“She’s beautiful,” Abel said, barely able to get the words out.
The doctor called Abel over to do the honors, holding the surgical scissors at his baby’s umbilical cord. “Do we have a name yet?” He asked as Abel cut the cord and wiped his tears away.
“Reina,” he smiled, looking down at the perfect baby girl that he and Nellie had created.
Abel had agreed early on, that if they had a boy, they’d name him Abel after himself and his father. He didn’t remember a whole lot about his dad, but one thing he remembered fondly was hearing his dad often refer to his mom as mi reina—his queen. He always said it with so much affection—so much love. So when Abel started looking up baby girl names and saw it pop up several times as an actual name, the decision was instant. His baby girl would be his Reina.
Roni had walked out, just before Nellie started pushing, and as tempted as he was to go out and tell her and everyone else that baby Reina was born, he couldn’t bring himself to leave Nellie’s side.
As soon as they placed the baby on Nellie’s chest, Abel’s mind was finally clear enough to remember to pull out the camera. He started filming as Nellie counted all the fingers and toes. He almost laughed at her thorough inspection of the baby.
The nurse noticed, too, because she reassured her that the baby appeared to be perfectly healthy. “And she’s big,” the nurse added as she started to lift her away from Nellie.
She looked tiny to Abel, but what did he know about baby sizes? The only thing that mattered now was that she was healthy.
The room was soon full with their friends and family. Nellie’s family had excused themselves once Gus started getting fussy, saying they’d be by the house in a few days to see Nellie and the baby again. Abel had to get a grip. Every time he held his daughter, he felt choked up again. Then his mom got there, and he was at it again. He was only glad that he was able to suck it up. As far as he could tell, none of the guys had noticed.
After fussing over the baby for a while and giving her all the traditional blessings, his mom went back to the house where they still had a house full of guests. His family members weren’t going anywhere. There was still too much booze left, and now they had even more reason to celebrate.
“I told you she’d be fine,” Roni gushed, holding the baby in her arms.
“Why?” Abel glanced at Nellie curiously and squeezed her hand. “You were worried she wouldn’t be?”
Nellie nodded, looking almost remorseful. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about what happened before I even knew I was pregnant. I couldn’t help worrying.”
“She looks perfectly healthy to me,” Hector said then turned to Abel and laughed. “Figures you’d have a toddler-sized baby. Nine and a half pounds?” He turned to Roni. “That’s big for a newborn, isn’t it?”
Noah laughed, nodding. “They said Jack was a big baby, and he was just shy of nine pounds.”
Hector wrapped his arms around Charlee from behind. “You hear that? We 5th Street sluggers make big babies. You better be ready.”
Nellie smiled, glancing at Charlee’s fire agate heart necklace as her eyes widened and her face went bright red.
“Oh my God! Can you imagine?” Bianca said with a big smile. “You two might have a redheaded baby. How adorable would that be? A little redheaded Ayala.”
“I don’t care whose hair color our babies get, mine or his,” Charlee said. “But I will be hoping for something more along the lines of seven pounds maybe? Gosh, Nellie, I can’t even imagine nine and a half pounds!”
“But she did awesome,” Roni smiled at Nellie proudly.
“Yeah, she did,” Abel leaned over and kissed Nellie’s forehead.
“And I think it’s the perfect name,” Roni said, nuzzling and leaning over to touch the baby’s nose with her own. “Because this little queen is going to have all of you wrapped around her little finger. Aren’t you, you beautiful thing?” she asked, making baby noises.
“Yep,” Noah agreed, smiling down at the baby. “That’s why we’re all here instead of partying at your mom’s. We had to come meet the new little queen. Not one of us was waiting until tomorrow.”
That reminded Abel of something. “What about Felix? Did he ever show up?”
Noah frowned, but Hector answered for him.” He’s f**king up,” he said then winced, glancing over at the baby as if she could understand him. He shook his head as Abel waited for him to explain what he meant. “He was supposed to come. He told me he would the other day, but he got into some brawl at a club last night and got arrested.”
“Again,” Noah added with a frown. “He’s getting out of control.”
“Again? He’s been in more than one brawl? What’s wrong with him?” Abel asked, feeling worried for his friend.
“Well, not another brawl,” Noah clarified, “but arrested again. Last time it was for disorderly conduct or something equally stupid.”
“Isn’t he supposed to be in training soon?” Abel asked.
“Soon?” Gio said. “He should’ve been weeks ago. He’s been too busy doing crap like that celebrity dance show and partying like a rock star. He’s been all over the TV but for all the wrong reasons.”
Abel had missed it all, and it was no surprise. He and Nellie had boycotted any and all tabloid stories or shows. But it was inescapable. Even after all this time, it still inevitably got back to him or Nellie that the stories of her and Sam were still out there.