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Stupid me forgot to bring the backpack baby carrier I’d purchased this morning, so when it was time for me and the farm manager, Rich, to take a hike out to one of the back fields to discuss some new planting in the greenhouse, I got creative.
“Oh my God, what did you do?” Anna cries as she takes in the sight.
“I needed to go down to the greenhouse, and I had a lot to carry, so I improvised.”
“You improvised by duct-taping our daughter to you?” she squeals.
I look down at my chest, where Kaela is currently sleeping. I dressed her in her one-piece snowsuit and taped her up tightly. Facing out so she could see the beautiful mountainside as we hiked out to the location. She laughed and chattered the entire time.
Snug as a bug.
“I didn’t duct-tape Baby Duck. Just her clothes. And look how strong the hold is,” I explain as I fling my arms out to the sides and jump up and down.
Kaela doesn’t even rouse.
“It’s awesome, right?”
Anna’s jaw drops, her voice a mixture of disbelief and outrage as she says, “You’re kidding, right? You can’t just tape our baby to yourself like some bizarre DIY project!”
Our baby.
It’s the first time she’s ever called Kaela ours, and the sound of it knocks me in the chest like a physical blow.
Anna doesn’t realize the impact that one word has on me as she grabs a pair of scissors from the nearby desk and begins to carefully cut away the duct tape.
“Come on, Anna. You have to give me a little credit. It worked, and Kaela had a ball.”
She finishes freeing Kaela from her duct-taped cocoon and cradles her in her arms.
Then, she looks at me, and her annoyance turns to amusement.
She begins to giggle, and before I know it, we are both laughing.
I walk over and wrap an arm around the two of them.
“I promise, no more duct-taped escapades with the baby,” I say sheepishly.
“Thank you.” She kisses the underside of my jaw as she cuddles Kaela.
“Ready to go tackle more packing?” I ask.
“Yeah, Langford loaded some boxes from the resort in the back of my car,” she says.
I grin and grab the roll of duct tape from the conference table. “Perfect. I’ve got the tape.”
Erin, Taeli, and Brandee showed up at the cottage to help Anna sort and box her and Kaela’s things.
I toss some of the items they designated for donation in the back of my truck and head to the church in town to drop them off.
Once I deliver and help the pastor unload, I leave my truck parked and walk over to the cemetery on the hill across from the church.
I walk along the sidewalk that weaves into the beautifully landscaped space. The ground is covered in freshly fallen snow and dotted with pops of color on the flower-covered marble memorials. Each one is a testament to a life lived and lost.
Finding the one gravestone I came to see, I stop and kneel to brush the snow aside and read the name.
“Hi, Mike,” I whisper as I take in the stone that has both his and Anna’s name carved in it.
The thought of losing her hits me out of nowhere, and my chest tightens with pain.
