Yet every second that passed, he started to feel more and more real, each moment with him becoming more certain than the one before.
He was real, he was here. And she would get to wake up every day from now on and be able to see his beautiful face, smile at his warm brown eyes hold his adorable tiny little hands in hers. He was so perfect. She couldn't get over it.
Was it just because he was hers, and she was his? Was it just some sort of innate, biological drive that made him seem like the most perfect thing in the universe? She loved him so much it was almost heartbreaking, and if the undeniable love and pride behind Can's eyes was any indication, he felt exactly the same.
Can was so gentle with him, his nervousness proving to be inconsequential in the face of his joy. Sanem was falling deeper in love with her husband by the second. It felt as though her heart had already grown three sizes since that morning, and her body didn't seem big enough to hold it all in, she kept having to brush away the happy tears falling down her cheeks.
--- --- ---
They spent another hour alone with him, getting to know him in undisturbed peace, both of them taking turns becoming familiar with the feeling of him sleeping against their bare skin. Can, occasionally capturing images through the lens of his phone, moments when the babies eyes captivated his wife's attention, make her whole face shine with love. He had taken enough to fill a whole scrapbook - which suddenly seemed like an ingenious idea.
After a while, they both became antsy to share his existence with someone other than the nurses - who didn't seem nearly excited enough. After time to bond with him by themselves, they needed their families to meet him. Immediately.
Can sent out an email to their colleagues, a photo of an exhausted yet content Sanem holding the baby, that she would later slap him in mortification for sending out. He made a few phone calls, letting a few excited family members know that the baby had arrived. Both of them laughing at Mevkibe who couldn't decide if she wanted to cry about the fact she was finally a grandmother, or shout at them for waiting to share the news. She settled on both, which was an interesting noise to hear through the end of the telephone.
Being impatient, Sanem's mother insisted on face-timing while Nihat drove them all to the hospital. Can answered the call, greeting his mother-in-law before turning the camera around to reveal a very proud Sanem holding the newborn. She gently wiggled the infant's hand, waving to his grandmother. Mevkibe started crying again. She had to hang up before she embarrassed herself, promising they would be there in half an hour.
--- --- ---
Deren was the first to visit. Peaking through the door and catching Sanem's attention.
"Hi," Sanem said, the words sounding more like a question than a greeting.
"Hi..." Deren repeated, seeming just as surprised by the fact she was there as Sanem was. "Can I come in?"
"Of course."
"Where's Can?" Deren crept over on shy legs.
"He's finding me food," Sanem replied as Deren peered at the baby, now awake and settled on Sanem's lap on top of a blanket. His small hands held in his mothers.
"Oh, he is cute," Deren whispered.
"He is right? It's not just me?"
"No, he's definitely cute. And I don't say that often about babies." Deren smiled, seeming only mildly uncomfortable to be in the middle of a maternity ward.
"Do you want to hold him?" Sanem offered.
Deren floundered. "Uh. Thank you, but... No."
Sanem laughed at her quietly. "Have you been here the whole time?"
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