Gracie looked down at Mira and smiled. “So… does wine and breastfeeding mix?”
I snorted. “Not really. Which is why I brought these.” I pointed to my bag beside the couch and wiggled my eyebrows. “My trusty travel pumps.”
“Ohhhh,” she said, laughing. “Pump and dump?”
“Pump and dump,” I echoed like a dramatic toast, raising my glass. “I knew I’d want wine tonight. So I came prepared. Not my first rodeo.”
Travis leaned his head back and gave me a teasing side-eye. “You were already planning your ‘I’m drinking tonight’ moves before we even got here, weren’t you?”
“You bet your ass I was,” I smirked, setting my glass on the end table. “Do you know how many nights I’ve skipped a drink because Mira cluster fed from 6 to 10 p.m.? I deserve this. I earned this.”
“Respect,” Paul said from the other couch. “Actual respect.”
Gracie laughed, shaking her head. “You’re seriously making motherhood look good.”
“Oh girl,” I sighed, pulling the blanket higher over Mira. “You didn’t see me at 3 a.m. with one boob out, crying into a burp cloth. But thanks.”
We all sat in a warm silence after that — the kind that only comes after the chaos calms and the kids are clean and fed and quiet. I leaned into Travis’s side, and he reached over to hold my hand, his thumb brushing gently across my knuckles.
“I love nights like this,” I whispered.
He kissed the side of my head. “Me too.”
---
It was nearly midnight by the time we finally packed everything up — the girls, the diaper bag, Mira’s portable bassinet, Lily’s cookie crumbs, and my trusty pump. Travis carried Mira out to the car while I held Lily, her head heavy on my shoulder, smelling like baby shampoo and warm blankets.
Gracie met us at the door. “Text me when you get home, okay?”
I nodded, careful not to jostle Lily. “Thank you again. For dinner. And letting our tiny chaos destroy your living room.”
She smiled. “Anytime. And seriously, Taylor… you’re killing it. Don’t let the tough moments lie to you.”
That one hit me harder than I expected.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, hugging her one-armed before heading to the car.
The drive home was silent. Both girls were out cold, and I was fighting sleep myself, eyes half-lidded as I leaned my head against the window. Travis reached over at a red light and squeezed my thigh.
“We survived,” he said softly.
“Barely,” I whispered back with a laugh. “But yeah.”
When we got home, he carried the girls up to bed while I went to the kitchen, pulled out my pump parts, and started the glamorous end-of-night ritual. The wine from earlier was still warm in my veins, and the moment I hit the pump's start button, I winced. Not painful — just... annoying. Loud. Tugging. Necessary.
I sat at the kitchen island, half asleep, the hum of the pump making a rhythm I could probably write a whole song to if I wasn’t this tired.
Travis came back downstairs, rubbing his eyes. “You good?”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Just emptying the girls.”
He chuckled and came behind me, pressing a soft kiss to the back of my neck. “Let me know when you're done. I’ll clean the parts.”
That made me smile. “You're too good to me.”
“I’m just making up for not having breasts,” he whispered against my skin.
I cracked up, trying not to spill anything. “You’re lucky you don’t. It’s a lot of work.”
The milk finished trickling into the bottles, and I exhaled. “All done. Finally.”
He gathered the pump and bottles, starting to rinse everything at the sink while I poured the fresh milk into storage bags and labeled them. I watched him for a second — this man I loved, wrist-deep in soapy water, doing the least glamorous work just to make my life easier.
“Travis?”
“Yeah?”
“I’d marry you again.”
He turned and winked. “Good. Because I already paid the deposit on your 40th birthday vow renewal.”
I rolled my eyes, grinning. “You’re ridiculous.”
He reached for my hand and kissed my palm. “Only for you.”
We turned off the lights, climbed the stairs, and slid into bed. Between my aching body, my empty chest, and the peace that came with two sleeping girls, I finally exhaled.
Home.
And for once, the quiet didn’t feel lonely — it felt earned.
YOU ARE READING
Invisible String
FanfictionWe always thought it would be easy - or at least, easier than this. Starting a family was the next chapter we were so ready for. After years of tour buses, locker rooms, sold-out stadiums, and quiet nights tangled up on the couch, we finally looked...
