The Wait

   It had been three hours already, when would this wait end. I had wanted this all my adult life and now my dream was coming true. I sat next to my wife of four years and I could see she was nervous but excited as well. Our family gathered around us in support and we felt so loved. My mom brought me a cup of coffee and I could smell the hazelnut and vanilla coming from the hot cup. My wife sipped her iced chai latte, the spices tickled my nose. I never could understand how she never drank coffee it was a coffee shop that brought us together. I looked up to see her beautiful green eyes looking at me, in her eyes I saw love and hope. She was as beautiful as the day I had first laid eyes on her.

   I sat in my chair staring at the people as they passed by, I saw all the posh women and watched as they walked by the shop. I had opened this coffee shop/bookstore because nothing smelt better than coffee and new books. I welcomed a group of the ladies into my shop as they looked around my books, each trying to decide on the beverage they wanted to try. Each lady paid for their beverage and book and I thanked them for stopping by the shop. While helping them, I did not notice the red haired beauty that walked into my shop. She stared at the books with intensity and interest. She touched each book with gentle fingers until she found the one she was looking for was found. She walked towards me and my throat closed up and I had the sensation of drowning overwhelm me. She smiled at me and mouthed something but all I heard was my own heartbeat in my ears. I looked at her and apologized, I blamed the busy, long morning I had on this cool Monday. She smiled and with the sweetest accent asked for a chai drink, I made her drink and rang it up. She took her change and went to sit at a table.  As I worked and cleaned the machine and tables, I noticed she would look up at me and smile. I felt my cheeks turn red but continued to work, when I went to clean the book shelves she slipped out the door. Each day she returned for the same beverage and would sit for hours reading, I eventually got the nerve to talk to her and I found out her name was Isabella and she was from Ireland but had moved to the states for work. She was a Professor for the local university, she taught art history. I would get nervous because of my thick Southern accent. I  was still new to the area and I had a hard time hiding it. I worried that she would think I was uneducated because of my accent. She never made fun of me and we each talked about our dreams and became friends. She was my first friend in this town and when I wasn’t working we would meet for lunch. 

   Three months passed and we got closer and I worried about talking about my sexuality, what if I lost a friend because I told her I was a lesbian and I was attracted to her. I had lost friends because they thought I was attracted to them because of their gender and I wasn’t willing to mess this friendship up. One morning at my shop Isabella stopped in and it was a quiet rainy morning so the shop was empty. She ordered her drink but instead of sitting at the table she propped herself against a stool and looked me into the eyes. She never stuttered when she asked me out for a “proper” date. I was shocked but we started laughing together. 

  Our dates were magical and we grew closer, after dating for a year, I asked her to marry me and she tearfully accepted. We were both so happy and danced around my shop, the customers clapped as she showed them the ring, I had become quite a popular shop in the town. My customer said they felt like the shop was a home and was always welcoming. 

   We had everything planned and I was so excited to see my family. They would all arrive together from our small southern town. Isabella’s family would arrive by plane and I worried about meeting with them for the first time in person. We had Skyped and they seemed very friendly, Isabella always also excited to meet my family in person as well. They may have been Southern but they accepted me and knew that my sexuality was the reason I had to leave home, a small town in the Deep South is not always as welcoming. 

   Our wedding was planned beautifully and everyone was excited and happy, we discussed our love and hope for the future. The day I stood and watched as the love of my life walked down the isle I felt the tears well up in my eyes, I would not cry this much until the day I walked into  the room. Hearing the pastor say I would like to introduce Zoey and  Isabella O’Milly-Smith, everyone applauded and I kissed my bride. We were happy and still so young, Isabella was 28 years old and I was 25 years old, we had so many happy years together. 

I shook my head and I was back in the waiting room with all my family and friends gathered around us. Isabella held my hand tight and I held hers tighter. a smiling young woman walked into the room and told us to follow her. This was it, the moment had finally come, and what was waiting in the room would change our lives forever. Walking into the small room, we heard small noises coming from the basket. Tears fell down my cheek as I saw my daughter’s face for the first time. We knew before arriving this morning that she was going to have Down Syndrome but neither of us cared.

Looking down Isabella said one word “Hálainn” meaning “beautiful “ in Celtic. I carefully picked up our daughter who was now staring at me with the most beautiful blue eyes, the sweetest sound came from her moth and cried more. This was what I had waited for the wait was worth it. Our daughter would never want for anything.