Page 71 of Parentmoon

Keli smiles, clearly pleased by this generous offer.

Eventually, our group breaks up. Michael sits on the edge of the pool while I wade into the shallow end in front of him. His large feet dangle beneath the water and a beer sits at his side.

“Are you happy?” My voice is low although we’re the only two on this side of the pool.

“Happier than I’ve ever been.” His answer is confident and reassuring. “I know it’s been a lot to take in, but I love her, and I’m excited about the baby.” He sighs, leaning forward to clasp his hands together while resting his arms on his spread thighs. “Mom, please be happy for me.”

“I am. Of course, I am.” My response is quick and adamant. “I didn’t mean to overreact earlier. I’m pleased. I’m thrilled. It’s just . . . Wow. You’re getting married. And having a baby. And moving.” My voice rises as I check each item off the list.

“Yeah.” Michael laughs. “But not all at once.” He leans back again, casually resting on his hands while lazily kicking his feet through the water. “Keli is only eight weeks. She took a test last week before the wedding. She was late and worried her period would show up on our wedding day. She wanted to rule out pregnancy, that’s why she took the test. It was obviously a positive result. Thinking it was a false positive because of wedding stress, she was able to get a last-minute doctor appointment, which confirmed everything. We heard the baby’s heartbeat.”

A strange sense of pride and awe fills my chest. My baby is having a baby.

Michael chuckles again, shaking his head. “Keli said, originally, she was going to tell me the morning after the wedding. Like a joke. She got pregnant on our wedding night.”

I see the humor but I’m not laughing. Still, I say, “I’m so excited for you. I really am. There’s no greater gift in life than a child.”

Michael smiles. He’s my greatest treasure.

“We plan to have the baby in Chicago.”

“That’s great.” It really is, but my teeth still clench through a hard-fought smile. Disbelief still swirls inside me because the baby will come and then they’ll go. I’ll have the months Keli is pregnant and Dallas will have all the years afterward in Texas. And it isn’t that I begrudge Dallas his right as a grandparent, but I’m just not on the same page as everyone else yet.

Amazing things are happening here. Michael and Keli’s lives are progressing as planned. But the move has thrown a wrench into my plan for our future as a growing family. What had been Dallas’s plan, though? He started the ball of motion that bowled over a wedding and broke these two apart in the first place. He knew the truth and didn’t tell me.

We’ve slept together. We’ve spent time together. We’ve shared things. Am I really such a fool for a charming man?

“What’s going on with you and Dallas?” Michael nods over my shoulder and I glance behind me to see Dallas sitting on the opposite side of the pool. Philip is in the water, talking to him, but Dallas is looking at me.

Without an answer, I turn back to Michael.

“He can’t take his eyes off you.”

“Really?” My response is too eager, too anxious.

Michael gives me a quirky look. “Prettiest girl in the pool.”

The compliment reminds me of when Michael was a teenager, trying to talk his way out of trouble.

I laugh. “Sweet-talking me will get you nowhere, buddy.”

“Got nowhere else I want to be but here.” My son. Such a guy.

“Did you tell your Dad about all this? Reuniting with Keli. The elopement. The baby. The move.”

Michael narrows his eyes. “Mom, quit avoiding my question.” He tips his chin in the direction behind me. “Dallas. Talk.”

Silence falls between us another second.

“Are you two together?”

“Together feels like a relative term.” Like have we been together? Yes. Are we together-together? I don’t really know. Are we separate after he withheld the truth? Absolutely.

I twist enough to catch Dallas still watching me. A heavy and pressing ache weighs on me. I’m so angry with him but one glance at him and my body craves him. I want him to hold me and tell me everything will be okay. I want him to promise me we won’t fall apart. He can explain. But aren’t explanations how I lived my life with Craig? One excuse after another until the truth was so layered in lies I didn’t know what to believe. The fragile trust I’d given to Dallas went up in flames the moment I learned he knew why Michael and Keli broke off their wedding.

“Obviously, you slept with him.”

“Michael!” I spin to him.