Page 88 of Sparks Still Fly

When I open our bedroom door, I hear her off-key singing so clearly, and it makes me chuckle. She’s across the hall, a sleeping Julia in her arms as she sways to the lullaby I recognize as “Lavender’s Blue.” They’re beautiful, my girls. I had no idea this much love could fit into one person’s heart.

Maeve sits her down in her crib, smiling down at our sleeping baby. When she turns around, she jumps, bringing a hand to her heart as she swears under her breath. When she reaches the door, she scowls at me, but it’s not until the door clicks shut that she slaps my pec.

“You scared me, O!” I catch her wrist in my hand and bring her palm to my lips, kissing the sensitive skin there.

“I’m sorry. How can I make it up to you, Mrs. James?” I smile, watching as my wife softens for me. I’ll never take for granted having these little moments with her.

“Don’t you get all swoony and seductive on me, sir. We have things to talk about.” She points a finger toward the bedroom, and my eyebrows twitch, rising skyward as my smile widens. “No, no, no. I really do mean talk. Come on.”

I feign annoyance, but the truth is, I could sit and do nothing with her, and I’d be perfectly content. We can talk, or not. I’m happy.

“First of all, I want you to know that I intend to be here with you and Julia. While you were sleeping, I moved some things around for work, and we can sort out what childcare will look like when I get back to filming in a few weeks. I know it’s not ideal, but you could both come with me? I don’t know. We can talk about it.” She’s pacing around the room, and I let her walk off her pent-up energy. “But I’m in this with you. In case that wasn’t clear.”

“Okay, Maevey. I’m not worried. We’ll figure it out.” Her step falters, and she stops, taking in my words. She nods, softening for a second before her body goes rigid again. She sits on the edge of the bed and crosses her arms.

“You bought a house for me, O? With horses and a lavender field? A house?” My stomach falls to the floor. She looks pissed. Fuck. She hates it. I bought the wrong house.

I don’t say anything. My hand nervously scratches the back of my neck as I think of something to say. I’m about to tell her we can move when I hear her sniffle. I fall to my knees in front of her.

“Maevey, no, I?—”

“It’s perfect, Owen James. Don’t you dare think for a moment that you didn’t do the right thing. I couldn’t love this house more than I already do, but knowing you chose it for me? For us?” A sob makes her shoulders shake, but she’s determined to keep going. “All I wanted was you, Owen. You and me. But you had to go and buy us a house, marry me, and give me a daughter. I know the circumstances are awful, but I look at her, and she already feels like she’s ours. You made all of my dreams come true with a drunken night in Vegas.” Another sob breaks free, but it morphs into a laugh. “How dare you be so annoyingly perfect?”

I laugh, too, thankful that she loves the house I chose with her in mind. “Arthur told you, didn’t he?” I ask, already knowing the answer, and she hesitates for only a second before smiling. My favorite blue eyes meet mine, those baby blues swimming with love and devotion. “And to be honest, the lavender field was mostly for me. I could never find anything that smelled like you other than the flower itself, so…”

Her head shakes from side to side. “God, you are insufferably romantic. I love it so much. Can we live happily ever after now?”

“We already are, Maevey.”

epilogue

owen

1 month later

“Hey Maevey?” I’m playing with her hair the way I always hoped I’d get to. Her head is resting on my chest. We just had unhurried sex for the first time in weeks because Lainey and Adam took Julia for the afternoon. Maeve starts shooting in a little over a week, and though Julia and I will be living close to the set with her, we know it’s going to be an adjustment.

It’s a bit strange, being at Maeve’s house in LA, in her moody bedroom with plum walls instead of our sunny, cream-colored one in Ojai. It’s like she lived a different life when it was just her in this big house.

“Mmm?” I almost feel bad for what I’m about to ask given how relaxed she is, but I can’t hold it in anymore.

“Aren’t you due to have your period at some point?” I keep up my movements, not wanting to startle her.

“What do you mean?” Her nose scrunches, and she looks up at me, confusion painted on her face.

I lick my lips nervously. “It’s just that we’ve been together every day for like six weeks and you haven’t had one. I don’t want to pretend to be some expert on women’s health, and I’m not questioning you, I swear. I just figured it’s important for me to know that in case you need anything or?—”

“Oh, my god. Oh, my god. OH, MY GOD!” She bolts upright in bed, the sheets sliding off her body. “Owen! Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Climbing over my body, she runs naked to the bathroom, and I hear her opening doors and fidgeting with something. “I’m taking a pregnancy test,” she shouts at me.

I can’t see her, but I hear her moving around and it sounds like she’s turning the place upside down. I put on my boxer briefs and grab my T-shirt to offer to her once she’s done.

“Ah! Fuck. Bon was right. There’s no way to do this without pissing on your own hand.” She flushes, and soon, I hear the water running at the sink. I assume it’s safe to approach her, so I walk to the bathroom door, watching as she focuses on the suds on her hands, clearly avoiding the test on the counter. As she dries her hands, I hand her my shirt, and she slips it on. She also avoids looking at me, so I give her some time. I’ve thought about this, considered it as a possibility, but she obviously has not.

Hands wringing together in front of her, she opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again. “I’m so sorry, darling. I… I’m on birth control. I’ve only been on it for a couple of months after removing an IUD. I guess I still wasn’t used to taking the pill every day, and I know I missed a couple of days when we first got together, with that whole bat situation and my things being split between the guesthouse and the main house. I did bleed a little, but just assumed it was a super light period. I—” She sighs, looking up at me with teary eyes. “I’m sorry.”

I walk over to my wife, brushing the hair off her forehead, tucking a few strands behind her ear. With my other hand, I reach for the small pink test stick and pick it up, taking in the two bright pink stripes, feeling the smile explode across my cheeks. I know what this means. I also looked up how pregnancy tests work, and what the results look like. I like to be prepared, what can I say?

“I’m not, Maevey. I’m not sorry at all.” I turn the test toward her, and she brings her hand to her mouth as a sob shakes her shoulders. “Guess we’re getting started on that football team right away, huh?” Another sob, then another. I’m about to panic at her reaction when the sobs start to sound more like laughter.

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