Page 108 of No Greater Love
"Sorry," I said automatically. "Paige didn't give you any trouble, did she?"
"Are you kidding? She's an angel. Maya could learn a thing or two about cleaning up after herself." Jennifer called up the stairs. "Paige! Your dad's here!"
The thundering of feet on stairs announced Paige's arrival before we saw her. She appeared at the top of the staircase, hair in a messy braid, wearing the same clothes from yesterday but with the addition of about fifteen friendship bracelets covering both wrists.
"Dad! Tasha!" She bounded down the stairs and launched herself at both of us simultaneously. "We had the BEST time! Maya's mom let us make pancakes and we watched three movies and we stayed up until midnight talking about everything and?—"
"Breathe, kiddo," I laughed, catching her in a hug that felt more precious than usual. Twenty-four hours ago, I'd been terrified I might never get to do this again.
"Thank you so much, Jennifer," Tasha said, hefting Paige's overnight bag. "We really appreciate this."
"Anytime. Maya's already asking when Paige can come back." Jennifer grinned. "Fair warning though, they're planning some kind of science experiment for next time. Something involving volcanoes."
"Of course they are," I said, ruffling Paige's hair. "Ready to go home, scientist?"
In the car, Paige chattered nonstop about the sleepover, the movies they'd watched, Maya's older brother's girlfriend, who was "so cool" and had painted their nails. Normal eleven-year-old stuff that felt like the most beautiful sound in the world.
"So," she said as we pulled into our driveway, "what was the grown-up business you had to take care of? Was it boring?"
Tasha and I exchanged glances. Here we went.
"Actually," I said, turning in my seat to face her, "we need to talk to you about something. A couple of things, actually."
Paige's expression immediately shifted to concern. "Am I in trouble? Did someone call about the friendship bracelet incident?"
"The friendship bracelet incident?" Tasha asked.
"Nothing," Paige said quickly. "What did you need to talk about?"
I took a deep breath. "Remember how we talked about your biological mother? How she wanted to meet you?"
Paige's face scrunched up slightly. "The coffee shop lady? The one who didn't know anything about me?"
"Yes. Well, she decided she didn't want to try to be part of your life after all. So that's done. She won't be contacting us anymore."
I waited for the questions. For confusion, or hurt, or curiosity about why Sarah had changed her mind. For some kind of reaction to the fact that her biological mother had just disappeared from her life again.
"Great," Paige said, and immediately pivoted. "So what's the other thing? You said a couple of things."
That was it. No follow-up questions. No interest in details. No apparent emotional investment whatsoever. The person who had tried to tear our family apart had been dismissed with all the consideration Paige might give to a weather forecast.
And for the first time since I’d met Sarah Davis, I believed,trulybelieved, that Paige was whole, untouched by the storm that nearly tore us apart.
"Well," Tasha said, reaching for my hand, "the other thing is pretty big news."
"Good big or bad big?" Paige asked, her attention fully focused now.
"Verygood big," I said. "Tasha's pregnant. You're going to be a big sister."
The silence in the car stretched for exactly three seconds. Then Paige's face exploded into the biggest grin I'd ever seen.
"REALLY?!?" she shrieked, loud enough that I worried about my eardrums. "Really?Really, really? I'm going to have a baby brother or sister?"
"Really, really," Tasha confirmed, laughing at Paige's excitement.
"When? How big is it now? Can I help pick names? Can I help decorate the nursery? Will it be able to share my room? Oh my God, Maya and Zoe are going to be SO jealous!"
The questions tumbled out in a rush, and I felt something that had been wound tight inside me finally release. This was the reaction I'd hoped for but hadn't dared to expect.
