Page 108 of This Memory
I officially moved in with Brystol and had put my house on the market. I’d already had an offer and accepted it. After talking things over with my parents and Brystol’s, we decided to put the personal items from Evelyn and Denny’s houseinto storage to give to the baby in the future, and to rent out the house. Everyone agreed it might be nice to let the baby decide someday what they want to do with the house. They might even want to live there. Everything Evelyn and Denny had bought for the baby we took to Brystol’s and stored in the guest bedroom until we decided what to do for the baby’s room. A mural was a must after Brystol saw Evelyn’s note.
“The baby just kicked,” Brystol said, placing my hand over her baby bump. It was now noticeable. Of course, everyone in town knew Brystol was pregnant—and the storybehindthe pregnancy. The notes of love from people in Moose Village often brought us to tears.
My big hand covered her bump pretty much entirely—and then it happened. I felt the smallest of kicks. I whipped my head around and looked at Brystol, who had tears in her eyes.
“Did you feel it?”
I nodded, unable to find the words to speak.
She placed her hand over mine, and we just stared at one another. For weeks after our friends’ deaths, it was impossible to think of the baby as “ours.” This was Evelyn and Denny’s baby, without question. But as the days passed, and we learned to live without them, we spent countless nights discussing how we’d raise this child. I thought back to a conversation with our parents.
“I don’t know how to feel,” Brystol said as she wiped away a tear. “I tried so hard for the first few months of this pregnancy to remind myself that this baby wasn’t mine, and that I’d be giving them up at the end of this all, and now…I feel guilty that I’m happy! That this child is going to be ours. Evelyn wanted this baby so badly and it doesn’t seem fair we get to have him or her.”
My mother reached for Brystol’s hand. “Life isn’t fair, honey. And I know you’d rather have Evelyn and Denny here to raise this little one, just like everyone else does. I think everything you’re feeling is normal.”
“I agree with Rachel,” Nancy, Brystol’s mom, said. “It’s been a roller coaster of emotions for you both. No one would blame you for feeling confused, sweetheart. But we know that Evelyn and Denny trusted the two of you to raise this child if anything happened to them. And you’ll both love him or her as if he or she was your very own. We all will.”
Nodding, my father added, “I know a baby wasn’t something either of you planned on this early in your relationship, and things have moved fast with the two of you, but it’s happening, even if it’s not in the way all of us would want or expect. The worst thing you can do is feel guilty for being happy. There’s nothing wrong with being sad over the loss of your two best friends, and there’s nothing wrong with feeling joy over the gift of a child.
“This baby is yours now. Yes, it’s your responsibility to tell him or her about their biological parents. And I truly believe in my heart of hearts that you and Gavin will be wonderful, loving, thoughtful parents. You’ll figure out how to bring Evelyn and Denny into the baby’s life, even as you love and care for them as your own. I know you will.”
Nick Quinn was the greatest man to ever live; at least, that’s what I thought about my father. Hearing him help comfort Brystol made me realize how much I wanted to be exactly like him. But if I could be half the father he was, I’d be blessed.
Brystol’s voice pulled me from the memory. “What are you thinking about?”
I smiled. “The conversation we had with our parents. I thought being here today, I’d be filled with guilt, but feeling the baby just now… I desperately want to be a father, and there’s no one else on Earth I’d want by my side on this journey than you, Brystol. I know she…or he…isn’t biologically ours, but from the moment you found out you were pregnant, something inside of me said this child was going to change our lives. In a way, this whole situation kind of brought us together.”
Brystol bit down on her lower lip. “That’s true; I never thought about it like that.”
I leaned over and kissed her. The brief knock on the door had me pulling back just in time for Dr. Lark to walk in.
She smiled after she greeted us. “Everything okay?”
We both nodded. “I just felt the baby kick,” I answered.
“What wonderful timing.” Her smile faded a bit before she said, “I’m so sorry for the loss of Evelyn and Denny.”
“Thank you,” We both replied at the same time.
After a few moments, she grinned. “Are you ready to take a peek at your little one?”
“Yes!” Brystol and I replied at the same time.
Dr. Lark laughed and helped Brystol onto the table. Once she was comfortable, the doc pulled up her shirt. She squeezed gel onto Brystol’s stomach, and we both stared at the large screen where Dr. Lark was projecting the ultrasound.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, as I saw our little peanut.
“Okay, so right here is the tip of the baby’s nose. See that?”
“I see it,” Brystol said, a giant grin on her face.
“The chin is right here, and the top and bottom lip.”
I let out a disbelieving laugh. “That is crazy!”
Dr. Lark moved around a bit more. “There’s one eye and the other.”
“Is she sucking her thumb?” I asked.
