AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Gabriele? Who’s that?”
“My husband, Dad.”
I cover my swollen belly as I move aside. If I hadn’t already loved Gabriele before he met my dad, I would have fallen in love right there and then. The day I introduced him was a rough one. My dad was super upset because he was disoriented and didn’t know where he was. It scared him, so he was throwing anything he could reach. The nurses wanted to give him a sedative, and I was crying.
Gabriele walked in, sent the nurses away, sat me in a chair, and approached my dad calmly. He started talking to him about me. Telling him things I’d shared about my childhood. We both knew my dad didn’t remember any of it, but he made it sound like he was telling a story. My dad stopped to listen to him. Gabriele helped him put on his coat and fastened the Velcro on his shoes. He helped my dad use his walker to go outside.
“Hi, Dad.”
I watch Gabriele lean forward to give him a loose hug.
“Gabe?”
“Yes, Dad. It’s me.”
“Where’s Sinead? Is she coming today?”
“She’s right here.”
He takes my hand and covers it and my dad’s with both of his. I rest my head against my husband’s shoulder, and it’s like the weight of the world shifted from mine to his much broader ones. He wraps an arm around my waist, and I love the feel of his hand on my hip.
“Sinead?”
“Yeah, Dad. I’m here. Guess what.”
“What?”
“We found out what we’re having this morning.”
“Oh?”
I know he doesn’t understand what I mean, but for a moment, he sounds like the man I knew.
“Yeah. We’re having a little girl.”
“You’re having a baby?”
“Yup. In a month.”
We waited to find out. We weren’t going to, but at the appointment this morning, we caved. For all our kinky talk, we waited a year to start trying, then it took us a year-and-a-half to get pregnant. I started to despair, and I knew Gabriele was upset too. But never once did he make me feel like a life with just the two of us would be anything less than perfect. We want this baby, but we’ve been happy as just a couple.
“Can you guess what we’re going to name her?”
I don’t get a response, but I never really expect one to my questions.
“Lily Anne.”
“Lily Anne? That’s my wife’s name.”
I fight back the tears.
“I know, Dad. It’s such a pretty name.”
“Just like my wife. Did you know I have two daughters? They’re both as beautiful as their mother.”
I close my eyes as the tears slip beneath my lashes. Gabriele holds me tighter, and I listen to him talk.
“I’d like to hear about them. Would you tell me?”
He pulls up a chair for each of us. We spend the next hour listening to my dad jump from story to story. Some actual memories and others made up from who knows where. Through the entire thing, my husband— a man I know plenty fear —a man who does horrible things to horrible people— a man who nearly spent his life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit —my husband holds my hand and rubs my belly.
Gabriele. My fallen angel.
