Page 220 of Ocean of Stars

“Babe, go take the test.”

I gently pushed her backward into the bathroom, closed the door, and waited for her to open it again and tell me that she was indeed pregnant.

One week after she moved in and began making this place a nurturing home, she and I had talked about our desire to have a child together. It wasn’t just for us, though. It was for Malcolm too. We wanted to give him a little brother or sister to grow up with, so Stevie immediately got off the pill. Neither of us knew how long it was going to take for the birth control to leave her system but we were hoping it was quick. We were eager to begin living our life together to the fullest, and that included adding to our family.

On the day that Stevie and I discussed having a child, I asked her if she was fearful about it since she lost her Malcolm and she said no. She was at peace about it, as well as everything else in life. As she was telling me that, I just stared at her—once again blown away by the strength of her spirit. She had suffered so much loss in her life. She losteverythingbut she came out on the other side stronger than before and I didn’t think my Joan of Arc could get any stronger.

Her transition from being a warrior-attorney to being everything that Malcolm and I needed and wanted was immediate. Her focus on us was 100% while her focus on herself took the backseat. While she became scattered about herself, I kept a close eye on her. I also did something else. I kept up with her monthly cycle because I knew she wasn’t. That’s how I knew Stevie was pregnant.

When she opened the bathroom door, she looked straight at me and nodded yes. I pulled her into my arms and held herwhile we both cried tears of joy. After a long emotional minute, I picked up Malcolm and told him that Stevie was going to have a baby. His response to the news was something that Stevie and I weren’t expecting to hear. In fact, it shocked us.

“I know she’s having a baby,” he said to me, then he turned to Stevie and went on to say, “My sister told me in my dream that she was in your tummy but it was a secret.”

After telling Stevie that, Malcolm reached out for her, and while the two of them were hugging, I just stood back and watched them while thanking God for this life-changing moment.

It was when Malcolm went to sleep for the night that Stevie said she wanted to talk to me about something, so we went outside and sat on the edge of the swimming pool while our legs dangled in the heated water. Stevie wanted to know if I would be okay with usnotfinding out the sex of our baby before he or she was born. Because of what Malcolm said about his “sister” in his dream, Stevie was curious about there being any validity to it, but wanted to wait to find out. She thought it’d be the best surprise ever if we really did have a little girl.

Of course I was fine with waiting until the day of our child’s birth to find out, because I felt just like Stevie did. And on the day that our blond-haired, deep blue-eyed, beautiful little girl was born, my wife and I realized our little boy’s dream was not only real but it was also right.

The Starry End