Page 225 of A Curse On Black Lake
“I’m glad we don’t have to have a fight about that,” she says with a glint in her eyes.
“I figured it out pretty fast, darlin’.”
“I love you, little one. I can’t wait to meet you,” I whisper to her belly.
“Why don’t we make a list of names? Then we can pick when the baby arrives.”
I roll my eyes and kiss her stomach. “Yes, ma’am. Even though it would be easier if weknew.”
Eliana throws her head back laughing, and I smile at her.
She smiles and laughs a lot more now. The grief is still there for both of us, but it’s different now. It hasn’t been a whole year for Eliana since her Grandma Juniper died. But facing the things we have, we look at life differently. It’s not a thing we have to getthroughanymore. It’s something we have to focus on experiencing because every day is a new day, and it could be our last.
“I love you,” Eliana says.
I smile up at her. “I love you too.”
“Can you get that little box, please? It’s to the left of the tree,” she says. I frown, wondering what she’s talking about. We opened presents this morning. She got me a few new shirts and socks because she was tired of trying to mend threadbare clothes. And she got me some books she thought I’d like.
I got her a handmade sketchbook and paints. She mentioned wanting to try it, so I got all the supplies for her.
Looking under the tree, I find a small box with a ribbon tied around it. “I didn’t see this earlier,” I tell her.
“I know, it’s because I put it there when you weren’t looking,” she grins.
I chuckle and sit next to her, plopping a chaste kiss on her lips. “My wife is a sneaky one.”
She lifts a shoulder shyly.
I hand her the box, and she shakes her head. “I want you to open it.”
“Baby, why did you get me anything else? I told you if you wanted to get me something else, get it for the baby.”
“Just open it.” I kiss her temple, and she grins. The ribbon gives way, falling from the box, and I rip the paper open.
The small box makes me think it could be a belt buckle of some kind, but it’s not heavy enough. Confused, I open the box, and it’s an ultrasound picture.
Circled in blue at the bottom corner of the picture says — boy.
I look up at my wife. Tears are in her eyes, and I glance at her belly. “A boy?” I ask her.
“Yes,” she says.
I grab her face, kissing her chastely.
“We’re going to have a boy,” I tell her.
She rests her forehead against mine. “He’s going to be a good man, just like his daddy.”
THE ENDfor now…
