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His face is hard, but his eyes are shimmering too.
He nods as if to say,Thanks for taking care of her.
I nod, silently telling him,Always.
“I wanted to tell youhere,” she goes on, staring up at me. “Because where something ended, something else can begin. At a place of death…that’s where I want to start our life, Eli.”
I wait, not wanting to presume anything even as the notion pulses through me, tempting.
Please let it be.
“I did the test yesterday,” she says, her sob cracking as she laughs when smiling, bringing light into the possible darkness of the moment. “And two more, just to be sure. They were all positive, Eli. I’m pregnant.”
“We’re going to have a baby,” I say, my voice low, and then, when it hits me, my voice rises as joy swells it. “You’re going to make a perfect mother. And you, Hudson, you’re going to be the best uncle!”
Della laughs in delight, clinging onto me. “And you’re going to be the best dad.”
We kiss, love blooming between us, and then I take her hand. She turns us toward the entrance as Hudson walks up beside us.
“I’m ready,” Della says, taking the first step.
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER
Della
I lie in bed, my eyes closed, but the love-flooded beating of my heart makes it impossible to sleep.
We’re getting married at a gorgeous venue, a hotel with a large interior garden. We’re going to be standing in the middle of a fairytale, on a small bridge with a stream between us, surrounded by shining glass as our guests look on.
The garden is always mentioned whenever this hotel comes up in conversation. When I saw it in the photos, it took me back to the day on the bus, looking out the window and just knowing this was the right choice.
Hewas the right choice.
I shift on the bed, my hand stroking over my belly.
Our little bump is quiet, but I know she’ll be kicking again in a few minutes or hours, eager to come into the world and meet her parents.
When my phone buzzes from the bedside table, I can’t help but smile.
Eli and I are sleeping separately tonight. We made a not-at-all-serious deal that we wouldn’t text each other, but we were grinning the whole time, doing that eye contact thing that has my pregnancy hormones kicking into mega overdrive.
Picking up my phone, my smile widens.
Okay…you can say it.
I laugh, the quiet room suddenly feeling full of life—our little bump kicks.
Say what?I type.I don’t know what you’re talking about.
You win. I lose. But come on, Della…it’s hard enough being apart from you, let alone not being able to talk.
It did all start with a text. I clutch my phone to my chest for a second, feeling it beat against my heart, and go on.I was going to text you in a minute anyway. I’m starting to think Little Bump might really be our best choice.
Haha, we’ll see. I bet we’ll know her name the first time we meet her. I bet we’ll just know like we always do. It’s lonely down here without you.
Down where?I ask.Aren’t you in your room?
