Page 77 of Melody

Kyle, unable to suppress a grin, nodded vigorously. “Yeah. I’m gonna be a dad. You’re gonna be a grandma.”

Cassie was already on her feet almost jumping up and down. “I’m gonna be an auntie!”

“Yep!” Melody was smiling and Kyle guessed that she was feeling relieved. She’d been nervous about telling them, especially considering she and Kyle hadn’t been married for very long, but everyone seemed happy.

Still, they were awaiting the final verdict from his mother. Her face hadn’t indicated what she was thinking, so Kyle focused on her. Slowly her lips turned upward and her eyes began to sparkle. “I don’t know that I’m ready to be called a grandma yet, but I wouldn’t mind holding a baby.”

Cassie asked, “When’s the due date?”

“July 20.”

“Do you know yet if it’s going to be a boy or a girl?”

Kyle said, “No. They can’t tell us yet.”

Melody added, “The doctor said we could find out sometime in the second trimester.”

Grinning again, Kyle said to his sister, “You don’t know that? I thought you were going to be a nurse.”

“Yeah, but why would I knowthat?”

His mother said, “Your sister’s right. You learn that kind of thing if you work for an obstetrician, but there’s no need to know if you’re working in the ER.”

Or in a nursing home like his mother.

His mom seemed to be warming up to the idea. She asked, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I don’t know.”

Melody said, “If it’s okay with you, I would love your advice.”

“Sure.”

“Well, nothing at the moment, but I know I’m going to have questions. I don’t have my mom here anymore, or I would askher. So I hope you don’t mind, but I’m probably going to have a lot of questions for you in the near future.”

Kyle’s mother beamed. “I would be honored.”

It had been such a simple sentence and yet her words had made Kyle feel completely whole. He had resigned himself to having a strained relationship with his mother for the rest of his life, but that one sentence told him everything he needed to know.

Not only did he have a better relationship now with his mother, but she had fully embraced his wife and his unborn child.

Kyle would never be able to recall the rest of that day in detail, but he would remember the feelings for his lifetime. Not only did his relationship with his mother and sister feel repaired, but he felt like Liam was there in the midst of them as they celebrated. It was the perfect day.

He and Melody had already planned to name the baby after his brother and her father, but he wasn’t sure that his mother was ready to know that.

Today, however, had been the start.

And that night, as he held Melody in his arms, his baby nestled in her womb, he drifted off with a smile on his face.

The future was indeed bright.

THE END

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