AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll show you her room,” Janine stuttered, hurrying forward to guide Nico down the hallway. “The baby is asleep, and Alyssa just woke up,” she said.
“And she’s healthy? Everything went okay?” Nico asked.
Janine turned to look at him. “She did great. Alyssa’s healthy. And the baby is a boy! In her medicated state, she suggested the name ‘Leonardo DaVinci,’ but I don’t know if it’s going to stick.”
Nico cackled, his hand over his stomach as though it hurt. “She’s the most hilarious woman I have ever met.”
At the hospital door, Janine took a deep breath, knocked on the door, and asked, “Alyssa? You have a surprise visitor. Can I open the door?”
“I hope it’s breakfast!” Alyssa called back.
Janine laughed, watching as Maggie hurried forward to pass Nico the bag of croissants. “You can deliver them,” Maggie whispered.
Nico nodded, then turned toward the hospital door as though he was facing judgment day. And then, Janine twisted the knob, opened the door, and allowed Nico to enter. After she closed it behind him, she and Maggie walked slowly toward the waiting room, heavy with shock.
“I don’t think Alyssa is going to get away with saying they’re just friends anymore,” Maggie whispered. “Imagine being so loved?”
David stepped up beside Maggie and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t think for a minute I wouldn’t do that for you.”
Maggie blushed, on the verge of tears again, just as the waiting room door opened with yet another visitor: Henry, who carried yet another bag of baked goods from the Frosted Delights.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, hurrying forward to kiss Janine, allowing her, for the first time in hours, to loosen up, to let someone else take the reins. And in his arms, she felt like water, easing through the bizarre hours of that gorgeous morning, the first day of her grandson’s life. There was no telling what would happen next— but he’d had a pretty good start.
ChapterTwenty
And just like that, Martha’s Vineyard relinquished its final hold on autumn. A foot of snow fell across the island early one morning, two days before Thanksgiving, capturing those who lived at the Remington House within its walls, at least until Nico found the snow shovel and dug them out. Around that time, Elsa and Bruce rode over on their snowmobile, laden with cookies and packets of hot cocoa, and Elsa hurried inside to dote on the baby, help out with household tasks, and prepare for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.
Alyssa and the baby were both happy and healthy. Together, Alyssa and Maggie had decided on a baby name— incredibly, Leo, although Alyssa sometimes liked to call him “DaVinci” to annoy Maggie. Because Maggie was more and more pregnant by the day, and Alyssa less and less, Alyssa did the majority of the baby tasks, falling in love with him. Nico, who still hadn’t managed to leave after his spontaneous trip to the United States, was there by her side through all of it. They acted like brand-new parents, and, Janine supposed, they were, in a way. The complications of the way Leo had come into the world didn’t matter very much, not now that he was here.
“It’s Nico’s first Thanksgiving!” Nancy was in the kitchen with a hot cup of cocoa as Elsa sliced onions and a big pot of water heated on the stove. “Those Italians think they’re the only ones who know how to cook. We have to prove ourselves.”
Elsa cackled as Janine settled on a kitchen chair, poured herself a glass of wine, and watched as the snow floated gently from the sky. It was no longer as thick as it had been, and they probably wouldn’t get many more inches— but it was not giving up.
“I hope Lucy and Hunter can still make it in for Thanksgiving,” Janine said.
“We need Lucy here,” Elsa agreed. “Gosh, can you imagine how much she’s changed since August? At that age, every day is a new adventure.”
“Leo’s already changed so much since he was born,” Nancy said with a sigh. “Every time I look at him, his face looks a little less chubby to me. It breaks my heart!”
Elsa eyed Janine curiously. “Still no word from Rex after the birth?”
Janine shook her head. “I think Maggie prefers it that way. She’s up to her ears in babies and love. Rex is just a reminder of everything that went wrong.”
A few minutes later, Nico appeared in the kitchen with a swaddled baby Leo in his arms. Unlike how he’d been in Italy, always dressed to the nines for his museum tour guide job, he now wore a pair of Boston College sweatpants and a big t-shirt, his hair floppy from lazing around the house.
“Ciao!” Nancy greeted him. “Can we get you anything? Tea? Wine?”
“No, no.” Nico laughed and cradled Leo gently. “I’m just taking Leo for a little walk around the house. It’s all we can do right now.”
“The snow’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Janine asked.
“It’s stunning,” Nico said, sounding wistful. “I sent photographs to my family in Italy, and they lost their minds.”
That night, Elsa and Nancy made everyone homemade pizzas, which they ate on the floor or the couch of the living room, sprawled out as a Christmas movie played on the television. Nobody really paid attention to it and instead chatted with one another or stared out the window. Leo was asleep in his crib upstairs, still in the cozy era of being too young to stay awake longer than a few hours a day.
“Enjoy this time,” Janine told Alyssa. “Pretty soon, he’ll want to be a part of the world.”
When Alyssa and Janine were in the kitchen at the same time, grabbing glasses of water, Janine managed to corner her to ask her a question that had been heavy on her mind.
