Page 105 of A New Chapter

Chapter 45

On the day after Christmas, Gracie and Zack sat at the kitchen table eating heart-shaped waffles while their new house member purred underneath the table. Gracie hadn’t wanted to part with the cat since she had received it bright and early on Christmas morning. The five of them, Zack, Emma, Damian, Kelly, and Gracie, had sat around the Christmas tree testing out different names for the gray and white fur ball until Kelly had suggested Duchess, the name of her favorite cat in the Disney film Aristocats.

The adults had given Kelly a good ribbing for having watched Disney films on her own, sans children, while Gracie had clapped delightedly.

“I saw that movie at Nana’s house,” she had exclaimed, and so, Duchess it was!

The rest of the day had gone wonderfully as well. Alex had honored her promise not to tell anyone about the pregnancy, although Zack had noticed his Aunt Helen eyeballing him and Emma intently throughout the day. In any case, both sets of parents seemed to get on fine, and Alex had been thrilled to set two extra places at the table.

The only negative in the day was when Zack and Emma had parted ways later that evening. When he had climbed into bed alone that night, he had never felt so empty. It was worse than after he and Alicia had first separated. They had been arguing so much prior to filing for divorce that Alicia’s absence had been a welcome relief. No, this was completely different. This was an ache that he felt deep in his bones, and that was when he made up his mind. Once the decision was made, Zack had fallen into a deep sleep, but now he had two hurdles to get past before he could get to the fun part.

“Gracie, I need to talk to you about something important.”

“Ok,” she replied, but she dipped her head under the table to look for Duchess.

“I need you to pay attention to Daddy for a few minutes.”

She popped her head back up and gave him her full attention, which would probably last all of two minutes.

“You know how Emma is going to have a baby?”

“Um-hmm.”

“And you know how much Daddy loves her, right?”

“And me too,” she added, not to be outdone.

Zack smiled. “Yes. So, what would you think if I asked her to live here all of the time? With us.”

“And Duchess,” Gracie corrected.

“Yes, Duchess too.”

“Ok, Daddy,” she said, and she jumped off the chair to chase after the cat, who had just darted out from under the table.

Yep, he was right. That had taken about two minutes, but the real challenge was yet to come.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Alicia asked suspiciously. She had arrived that afternoon to pick up Gracie for the weekend, but Zack had asked to speak with her in private first.

They stood awkwardly in the den, behind the closed glass-paned door so that he could still keep an eye on Gracie.

“There’ve been some new developments lately, and they involve Gracie, so I wanted to tell you before she does.”

“Developments?”

He should be used to Alicia’s icy stare by now, but it still unnerved him. Still, he had to do this, so he plowed ahead. “Emma is pregnant.”

Zack saw a flicker of surprise pass over her face before it was swiftly replaced with a mask of indifference. Alicia visibly composed herself before speaking. “Are you two getting married?”

He could always count on her to come straight to the point. “I hope so.”

“I see. So how does Gracie feel about this?”

“She’s good with it, although she’s not too keen on the idea of having a brother.” Zack’s chuckle sounded hollow to his own ears, but Alicia’s lips turned up in a brief smile.

“Life is crazy isn’t it? Who would have thought six years ago that we’d be standing here today having this discussion?”

Zack was dumbfounded. It wasn’t like Alicia to wax poetic, but her honesty tugged at him. What he did next surprised them both. He pulled Alicia toward him and hugged her. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it made a stronger statement than words could.

When she stepped back, she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I want you to be happy, Zack. I really do. And of course, it goes without saying that I want that for Gracie too.”

“Thank you,” he said with a lump in his throat.

“So, when’s the baby due?”

“We find out on Monday, which is why I asked you to keep Gracie a little bit longer. Our doctor appointment is at ten in the morning, so we should be done by noon.”

The term “we” hung in the air for a moment as they both stood there.

“Ok then. I should go.” Alicia put her hand on the doorknob, but then she turned back around. “I hope everything goes well.”

She left the room before he could respond, and they spent the next few minutes gathering Gracie’s things, including Duchess. There was no way that Gracie was going anywhere without that cat!

After they left, Zack breathed a loud sigh of relief. His talk with Alicia had gone much better than he could have hoped for. Satisfied, he rubbed his hands together and began to formulate the next part of his plan.