Page 87 of Brother to Brother

“No, I know you don’t, but mark my words, I’m carrying your son, Archer.”

He gave a little shiver under me and I smiled into the dark, “Ok you need to go to sleep ‘cause you’re seriously giving me the creeps right now.”

I smiled and laughed a little, “So much for not subscribing to all the ‘mystical bullshit’.” I said and laughed hysterically, jolting when Archer went after the ticklish spot on my ribs.

“Don’t you go calling me out, Woman!”

I laughed and settled down, the day’s events settling over me like one of the blankets on the bed. It’d been anextremelylong day. I closed my eyes against the pervasive dark of Archer’s room and sighed, beginning to drift off.

Archer kissed my forehead and asked, “You’re sure it’s a boy, huh?”

“Uh huh,” I murmured.

“Sweet,” he uttered and I was out, sound asleep.

***

Life returned to normal for us so quickly I almost could convince myself that the hearing had been little more than a bad dream. Archer worked as much as he could at the shop, but he’d quit his job as a door man and bouncer in the evenings. It’d become important to him to be at home and we really didn’t need the money that bad.

I carried on waitressing, and about three or so days after the hearing, Duracell and Blue had come into the diner, sitting in my section and ordering lunch. I’d gone by to refill their glasses and Duracell said nonchalantly, “It’s a cryin’ shame about your folks’ house, burning down like that. I hear the insurance company isn’t going to pay out, either. They don’t, you know, when it’s a clear cut case of negligence.”

I blinked, stupidly, and Blue opened up his cut and pulled a book out from the inside of his jacket where he’d been holding it under his arm. He set it on the table and slid it towards me and my eyes misted. I set down the pitcher of water on the edge of the table beside the book and picked it up with shaking fingers.

It was Noah’s baby book, the one that had been given to me by the hospital with his teeny tiny footprints, his birth certificate, and his very first picture. It even had his tiny knit cap in it. I looked at Blue and he nodded at the book, saying with his mouth full, “Important stuff.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, and hugged the book to my chest.

“Hey, uh, Blue wants to know, who’s that chick over there?”

I looked over and asked, “Who, the waitress?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s Hayley,” I said and the kitchen rang the bell for pickup. I retrieved my pitcher and said, “That’s me, I’ve got to go.”

I’d set Noah’s baby book somewhere safe and had gotten wrapped up in the lunch rush after that. I’d pretty much stopped seating Duracell and Blue anywhere but Hayley’s section after that. I couldn’t tell which one of them had the crush on her, maybe it was both? I was always too busy to really think about it.

I had been spending time catching Noah’s book up the last few weeks off and on, and that’s where Archer found me today. He came home and knelt down, first kissing me then kissing my swollen stomach before the patter of Noah’s footsteps came in from the living room.

“Daddy!” he cried and it never failed, no matter how tired Archer was, he caught our son up and hugged him and kissed him.

“How you doing, Little Man?”

“Good,” they wandered into the kitchen, having their talk while I pressed my favorite photograph of them into Noah’s book. The candid photo I’d taken of Noah sprawled across Archer’s chest in the morning gloom of that dreary, sad, little apartment.

“How was your day?” I asked when Archer had set Noah down so Noah could go back to his scattered toys in the living room.

“Good, how about you?”

“It was alright, the car started to overheat on me, I hate to say anything about it since you just got home, but at least it happened as I pulled onto our street and I got it in our driveway.”

“Ahh; that piece of shit,” Archer grumbled, and I gave him a reproachful look. He smiled and leaned back in his seat. Dinner was in the oven, and had about ten minutes more to go on the timer.

“Well, I guess it at least had the good timing to do it now,” he said.

“Why?”

He got up and held out a hand to me, I frowned and took it and let him pull me to my feet. He led me to our front door and opened it wide. While it wasn’t brand new, it was considerably newer than my old rust bucket. A minivan sat in front of our house at the curb. A light blue, with a red Christmas bow on the antennae.

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