Page 29 of Finding Home

“Of course. I’m sure Aubrey has one. Hang on. She’s walking twenty paces behind me.”

“Huh?”

Without explaining, I turn around and discover Aubrey’s kept her distance on the dirt trail, as promised.But she’s not walking calmly behind me, as expected. She’s performing some kind of dance routine back there to the beat of whatever song is blaring in her earbuds. In fact, she’s going all out back there: throwing up her hands, shaking her ass, performing choreography as enthusiastically as any dancer in a music video.

I wave my arm above my head to get Aubrey’s attention, and when our eyes meet, she abruptly stops dancing, bursts out laughing at herself, and pulls out an earbud.

“Come say hi to my sister, Miranda!” I call out.

I don’t need to ask her twice. With a huge grin on her face, Aubrey bounds happily toward me. When she comes to a stop next to me, I pull out my own earbuds, in order to put the call on speaker mode. I make all necessary introductions, and both women quickly launch into an enthusiastic conversation about how great it is to meet the other.

“Caleb said you might have a photo of Raine?” Miranda asks hopefully.

“Oh, I’ve got a million of them.” Aubrey swipes on her phone and holds it up to display a heart-melting photo of Raine in fairy wings, and Miranda gushes and coos at the beautiful sight. Rinse and repeat. Clearly, Aubrey wasn’t exaggerating when she said she’s got a million photos.

“Oh!” Aubrey says, selecting another shot. “This one was taken at a pond we always went to in Seattle. Rainey loves feeding ducks.” She displays the photo, eliciting predictable coos from my sister, before returning to her phone again.

Suddenly, Aubrey’s vibrant smile turns wistful and sad. She looks up, her dark eyes pained. “Would it be okay if I show you a shot of Raine with her mother?”

“Please do.”

Aubrey holds up the shot, and I’m met with the smiling,pretty face of Claudia Beaumont, pressing her cheek happily against her daughter’s tiny cheek.

“Claudia was my best friend since grade school,” Aubrey says softly. “We grew up together in Prairie Springs.”

“She was beautiful,” Miranda says. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Aubrey.”

“Thank you. No matter what, I want Raine to grow up knowing she had the best mommy in the world.”

“She will,” Miranda says. “Right, Caleb?”

“Of course. Absolutely.” I’ve been angry with Claudia for about a year and a half now, thanks to her curt, dismissive response to my heartfelt email. But now, thanks to that smiling photo of her with her beloved toddler, my anger has given way to grief for Aubrey and Raine. Can I really blame Claudia for telling me to fuck off, after the way I’d basically told her unborn child to fuck off from day one?

I look at my sister, and the tears in her eyes reflect my own feelings back to me. I blew it. Epically. And I’ll never fucking forgive myself for it.

Aubrey clears her throat. “Here’s a brand-new shot. The first photo ever taken of father and daughter.”

My breathing halts as I behold the stunning image of me coloring on the floor with Raine, totally unaware Aubrey was snapping a photograph. “I had no idea you took that.”

“I figured you’d want to memorialize the once-in-a-lifetime moment.”

I can barely breathe. “Thank you for thinking to do that, Aubrey.”

Aubrey blushes and shrugs.

“Will you text that photo to me?” I choke out, feeling like my throat is closing up.

“Of course. If you don’t piss me off too much beforethen, I might even put it on a coffee mug for you for Father’s Day.”

Miranda chuckles. “I already adore you, Aubrey.”

As the ladies continue talking, I stare, transfixed, at the sacred photo. But a moment later, my sister interrupts my trance by telling me she’s got to go to fix her makeup, so she and her friends won’t be late for their big night out.

We say our goodbyes to Miranda, and through it all, it’s clear my sister’s not yet ready to forgive me for keeping her niece a secret. But at least, she tells me she loves me in parting, as always, before hanging up.

After Miranda disappears from my screen, Aubrey says, “Your sister is amazing.”

“Yeah, she’s awesome.”

---