Page 44 of Free to Live
I grin. “I take it she’s part of the reveal?”
“Well, Ali did say Keene would know instantly. Oh! I see them!”
“Let me go,” I demand instantly.
Cassidy hangs up without saying another word. Sliding my bag to the side where the support holding the finish line banner is, I crouch down—not without some burning in my thighs. “Jesus, Ali. This had better be worth the wait.”
Then I see them come into view. They’re jogging like it’s a normal run, not like they have some big bet riding on the line. Lifting the camera up to my face, I zoom in. Ali’s lips move and Keene gives her a narrow-eyed glare.
Suddenly, he takes off in a burst of speed, leaving his wife behind.Click..
Ali slows down even further, waiting for him to cross the finish line, an incredibly gentle look on her face.Click.
Keene’s practically on top of me. I zoom out and capture his confusion before I turn and see Ali holding out her hand just before she walks toward the finish line herself.Click.
Kalie moves from the safe haven of Cassidy and Caleb’s arms to Ali. She’s running with something in her hand. From where I’m crouched, I can hear the clanking medal sound. I zoom in and see the pink and blue ribbons attached to the medals.Click.
Oh God. I’m barely holding it together as it is when Kalie yells, “Daddy! I have your prize!”
Keene woodenly moves back toward his wife and daughter. “Alison?”
“Last time you found out, you gave me the most beautiful medal in the world,” she calls out, still not crossing the finish line. “So, Kalie, I need you to go put one of these around Daddy’s neck.”
“Okay!” Kalie skips toward Keene, who’s already dropped to his knees.Click. “Daddy! Here’s your…” She looks back to Ali for help.
“It’s a medal, sweetheart,” Ali calls to her child as she finally,finally, crosses over the finish line. “Isn’t it a great picture, babe?” she asks her husband.
Without even looking at it, Keene swoops an arm around Ali, burying his face in the side of her neck.Click. Pulling back, I see my badass brother-in-law’s eyes are wet. “We’re having another baby?”
And that’s when Ali does it.
She reaches into the zipper pocket of her running skirt and takes out another medal. “Actually, honey. We’re having two.”
Keene’s jaw hits the ground.Click.He swoops Ali up in his arms and begins to spin her around in circles. I feel like my finger hasn’t let up off the shutter. Kalie is jumping up and down with joy. “Yay! Yayayayyayay! Two babies!”
Keene gently places his wife back down on her feet. “Are you…is everything all right?” I may capture the worried look on his face by accident, but I’ll never share that with them. Since Keene and Cassidy’s mother lost a set of twins between them, and he almost lost their mother then, he’s extremely sensitive about the dangers of child birth.
“I’m right as rain. The doctor told me so, and I’ve been talking with your sister…” Ali slaps a hand over her mouth.
Keene’s face clouds like a thundercloud. Oh, I’m so getting this on camera. “The family knows?”
Only slightly abashed, Ali puts her arm back around his neck. “I wanted to make telling you special. After everything we went through, this was the best way I could think of.”
Keene opens his mouth and closes it a few times before he leans down and whispers something only Ali can hear in her ear. It’s obviously perfect as she melts into him before tilting her face up for his kiss.
After I take a few more shots of them, I let the lens wander into the crowd. Capturing pictures of my siblings, who have all emerged from their hiding spots, I snag Cassidy wiping her eyes against Caleb’s shirt. Em snuggled into Jake, the rock on her hand glinting in the sun. Phil leaning over the back of Jason’s shoulder, his arms wrapped around his husband’s flat stomach. Colby with his phone up, which tells me he’s streaming this live for Corinna, who’s at The Coffee Shop serving up pancakes to the hungry hordes with Ava and Matt. And I realize that once again, we all won.
Just like we did all those years ago in Charleston when we found each other.
20
Joseph
Hours later we’re squeezed in cheek and jowl into The Coffee Shop. The energy is high but goes electric when Ali and Keene come through the door with their daughter. From my vantage point in the corner booth with my family and Brett, I watch Corinna race out from the kitchen, weaving her way through the people, and jump into her sister and brother-in-law’s arms. Keene has two medals around his neck and looks stunned but thrilled.
Leaning over to my father, I ask, “Did Keene win some of the awards today?”
My dad shakes his head. “I have no idea.”
