**ONE MONTH LATER**
Today is the day of Daisy's baby shower. Daisy was released from the hospital a few days after she was admitted, and was on crutches until she got her walking boot for her ankle. Bailey might have already been born, but it was still my job as her sister to throw the baby shower. We sent out invites and a list of things she registered for, along with requests for food and gift cards. Daisy knew Billie-Mae and I were planning this before hand, and was very persistent about picking a theme. I thought that if it was a girl, the theme was pink. Apparently, Daisy wanted something more fun, and decided she wanted a floral/garden theme to it as well.
Mrs. Taylor and I spent weeks making and buying decorations for the shower, along with wrapping and hiding our gifts from Daisy in the process. Chase was clueless with baby showers, so today I gave him the job of being there for moral support for Jeff, since he was just as clueless. Plus, being a room surrounded by a bunch of women that knew their story isn't exactly comforting.
We were having the shower at the Taylor's hay barn, since it was relatively spacious and perfect for the theme we were working with. The barn was already set up with the decorations and lighting from earlier this morning, and the food was all prepared and just had to be heated up. I woke up this morning to set up decorations, but when I finished I came back home to start heating up food and make the cookies and cupcakes. I was in a navy blue t-shirt and denim jeans that were too long on me, but were really comfy to wear. I had my hair pulled back but a few strands managed to escape and frame my flour covered cheeks. I had flour all over my arms and shirt, but I wasn't worried about it since I had to shower anyways.
It was eleven in the morning when Chase came walking down the stairs in a navy blue t-shirt and dark jeans that hugged his body perfectly. His hair was tossed and his stubble present but sexy nonetheless. I looked up from the mixing bowl to stair at him, only for him to catch me and wink. I smile and blush before returning to the mixing bowl.
"You look cute." I say to him as he reaches for a water bottle form the fridge.
"Thank you, Darlin'." he says before taking a swig of his water. He eyes me up and down, and gives me a mischievous smile. He starts to slowly stride over to me. "I'm especially loving the flour-faced look." he says, standing behind me. His lips start kissing my neck, then my jaw, and eventually the entire left side of my face. "It's kinda hot." he whispers in my ear. I giggle as his lips tickle my ear and his hands roam to the front of my wait.
"Chase, stop distracting me. I have work to do!" I say playfully. I nudge him off of me with shoulder and hip, blowing a stand of my hair out of my face since my hands were covered in cookie dough. "Did you remember to load our gifts in the truck so she doesn't see them?" I ask.
"Did that while you were setting up. He says, popping a grape from the bowl beside me into his mouth.
"What about the car seat?" I ask again.
"Already installed in Gram's car. That was a lot easier than I thought it would be, too." he says jokingly.
"Okay, what about--" I was cut off by Chases's lips silencing mine, and his hands holding my face. He pulls back and gives me a smile.
"Relax, Hayden. Everything is gonna be fine." he assures me. I take a deep breath and keep rolling the dough into balls on the baking sheet. "When's Bailey allowed to come home from the NICU?" he asks, walking behind me to the sink for some thing.
"Not exactly sure. Doctors' said that it all depends on her health. As soon as she's heavy and mature enough, she can come home. Daisy will have a nurse checking in on Bailey everyday for an hour since she's premature." I tell him. I wipe my hands on my jeans and slide the baking sheet of cookies into the over. The cupcakes were already frosted and everything, now I was just waiting for the cookies. I heard the sound of the front door being knocked on and Chase quickly walked over to answer it.
"It smells wonderful in here, Hayden!"Mrs. Taylor yells from the front of the house. She walks in to the kitchen and I offer her a smile. She laughs a little then walks over to swipe flour off of my nose. "And you look like a mess." she laughs.
"I know. I still have to shower and get ready but I just put the cookies in and I have to clean up." I say, swiping all the scraps from the mixing process in my hand form off the island top.
"Oh, Hayden. You go on up stairs and I'll handle this cookies." she tells me.
"No really, it's alright." I reject.
"No, this is your sister's baby shower. Go on upstairs and get together. I'll handle the cookies." she says, stopping my hands reassuringly. I give her a smile then run upstairs to shower.
"Come it." I say when I hear a knock at my bedroom door. I had just finished putting my make up on. I was showered and had my face on, with my hair in a simple braid at the bottom on my neck. I was dressed in a light, flowy yellow skirt that just reached the top of my feet, a white tank-top with thick straps tucked into the skirt, and my denim jacket of my arms. I was wearing my boots, as requested by Daisy since she wanted to match. I see Chase walk in and close the door from the mirror and turn around. I was putting in my earrings when he walked in, so my head was at an awkward angle. "Hey, baby. I'm almost ready." I say, turning back around to my mirror.
I look up to see Chase smiling at me in the mirror, and I smile back. "You look beautiful." he says. I turn around and walk over to him, casually wrapping my arms around his waist.
"Thank you, Chase." I say, giving him lips a quick peck. I could smell his cologne on his shirt, and it reminded me of the first time we started getting close to each other. It reminded me of the emotions I felt, how he made me feel like I was free. It's funny to think that I still get those same feelings even now.
We were all standing around in the barn, waiting for Daisy and Jeff to arrive. When they finally rounded the corner, we all released our party poppers and cheered. Daisy's eyes were wide and filled with pure joy. She liked the set up, and was very impressed. Daisy was wearing a simple, pink sundress also with a denim jacket and her one boot to match me. She made sure her cast on her ankle was a bright pink to match her clothes. "Hayden, this is so beautiful." she says. She pulls me in for a hug and squeezes me tightly. When we pull apart, I turn to see Jeff. He was dressed in a white Polo top and grey dress pants and shoes. His hair was slicked back and his face was cleaned up. He looked good.
"Come here." I say, my arms open wide. Jeff had changed a lot in the past month. He went and visited Bailey all day, everyday at the hospital, he was always checking up on Daisy to see if she was okay and helped her with her crutches. He even started looking at nearby apartments to get so he didn't have to be away from Bailey. From what I'm told, he plans on finishing up his classes online and will be moving here in a few short months. I was proud how he turned his life around for Bailey. He and Daisy are on much better terms, and part of me thinks they're actually taking the time to talk everything out with each other. They're even holding hands now, too.
"This looks amazing, Hayden." he says as I pull away. I look around the barn at all the floral decorations. We used a lot of daisies, for the sake of my sister's name, and pink stuff. There was even a pink banner that spelled out Bailey's name on it hanging about everyone. Mason jar lights hung from the rafters and benches were set up for seating and food, which smelled amazing.
We spent the entire time at the baby shower playing games, giving advice, telling stories, and just laughing. Family friends, neighbors, and even family from out of state came to see Daisy. It was really heart warming to see all these people care about my sister and her daughter. I knew for a fact that Bailey was going to have a pretty good life with a family like this.
"Okay, present time!" Mrs. Taylor shouts. Daisy and Jeff take a seat at their specific seats and are immediately handed boxes and bags full of baby clothes, toys, supplies, cards, and books. Chase and I purchased Bailey's crib, changing table, car seat, and stroller, along with a few onesies. But, the best gift of all was a special collage I made of pictures from when Daisy and I were babies.
"Oh my goodness, Hayden!" she said excitedly. "I love it! Oh, look how adorable you were! What happened?" she joked, earning many laughs from our guests. I roll my eyes and playfully slap her shoulder at her joke. After gifts were done, everyone went about conversing and eating as the afternoon went by.
"Hayden, you might want to give this to Daisy." Mrs. Taylor said, handing me a pink envelop. On it was an address I didn't recognize, so I assumed it was one of Daisy's friends. I hand her the envelope and stand beside her as she opens. Then, we both gasp at the same time. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read who had signed the letter. It was enough to make shed a single tear of both joy and pain. The letter was from Billie-Mae.