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Erik giggles. “Baby kicks me.”
All of us burst into laughter.
“When he touched Mia’s stomach last week…” I add for clarification, “… Willow kicked his hand.”
“Willow? I love the name.”
“My brother wanted Ethan to name his firstborn after him,” Mia says, rubbing her hand over her stomach. “He didn’t get his wish, so we compromised with Willow.”
“It’s a beautiful name for my granddaughter.” My mom scans the headstones in front of us. Her eyes are filled with sadness. “I wish your brother and father were here to meet your children. I bet if Erik were alive, he would’ve fought you for Mia.”
We both smile at the thought of my brother, who probably would’ve kicked my ass for a chance with my wife. Erik was the life of the party, the twin everyone liked, where I was always the one brooding in the corner, ignoring everyone. He was like Will, which was why I gravitated toward him when I’d first moved to Pennsylvania.
Erik thrashes in my mother’s arms until she sets him on the ground. My little guy moves between my brother and father’s graves and presses his tiny palms to the marble. He looks up at me with curiosity in his green eyes. “Grandpa and Uncle Erik live together. Grams is coming to live with us.”
My son reminds me so much of my brother when we were kids. We were identical, though different in so many ways, and my son looks just like our baby pictures. But his personality is my brother to a T.
I crouch down in front of him, fighting tears. “Yeah, buddy. Grams will make you the Mickey Mouse pancakes you like.”
His face lights up. “With peanut butter?”
“Sure,” I choke out. “Whatever you want.”
Erik throws himself into my arms, and I breathe in the scent of his baby shampoo. He smacks a kiss on my cheek. “I love you, Daddy.”
“Love you, too, buddy.”
Mia settles in behind me and places her hand on my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. My mother does the same to my other shoulder.
“It’s time to go home, baby,” my mom says to me. “I’m ready.”
“Me, too, Mom. Me, too.” I lift Erik in my arms and stand. “You’ll like the apartment I renovated for you on the off chance you would change your mind.”
Excited, she rubs her hands together. “That means I get to decorate, cook my babies dinner, and plan our Sunday brunches. I’m looking forward to being with my family.”
“This will be good for all of us.”
With every member of my family present, my unborn daughter included, my life has never felt more complete. My mom had always told me that the right people come into our lives when we need them most, and that much was true when it came to Mia. She was the breath of fresh air I needed, the one person I could bare myself to without fear.
I turn to Mia and press my lips to hers. No matter how many days or years go by, I still feel that spark with her, a flame that only glows brighter with each new experience we share.
“Eww,” Erik says in my ear. “Daddy kissed Mommy.”
“My silly boy.” Mia pats his shaggy brown hair. “Wait until you get old enough to have a girlfriend.”
He wrinkles his nose in disgust. “Girls are gross.”
I laugh. “You won’t say that when you get older, buddy. Mommy’s not gross, and she’s a girl.”
“I love Mommy,” he coos. “Mommy pretty. Mommy makes me cookies. Can I have cookies?”
Mia cracks a smile. “When we get home, I’ll make you all the cookies you can eat.”
“Yay,” he yells in my ear. “I want to fly again, Daddy. Swing, swing, swing.”
“Okay, but one more time, and then we have to leave.”
Erik clutches both of our hands.
