his hospital visits.

“Mommy!” Ollie squealed, running to hug her legs.

“Ollie, remember, Mommy has some owies, and you have to be gentle with her,” Susan reminded the excited little boy.

“I know, Grandma, but I just missed her!” Ollie replied, hugging her legs.

“I missed you too, sweet boy,” Anelise said. “How about I go sit on the couch and you come sit next to me with a book.”

Ollie dashed off to the playroom, and Michael helped Anelise get comfortable on the couch. He placed Henry in the little bassinet in the corner and went to fetch some water for her. Susan was in the kitchen, preparing some pasta salad and humming to herself.

Michael handed her the water bottle, and she thanked him. “How did I get so lucky to have found you?”

He kissed the top of her head. “I have no idea, but Paris probably played a part in it!” They both laughed at this. “But I think that your luck ran out when the heat wave started this week! I know how miserable you were.”

“Remind me when we start trying for our next that I don’t want to be nine months pregnant in the summer!” Anelise groaned.

“Our next? You just had this one and are already thinking about the next one?” Michael teased.

“I think about the way we make babies all the time!” Anelise admitted. “And the next six weeks are going to suck!”

Michael laughed. “We’ll manage somehow.” He leaned over and kissed her softly. “Now rest.”

Ollie returned and got settled, and they read for twenty minutes before Anelise fell asleep mid-sentence.

The next thing she knew, she was waking up, and it was an hour later. She felt terrible, but Susan assured her that Ollie didn’t mind and pretended to read the rest of the story to her. Oh how she loved that little boy!

After dinner, Anelise was in Henry’s room, nursing him and thinking about how much she loved him and would do anything for him.

She started to tear up with all the thoughts swirling in her head. Michael came in to check on her and found the tears on her cheeks.

“Ani, love, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?” he asked worriedly.

She shook her head. “No, I’m not in pain. I just keep thinking about how much I love him and Ollie and how I would do anything for them. And then I think about how my parents have just written me off…”

She was trying hard to not sob and upset Henry, but she was losing the battle, Michael could tell. He kneeled before her and took Henry from her.

He laid him in the crib, pulled Anelise into his arms, and sat them in the rocking chair. He held her to him tightly and smoothed her hair back and kissed the top of her head, letting her get all the emotions out.

His heart broke for her, knowing what she was going through. She didn’t like to bring up her parents, and Michael let her dictate the narrative with them. He didn’t want to force her into anything she wasn’t ready for.

But at the same time, he was livid that those stupid people had no idea what they were missing out on. They had the most amazing daughter, who was smart, beautiful, and compassionate.

But they were so caught up in their own shit to realize it and accept her for who she was. And now they had a grandchild, well two of them since Anelise had adopted Ollie.

Michael was glad that at least her Aunt Peg and family still stayed in touch with them and knew she was telling Kim and Neil about the baby. He wondered if that might stir something in them and they might reach out.

And then, he was thankful for the Rothschilds every single day of his life. They were more than family or friends, so much more.

“My love, I don’t want you to think about this. I want you to enjoy our son and his first few days. We have two weeks together to bond with him and set a foundation of love with him.”

“I know that you will do everything in your power for our boys to have a good life,” he said, soothing her tears and rubbing her back. “Instead of thinking about what we don’t have, think about what we do have!”

“My parents love our boys, and every single Rothschild is obsessed with our children. Any of them would do anything for them and us! I mean, Craig and Leslie are having both boys at their wedding in December.”

“My completely uncoordinated and uncreative oldest sister took up quilting to make our boys blankets, and our entire family has plans to come here and help you this summer.”

“And how often do you think Johnathan is going to be here bringing presents? I mean, the man has a serious problem!”

Anelise giggled through her tears, knowing that he was right about her adopted father. He was going to be a problem with all the grandchildren as they came along and had been making noises to Craig and Leslie since they became engaged.

Leslie refused to be a pregnant bride with the dress she had picked, and Naomi had to rein him in frequently.

“No more tears, sweetheart. From now on, it’s all about the good stuff! We’ve got two amazing kids and we’re so lucky,” Michael said, gently turning her face towards him and planting a soft kiss on her lips.

“You’re amazing,” she said. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” he replied. Before they could say anything else, Henry made it clear that he didn’t appreciate his meal being interrupted.

Michael scooped up the little guy, handed him back to his wife, and told her he was going to give Ollie a bath. She smiled and thanked him.

Once Michael was gone, she looked down at Henry as he latched on again. She gently stroked his soft cheek and forehead. “I’m sorry, little man, Mommy had a little moment there. I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner.”

“I love you so much, and I promise I’ll always be your biggest cheerleader. Whatever you want to try, wherever you want to explore, I won’t hold you back. I’ll give you the wings to fly and be the best you can be.”

“And that goes for your brother and any other siblings that might come along. You’re going to do great things, Henry. I know it!”

She rocked him gently, changed him into his pajamas, and laid him in his bassinet in their room. Then she headed downstairs to grab a glass of water, gave her mother-in-law a hug, and thanked her again for being there.

After that, she went back upstairs and climbed into bed to watch some TV, but she fell asleep almost instantly. That’s how Ollie and Michael found her when they came in to give her a goodnight kiss. Michael helped Ollie lean over to kiss her, then carried him off to bed, holding him upside down.

He returned to the master bedroom, checked on Henry, kissed his wife, changed into his own pajamas, and climbed into bed. He knew he’d be up in a few hours for Henry’s next feeding and he wanted to help as much as he could while he was off work.

He closed his eyes, wrapped an arm around his wife, and whispered his love to her as he drifted off to sleep.