Chapter 33-1

Milo was asleep. His little hands were balled into fists beside his head, his tiny mouth turned down in a frown. He kept making these little sniffling noises every so often, his chest fluttering as he breathed. I wasn't sure how long I had been sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him sleep. Milo had been home with us for almost four weeks now, and I still had difficultly believing that he was actually my son. Now that he was here, I found it impossible to imagine life without him. He was unsually quiet for a newborn, and exceptionally observant. When he wasn't sleeping, he preferred to stay tucked up in my or Hadley's arms, or laying on our shoulders, and he simply watched. It was the most fascinating thing, seeing the expressions that would flit across his face when he saw something new, or met someone for the first time. Everything was new to him. I was beyond lucky to be able to see him growing each and every day. "Archer, can you zip me up, please?" I looked up as Hadley spoke, exiting the bathroom, lifting her hair off her neck. "Sure." I stood and crossed the room to her, reaching out to zip up the back of the light blue dress she was wearing. "Were you watching Milo sleeping the entire time I was in there?" she asked, letting her hair fall. "Yes," I answered immediately. "Why, is that weird?" "No, no, of course not," she said, turning around to face me. "I just thought I was the only one." "What d'you mean?" Hadley shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked over to Milo's crib. "I don't know. It's just like...sometimes I get this irrational fear that if I take my eyes off of him, he'll disappear." "No. That's not just you," I said. "I get the same feeling, too." She reached down to stroke a finger across Milo's cheek, and he gave another quiet sniffle, as if even unconscious he knew his mother was nearby. "Maybe it's just new parent paranoia, then," she said. I slid my arms around her from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder. "I think we have more reason than most to be paranoid about our son." "Fair point. But I'd rather not think about that today. Or tomorrow. Or ever again." I wholeheartedly agreed. My phone started ringing at that moment, and I quickly grabbed at it while Milo woke and immediately started crying. "Hello?" I said into the phone while Hadley comforted Milo. "Hey, bro, we're on our way over right now," my sister June said. "Everything all right on your end?" "Yeah, we're fine. We just have to get Milo ready, and we're good to go." "Brilliant." I signed off with June, tossed my phone onto the bed, and finished packing the diaper bag while Hadley changed Milo. Today was the day of all days. Today Milo was going to be baptized at St. Patrick's. It was going to be the biggest event to hit the family since his birth. My mother and my aunts were going all out for this, and far from being annoyed about it, I was excited to be able to photograph the event whenever I could find the time to get my hands on my camera. Baptisms were an important part of any Catholic's life. It was only natural everyone go all out for Milo's. A new generation of the Incitti family had begun, which was apparently reason enough to throw a massive party at the coffee house and make enough food to feed half the city. I had learned a long time ago not to ask questions when my aunts and my mother were put in charge of planning some event. Hadley wasn't stupid enough to voice any objection, either. I got a text from June that they were around the corner as I was locking the front door to the apartment. "Somehow I'm more nervous for this baptism than I was for our wedding," Hadley said as we made our way down the sairs to the parking garage. I laughed. "Sweetheart, we're Italian, and we're Catholic. You had to know this was coming." "I know, I know," she said, waving a hand. "I just didn't expect the whole three day celebration thing." "Like my mother and my aunts need an excuse to throw party," I said. "Yet another good point," Hadley said. My mother and my sisters were waiting for us in the SUV in the parking garage and immediately leapt out when they saw us. Mom had a ridiculously eager look on her face as she hugged us both, squeezing tightly. "I can't believe Milo's being baptized today!" she gushed. "This is so exciting!" "Yeah, we're thrilled," Hadley said with a grin. "It's not like you've been keeping who Milo's godparents are a secret or anything either," April said as she buckled Milo's car seat into the SUV. Hadley and I exchanged looks as we climbed into the SUV. The identity of Milo's godparents had been an increasingly touchy subject. None of my family members would outwardly admit it, but they all wanted the title. It hadn't taken us long to decide who would be Milo's godparents; it had almost been an unanimous decision. Whether or not they would actually show up was something else entirely, and that was what had the both of us worried. It was a half hour ride from our apartment building to St. Patrick's. Finding a parking spot proved to be a problem, and we were all excited to get out. Milo had thankfully fallen back asleep, and hopefully he would stay asleep for mass. I had my doubts about when he was baptized, though. No baby ever remained calm through that. The pews were full of regular Sunday church-goers as we made our way inside. The first few pews up by the altar had been reserved for the family, and they were already packed. Zia Karin was the first on her feet, sprinting up the main aisle towards us. "There you are!" she said, reaching out to pull me and Hadley into a tight hug. "We were beginning to worry that you wouldn't show up." "Like we'd miss our own son's baptism," I said with a scoff. Mass wasn't set to start for another ten minutes or so, and our assembled family all wanted to get a peek at Milo, being loud like they usually were. Hadley wrapped her fingers around my wrist and nodded towards the back of the church, where a few last minute stragglers were trying to find seats. I knew what she was hinting at, and I followed after her as she started leading me down the aisle. "This is a long shot, you know," I muttered to her as we walked towards the lobby. "I don't even know if he'll hear us or - " "Have a little faith, Archer," Hadley said. "You know just as well as I do that Death's done enough for us. The least we can do is try."