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“Yeah.” Silence fell. I thought about making my presence known, demanding to know why Maverick was keeping secrets from me, but then he spoke again. “If I’d somehow managed to get drafted this year, I wouldn’t be here right now. Zale would be alone, and I’d be missing out on this time with Addie. I mean, look at her, Dad.” Another pause, and I could so easily imagine his adoring gaze on our daughter. “If some team showed up on the porch right now andbeggedme to come play baseball for them, I’d shut the door in their face.”
Maverick’s words were sincere, and instead of anger, I felt my body flood with gratitude. He was right: if I had known he had another shot at the draft, Iwouldhave encouraged him to take it. By keeping it to himself, he saved me from a new spiral of worry that would have made my pregnancy more emotionally difficult than it already was. I would ask him for more details later, but at that moment, I was content to know that he had no regrets.
Maverick and his dad continued their hushed conversation, and I decided to let them have their privacy. I walked into the living room and found my own dad working on something on his laptop. He looked up when he heard me approaching. “Hey, Zay-Zay. Need anything?”
“No,” I said, sinking onto the couch beside him. “You guys have done more than enough.”
Dad set his computer to the side, closing the lid carefully, and then pulled me against him. I allowed myself to relax against his shoulder. Even though I had taken a long nap earlier, I was ready for another one. “You feeling okay?” he asked, palming my forehead.
"Yeah. Pretty good."
“Is Maverick taking care of you?
“Of course he is. Both of us.”
A shadow fell over his face, and I knew what he was thinking about. “He’s a much better man than I was,” he said. “That’s for sure.”
“You’d go back and do better if you could.”
“Too bad it doesn’t work like that.” Dad sighed. I stayed quiet as he sat with his past for a moment, and then he cleared his throat. “It’s tough with a new baby, but you and Maverick are solid. A lot more solid than Marie and I were. You have family around. You guys are gonna be fine.”
I nodded slowly. Yes—things would be different for us. The moment we decided to have Addie, we were committed to making it so. “I think I understand now.”
“Understand what?’
“You. And Marie. I understand why you handled things the way you did, and I understand why she left.” I thought about Addie in the next room, being loved on by her dad and grandpa. Despite my tears and exhaustion and frustration, she already had my whole heart. I couldn’t imagine leaving her behind. This didn’t make me angry at Marie, though; it made me empathize with her.
She must have been desperate, to do what she did. It must have really, truly been what needed to happen.
“Your mom loved you, Azalea,” Dad said thickly. “She really did.”
His arm tightened around me, and I closed my eyes, feeling thoroughly comforted and cared for and at peace. “I believe you.”
TheflouronAddie’sdress doesn’t prepare me for the disaster waiting in the kitchen. Sugar covers the counter, bowls pile up in the sink, it smells like something’s burning, and there is an entire egg—shell and all—broken on the floor.
Addie points at it. “I throwed it to Daddy,” she says. “But he missed it.”
I gasp dramatically. “How did he miss it?”
Maverick looks at me wryly. “I’m out of practice.” He opens the oven door and checks on the cake inside. “I’m about to start cleaning, Zale, don’t worry.”
I cross over to him, sidestepping the egg. “I can help with—”
“Uh-uh.” He whips around and stares at me. “You’re not cleaning on your birthday.”
“I forgot it was my birthday,” I admit.
“I know you did.” He looks down at Addie and gives her a wink. She tries to wink back, but it’s more like a very pronounced blink, accompanied by a cute little nose scrunch. “Don’t worry. We would never forget.”
“We would never, ever, ever, ever,everforget,” Addie repeats. “Mama, did you see the cake? In the oven?”
“I saw it.”
“Let’s go play,” she says, grabbing my hand, “and then we can ice.”
“Not sticking around for the cleanup?” Maverick asks her.
She gives him a flat look. “No thank you.”
