Page 31 of Room 810

“Why don’t you hop up here, Mr. Bradbury,” Dr. Saber said in that soft-spoken voice of his. He had great bedside manner, relaxed and patient, and I liked him immediately. As I lay down, he directed me to lift my shirt and roll down my pants, then he brought out a bottle of gel. “Sorry, this might be a bit cold.” It was, but I didn’t mind. I was used to hot sun and cool water.

As image appeared on the screen, in shades of green. It took a moment to decipher what I was looking at, but then… there it was! He or she—they were curled up, knees bent, and their hand… “Are they sucking their thumb?” I asked, melting at the cuteness overload.

“Yes, it looks like—” the doctor began, but then he was interrupted by Gabe.

“Babies have an instinctive sucking reflex,” he said, his eyes fixed on the screen. “It’s one of the first skills they learn in the womb.” I glanced up at him, transfixed by the look of wonder on his face. “Look at how fast their heart is beating.” He took a shaky breath. “A healthy fetal heartrate at this stage of your pregnancy is between 110 and 160,” Gabe whispered, but he was in a daze. He was in total awe of what he was seeing. “That’s our baby.” He almost missed the chair as he staggered back to sit.

Dr. Saber offered me a smile and a wink as he took over the explanation of what I was seeing, now that Gabriel was too dumbstruck to lead, then he took some measurements, before passing me a cloth to wipe off my stomach. “Well, your baby looks healthy. I’d still like you to do some routine bloodwork before you’re on your way, and maybe I could send the results to your regular doctor? Your chart says they’re in… uh, Creston Cay? Where is that?” I explained, and the doctor seemed confused about why I would willingly choose to live so far from civilization.

As we left the doctor’s office, though, I was reminded of exactly why I had made the choice to leave in the first place. Instead of the fresh breeze, I smelled only exhaust, and the solid pavement beneath my feet felt too firm. I much preferred the easy shift of sand. And the noise! It was giving me a headache. People as far as the eye could see. How had I ever considered this home?! I was glad when we finally got in the car and headed out of the city toward Gabriel’s parents’ house.

Gabriel remained quiet on the drive. As we left the skyline behind, I felt the tension begin to leave my body. “What are you thinking about?” I asked him.

His lips spread into an easy smile. “The future. I think… I think I’d like to shut down my blog. Or at least stop traveling so much. Maybe we could have guest writers post content and recommendations instead. I don’t think I can be away from you anymore.”

I’d been wondering how he was going to manage the conflicting pull between work and personal life. “If you’re only giving it up because you’re worried about me and the baby, don’t. I have a ton of support on the island. They’re like family to me, and I know they’ll watch over us if you want to travel. You could still use the island as your home base and come back between trips.”

He shook his head firmly. “It’s not that. It’s like you said, about living life with passion and joy.Youare my passion, our child is my joy.”

“Aww,” I gushed, wishing I could hold his hand, but I knew he took my safety seriously and always kept both hands on the wheel. I would just have to show him later tonight how much I appreciated his words.

Gabriel’s upbeat mood shifted as we pulled our rental car into his parents’ driveway. “It’s not too late. We could still stay in a hotel,” he said, but there was resignation to his tone.

“Don’t be silly! I wanna get to know your parents. It’ll be great! Parents love me!” I willed my words to be true, though to be honest, I hadn’t had a lot of experience with getting to this stage of a relationship.

Leaving our bags in the car (to make a quick getaway in case things went south, Gabe said), we walked up the front walkway to the modest-sized bungalow. The front door was painted a vibrant red, making it stand out amongst the block of cookie-cutter houses.

Gabriel had already reverted to his tight shoulders and rigid spine, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “Here goes nothing,” he muttered, raising his fist to knock.

The door swung open before we even had a chance to alert anyone that we were here. “There he is!” the man who could only be Gabe’s dad said in a booming voice.

The couple in front of us were a strange combination of Gabe’s features—he had his mother’s eyes and his father’s hair and nose—but his frown lines were all his own, because it looked like they’d never been upset a day in their lives. Their smiles were stretched wide.

“Come here, Son!” his dad said, grabbing him by the shoulders and dragging him in for a bear hug. Gabe stayed stiff, but as his dad showed no sign of letting go anytime soon, he slowly brought his arms up for a tentative hug back.

His mom was next, cupping his face and kissing his cheeks. “My baby’s home!” She leaned back to get a better look at him. “You look so great, so happy.” Her gaze moved to where I was standing behind him, down to the small bump visible through my shirt. “And this must be the reason for your happiness.” She beamed at me. “Hi, I’m Emma. Please, come in.”

“Hi! I’m Toby. It is so great to meet you,” I told them earnestly. As I was drawn into their home, the front door was closed behind us, cutting us off from our escape route.Nowhere to go but forward, I guess.

“You too, Toby,” Emma said. “Here, have a seat. We’ve got drinks and snacks.” I lowered onto the couch with a groan, my hips aching, and Gabe sat beside me, rubbing at my lower back where he knew I tended to get sore muscles, especially after all this traveling.

“What’s your last name, Toby?” Frederick asked, passing me a tray of cheese and crackers.

“It’s Bradbury,” I told him. Before I could take a piece of brie cheese, though, Gabriel had snatched it from my fingers.

“No brie during pregnancy,” he told me, popping it into his own mouth. “It could have listeria.”

I sighed in longing. Brie was my favorite. Opting for cheddar instead, I looked back at Frederick who had a strange light to his eyes, a little crease between his brows that made him look a lot like his son when he was overthinking something.

“Bradbury… As inTobiasBradbury?” he asked, squinting his eyes at me.

My mouth went dry. “Um, yes, that’s my full name.” I could feel Gabe’s curiosity and interest.

Frederick’s expression cleared, and he beamed at me. “I knew your father! A great man, truly. I was so sorry when I heard he passed. Wow, I was wondering what happened to you. You were the apple in your daddy’s eye. He was always talking about you, bragging about how smart you were and what you’d done with his company. Where did you go? You left your role as CEO and just seemed to disappear.”

My throat burned, my eyes stinging with unshed tears at the unexpected wave of emotion, and I leaned into Gabriel at my side, searching for the comfort he always brought me. “After my dad…” I swallowed hard. “After, I decided it was time to reevaluate my priorities. I bought a little island resort, and that was where I met your son.”

Frederick reached for me again, shaking my hand a second time, but this time more tightly. His eyes took on that distant look that people got when reliving the past. “Wow,” he said again on a sigh. “Aw hell, gimme a hug. You’re family now.” He stood and pulled me up to join him, bringing me in for a tight embrace. It felt good to be hugged like this, like how a father hugs his son. It was the closest I’d felt to my dad in the years since I lost him, and the first tear spilled down my cheek. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last this weekend.

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