“What’s that?”
“You’re not alone in this,” I say, repeating the words he said to me once before.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Mark
Would you ever consider staying here instead of moving back?
Yeah, I’ve considered it, but financially, how would I make it work? I’ve been going to school for one thing and one thing only. I wouldn’t even know where else to begin.
Editing. Maybe. It’s not a horrible idea, but what kind of money is even in editing? Definitely not what I have now, that’s for sure, and definitely not what we would have if we moved to the East Coast.
My inheritance would support us, but there wouldn’t be much coming in to add to it, and as much as I don’t mind spending my money, I’ve always banked on the fact that I would do something to contribute to it one day. I never once thought that I wouldn’t know how I was going to make that happen.
And donations . . . I’d have to be careful about that. Money doesn’t last forever, and it definitely won’t if I just go about my life hanging it out.
“How’s the nursery coming along?” Syd’s mother asks, joining us in the living room. It’s Sunday night, and I haven’t missed a dinner with her family since she moved in.
Her parents have been kind to me since we met. They were nothing like Hero, but I’m happy to admit that even he seems to like me now.
“Oh, well, it’s cleared out,” Syd says, sitting next to her mom. Her mother grabs her hand and squeezes it.
“I can’t wait to see what you two come up with.”
I watch the interaction between the two as Syd mentions a soft yellow color and bunnies as a theme and her mother suggests that she should do flowers instead. After a few more ideas, they agree it’s best to have a mix.
“I mean, if that’s what you want.” Syd looks at me.
“I want what you want.”
Her smile is soft. We haven’t talked much about our dilemma of where to live. We both envisioned raising kids differently, and now one of us has to give that up.
“Look at this.” Hero comes into the room with a white book. “This is your baby book, and this is mine.”
He hands them to his mother and Syd.
“Why is his book so much bigger than mine?” Syd asks.
Her mom laughs. “I was a lot busier once I had two kids.”
“Look,” Hero says, handing me a picture. “This is Syd the day my parents bought her home. You should hold on to it so that you can compare baby pictures when your baby gets here.”
“Thanks,” I say. I wonder if my parents have one of me the day I came home.
“Any official name yet?” Syd’s dad asks. He brings me a beer and sits around the coffee table with the rest of us.
“Not yet,” I answer as Syd is deep into her baby book and still laughing at the pictures.
Does my mom have a baby book?
“Ah, well, we didn’t know what Sydney’s name was till after she was born.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Her name was on a list, but as soon as she arrived and we took one look at her, we knew that was our Sydney.”
“Oh my gosh, look at this!” Syd moves from the couch to the arm of my seat.
