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10
One Year Later
“Happy birthday,dear Skye. Happy birthday to you.” The friends and family gathered for Skye’s first birthday broke out into hoots and applause, then scattered through the downstairs of the farmhouse to enjoy their cake and ice cream.
“I can’t believe she’s a year old.” Vickie bent over the highchair to wipe ice cream from the toddler’s sticky hands. She yowled when Skye reached for her glasses, leaving a distinctive handprint across the lens. “That’s the second time today!”
“You have to move faster than that if you want to keep food off your glasses and out of your hair.” Jules laughed, plucking a wet wipe from a nearby box and finishing the job. “You have six months to practice.”
“Don’t remind me.” Vickie patted her still flat abdomen. “August wants six kids. Three boys and three girls.” Catching Jules’ eye, a guilty expression crossed her face. “I’m sorry. That was tactless.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She rubbed her friend’s shoulder. “We wanted more, but Ben and I know how lucky we are to have this little bug. She keeps us plenty busy.”
“Where’s Daddy’s little girl?” Ben’s voice boomed through the kitchen, prompting Skye to squeal with delight. She stretched out her arms and kicked the footrest on the highchair. “Who wants a ride on the go-kart?”
Oblivious to the chocolate cake and strawberry ice cream smeared across the front of Skye’s pink overalls, Ben plucked his daughter from the seat and perched her on one arm. She clung to his flannel shirt, chanting, “Vroom, vroom.”
“Make sure she wears a helmet,” Jules called as they headed for the breezeway.
“Safety first,” Ben responded.
Jules cleaned up the mess on the highchair and tucked it back into the corner. People had been coming and going all day, but there was one guest who had yet to show up. She glanced through the living room, her heartbeat double-timing when she recognized Dr. Navi and his wife, Divya.
She was still waiting for the results of her last MRI and hoped he would have news.
Wending her way through the crowd, she gave directions to the bathroom to one of Ben’s clients, chuckled to see August take away Vickie’s third slice of cake and start eating it himself, and felt her nerves calm when she heard Ben’s shouts and Skye’s screams of delight from the driveway.
They exchanged greetings, Divya handing Jules a pink gift bag with a pair of fuzzy ears sprouting from the top. Dr. Navi punched his arm in the air when their eyes met, and Jules danced on her tiptoes. She could wait for the official report. The doctor’s gesture indicated the last scan was clear, and she wouldn’t need to come back for a year.
The tumor was gone. The treatment had been successful. She had her life back.Theirlife back.
Best of all, she remembered it all except for the delivery. But there were reminders all over the house of those precious days she carried Skye.
A large image from the photoshoot Ben had arranged hung over their bed, the two of them embracing, her belly nestled between them as the sun dappled the lake behind them. The belly cast hung in Skye’s nursery, Ben’s artwork commemorating not only Skye but their other three pregnancies. He’d painted it the pure sweet blue of a summer afternoon and adorned it with four butterflies, one large and three smaller. Around the edge of the cast, he’d hand-lettered the words LOVE, TRUST, COURAGE, and HOPE over and over. And she and Ben had decided to continue making video messages for Skye. Life was fragile and could be taken away in a second.
They’d come very close, which made her grateful for all the moments, big and small, sweet and sad.
Jules and Dr. Navi embraced, Divya looking on fondly. Over the past year, the neurologist and his wife had become like family to her and Ben.
“I will let you tell your husband the good news,” Dr. Navi said, his accent bright and cheerful. “I hope you remembered to save me a piece of cake.”
Jules mimed having to think about it, then laughed. “Thanks to you, I remember everything.”
Ben’s mother overheard the conversation and gave her a big hug. “I’ll get the cake. Go find my son and granddaughter.”
Jules flew out the front door as Ben and Skye, both wearing silver helmets, rushed past. The toddler sat firmly buckled between his legs, arms flung out as if flying. Closing her eyes, Jules imprinted the image into her memory. There was no way to recall every single moment in a lifetime, but this day, this moment, she would never forget.
